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H9551 Ice axe in two parts (axe head and ice spike), metal / wood, made by Anton Hupfauf, Einsiedeln, Switzerland, sold through Leonhard Kost, Basel, Switzerland, used during Sir Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition, Antarctica, 1911-1914. Click to enlarge.
  • Image 1 of 14, H9551 Ice axe in two parts (axe head and ice spike), metal / wood, made by Anton Hupfauf, Einsiedeln, Switzerland, sold through Leonhard Kost, Basel, Switzerland, used during Sir Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition, Antarctica, 1911-1914. Click to enlarge
  • Image 2 of 14, H9551 Ice axe in two parts (axe head and ice spike), metal / wood, made by Anton Hupfauf, Einsiedeln, Switzerland, sold through Leonhard Kost, Basel, Switzerland, used during Sir Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition, Antarctica, 1911-1914. Click to enlarge
  • Image 3 of 14, H9551 Ice axe in two parts (axe head and ice spike), metal / wood, made by Anton Hupfauf, Einsiedeln, Switzerland, sold through Leonhard Kost, Basel, Switzerland, used during Sir Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition, Antarctica, 1911-1914. Click to enlarge
  • Image 4 of 14, H9551 Ice axe in two parts (axe head and ice spike), metal / wood, made by Anton Hupfauf, Einsiedeln, Switzerland, sold through Leonhard Kost, Basel, Switzerland, used during Sir Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition, Antarctica, 1911-1914. Click to enlarge
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    Image 5 of 14, H9551 Ice axe in two parts (axe head and ice spike), metal / wood, made by Anton Hupfauf, Einsiedeln, Switzerland, sold through Leonhard Kost, Basel, Switzerland, used during Sir Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition, Antarctica, 1911-1914. Click to enlarge
  • Image 6 of 14, H9551 Ice axe in two parts (axe head and ice spike), metal / wood, made by Anton Hupfauf, Einsiedeln, Switzerland, sold through Leonhard Kost, Basel, Switzerland, used during Sir Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition, Antarctica, 1911-1914. Click to enlarge
  • Image 7 of 14, H9551 Ice axe in two parts (axe head and ice spike), metal / wood, made by Anton Hupfauf, Einsiedeln, Switzerland, sold through Leonhard Kost, Basel, Switzerland, used during Sir Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition, Antarctica, 1911-1914. Click to enlarge
  • Image 8 of 14, H9551 Ice axe in two parts (axe head and ice spike), metal / wood, made by Anton Hupfauf, Einsiedeln, Switzerland, sold through Leonhard Kost, Basel, Switzerland, used during Sir Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition, Antarctica, 1911-1914. Click to enlarge
  • Image 9 of 14, H9551 Ice axe in two parts (axe head and ice spike), metal / wood, made by Anton Hupfauf, Einsiedeln, Switzerland, sold through Leonhard Kost, Basel, Switzerland, used during Sir Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition, Antarctica, 1911-1914. Click to enlarge
  • Image 10 of 14, H9551 Ice axe in two parts (axe head and ice spike), metal / wood, made by Anton Hupfauf, Einsiedeln, Switzerland, sold through Leonhard Kost, Basel, Switzerland, used during Sir Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition, Antarctica, 1911-1914. Click to enlarge
  • Image 11 of 14, H9551 Ice axe in two parts (axe head and ice spike), metal / wood, made by Anton Hupfauf, Einsiedeln, Switzerland, sold through Leonhard Kost, Basel, Switzerland, used during Sir Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition, Antarctica, 1911-1914. Click to enlarge
  • Image 12 of 14, H9551 Ice axe in two parts (axe head and ice spike), metal / wood, made by Anton Hupfauf, Einsiedeln, Switzerland, sold through Leonhard Kost, Basel, Switzerland, used during Sir Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition, Antarctica, 1911-1914. Click to enlarge
  • Image 13 of 14, H9551 Ice axe in two parts (axe head and ice spike), metal / wood, made by Anton Hupfauf, Einsiedeln, Switzerland, sold through Leonhard Kost, Basel, Switzerland, used during Sir Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition, Antarctica, 1911-1914. Click to enlarge
  • Image 14 of 14, H9551 Ice axe in two parts (axe head and ice spike), metal / wood, made by Anton Hupfauf, Einsiedeln, Switzerland, sold through Leonhard Kost, Basel, Switzerland, used during Sir Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition, Antarctica, 1911-1914. Click to enlarge

