Person

Mertz, Xavier (1882 - 1913)

Born
6 October 1882
Basel, Switzerland
Died
8 January 1913
King George V Land, Antarctica
Occupation
Antarctic explorer

Summary

Xavier Mertz was a skier and mountaineer in his native Switzerland. He was engaged by Douglas Mawson in 1911 as ski instructor for the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (1911-1914). With Belgrave Ninnis, he became responsible for the Expedition's Greenland huskies. In 1912 Mertz was selected by Mawson to accompany him as a member of the Far Eastern Party to explore King George V Land. This became one of the most epic journeys in Antarctic history and resulted in the deaths of Ninnis and Mertz. Mertz Glacier in Antarctica is named after him.

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Details

Chronology

1911 - 1913
Career position - Dog handler, Australasian Antarctic Expedition

Related Events

Published resources

Edited Books

  • Lucas, Anna ed., Swiss alps to Antarctic glaciers: the journals of Dr Xavier Mertz, Australasian Antarctic Expedition 1911-1914 (Melbourne: Fineline Studios, 2014), 206 pp. Details
  • Mornement, Allan and Riffenburgh, Beau eds, 'Mertz and I': the Antarctic diary of Belgrave Edward Ninnis (Norwich (U. K.): Erskine Press, 2014), 448 pp. Details

Journal Articles

  • Carrington-Smith, Denise, 'Mawson and Mertz: a Re-evaluation of their Ill-fated Mapping Journey during the 1911-1914 Australasian Antarctic Expedition', Medical Journal of Australia, 183 (11/12) (2005), 638-641. Details
  • Lucas, Anna, 'Mertz in Hobart: impressions of one of Mawson's men while preparing for Antarctic adventure', Papers and proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania, 146 (2012), 37-44. Details
  • Lucas, Anna and Leane, Elizabeth, 'Two Pages of Xavier Mertz's Missing Antarctic Diary: a Contextualization and Reconstruction', Polar Record, 49 (2013), 297-306. Details

Resources

See also

  • Chester, Jonathan, Going to extremes: Project Blizzard and Australia's Antarctic heritage (Sydney: Auckland: Doubleday Australia, 1986), 308 pp. Details
  • Jensen, David, Mawson's remarkable men: the personal stories of the epic 1911-14 Australasian Antarctic Expediton (Sydeny: Allen and Unwin, 2015), 183 pp. Details

Helen Cohn

Last modified: 3 August 2016

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