Australia's first Arctic expeditions: a remarkable story of passion and focus that continues today.
The first Australian Arctic expedition was a complex $2.5 million program created by Earle de Blonville, FRGS, as a result of a fascinating tale heard during a 1977 winter mountain ascent in Wales.
He led a team of four sea kayaks and a five-man crew aboard a 50' steel ice-reinforced support ketch down 1,000km of Greenland's remote East Coast during the early winter of 1986. His expedition patron was HRH The Prince of Wales (now King Charles II), and his principal British Advisor was Lord Shackleton, FRS, FRGS.
Earle subsequently went on to explore more than half of Greenland's navigable coast during the late 1980's. This included an expedition to the Nussuaq Peninsula specifically for high net worth Australian individuals.
His one-hour television documentary film of the 1986 expedition was released internationally through Discovery Channel, CBC, BBC, ABC and other broadcasters in Europe, South America, Israel and South Africa, and was most recently screened in France and Denmark. See details of his book below. See the film trailer here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CTmDX3Tai0
“Earle de Blonville is a great, but unsung, Australian hero, with outstanding leadership qualifications."
- Professor The Hon. Barry Jones, AC.
Minister for Science 1983-90
* Earle's Arctic exploring yacht 'Eleanor Rymill' among the giant icebergs of the world's fastest flowing glacier.