A seemingly ordinary exercise book donated to a Hobart tip shop has been revealed to be the diary of Australian Antarctic expeditioner David Johns, dating back to 1957. The diary, discovered almost two years ago, provides a unique personal account of his time in Antarctica during the International Geophysical Year – a period marked by collaborative research and thawing relations between nations amidst the Cold War.
A scuffed exercise book donated to a tip shop in Hobart is on track to be acquired by the National Museum of Australia after it was found to be the diary of Antarctic expeditioner David Johns.Written in 1957, Mr Johns was working in Antarctic a during the International Geophysical Year, a project that saw a thawing of global relations through collaborative research at the height of the Cold War .
"It was just that somebody saw it and opened it up and read the first page and knew it was something."After sitting in a secure location at the tip shop for almost two years, Mr Richards started to investigate the significance of the diary and decided to try and find a home for the item where it could remain publicly accessible.It was one of dozens of items put forward that fortnight to a curatorial team at the museum responsible for assessing possible donations.
A program of physics experiments was included in that research and Antarctica, because of its location and unique environment, was an ideal location for observing subtle elements in Earth's atmosphere. "It adds a whole new narrative, a whole new angle to an incredible piece of equipment," Dr Lineen said.For Mr Johns's son Andrew, he remembers his father as a "prolific" storyteller and writer, who documented his 12-month visit to Antarctica through letters to his parents and in his diary.Andrew Johns said he only became aware of his father's diary after he was contacted by the museum seeking consent to acquire it.
Antarctic Diary History Cold War Museum
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