New Zealand and the Antarctic Treaty, 1945 to 1961 : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History at Massey University

Abstract

This thesis studies the making of the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, and New Zealand's involvement in this process. From 1945. when international attention increasingly focussed of Antarctica and its associated disputes, through to the negotiation, signing and eventual ratification of the Treaty, the nature of New Zealand's participation in Antarctic affairs underwent considerable analysis and adaptation. This thesis concentrates on New Zealand's perception of its Antarctic interests during the period under review, and how these influenced the development of New Zealand's role as a key player in Antarctic affairs. This study relied heavily on the records of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (formerly External Affairs) for its primary information. Some of these files, as noted in the bibliography, are available at National Archives in Wellington. The majority, however, are restricted files to which I was granted access by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. I would like to thank those people from the Ministry who were so supportive and forthcoming with their help and advice, and made this information available to me. However, the interpretations and conclusions based on these files are my own. In particular. I thank Stuart Prior. Head of the Antarctic Policy Unit; Rosemary Banks. Director of the Information and Public Affairs Division; Elizabeth Beaufort. Director of the Information Services Division; Graeme Eskrigge; and the staff of the MFAT library. Acknowledgments are also due to my supervisors. Dr James Watson and Professor Barrie Macdonald. I gratefully thank them for their support, advice, critique, time and knowledge. Without their continuous interrogation of my work I would have learnt very little, and would still be struggling to craft some semblance of a thesis from the great amorphous mass of information with which I began. [FROM INTRODUCTION]