Ice axe used during Sir Dougas Mawson's Australasian Antartic Expedition

Made
This ice axe and ice spike was used for cutting hand and foot holds in ice, and was used during Sir Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition (AAE), Antarctica, 1911-1914.

One of the objectives of this expedition was the exploration and charting of the largely unexplored coastline of Antarctica. This included meteorological and magnetic observations, and the collection of biological and geological samples. It also aimed to establish a wireless weather station to assist with weather …

Parts of this object

H9551-1 Ice axe head from broken ice axe, metal / wood, made by Anton Hupfauf, Einsiedeln, Switzerland, sold through Leonhard Kost, Basel, Switzerland, used during the Sir Douglas Mawson's Antarctic Expedition, Antarctica, 1911-1914
Ice axe used during the Sir Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition
1911
H9551-2 Ice spike from part of broken ice axe, metal / wood, made by Anton Hupfauf, Einsiedeln, Switzerland, sold through Leonhard Kost, Basel, Switzerland, used during the Sir Douglas Mawson's Antarctic Expedition, Antarctica, 1911-1914
Ice pike used during Mawson's Antartic expedition
1911-1914

Summary

Object No.

H9551

Object Statement

Ice axe in two parts (axe head and ice spike), metal / wood, made by Anton Hupfauf, Einsiedeln, Switzerland, sold through Leonhard Kost, Basel, Switzerland, used during Sir Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition, Antarctica, 1911-1914

Physical Description

The ice axe consists of a wooden shaft with a metal pick and spike on one end of the axe.

The ice spike has a wood shaft and a metal spike. More than half of the shaft is missing, with an obvious split in the wood.

Marks

Refer to parts record

Short URL

https://ma.as/257629

Production

Made

Notes

The ice axe was made by Anton Hupfauf (1871-1916), a Swiss maker of mountaineering equipment, while it was sold through Leonhard Kost, an outfitters' sports store of Basel, Switzerland. The Kost company originated in 1866 but went out of business in about 2018.

The Hupfauf ice axe factory was located in Einsiedeln, Switzerland, at the northern foot of the Swiss Alps, 30 km southeast of Zurich. It was established by Anton Hupfauf senior (1871-1916), a blacksmith who was born in Fulpmes, in the Tyrol region of Austria, and moved to Einsiedeln, Switzerland, in 1898. Initially, the Hupfaufs made farming tools and knives but gradually began to specialise in the manufacture ice axes and crampons for mountaineering expeditions. His equipment became well known and was exported around the world. In 1911, the same year as the Mawson Antarctic expedition, the Haupfaufs were awarded a gold medal at the Turin Worlds Fair for their equipment. Ice axes were made in numerous lengths and various models.

After Anton senior's accidental death in 1916 the factory was carried on by Melchior Ochsner, one of his employees, until Anton senior's son, Anton Hupfauf junior (1908-1993), was old and experienced enough to take over the works in 1930. By then household goods were added to the factory's production while ice axes and crampons continued to be made and distributed worldwide, and even issued to the army during World War II. The factory, which employed about 15 workers, continued until about 1948.

History

Used

Notes

The ice axe was used during the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914, and presumably by Douglas Mawson. It is part of a collection of objects donated to the Royal Australian Historical Society by the Expedition. It was acquired by the Museum as part of the Royal Australian Historical Society Collection in 1981 (RAHS #67)

Source

Credit Line

Gift of the Royal Australian Historical Society, 1981

Acquisition Date

22 June 1981

Cite this Object

Harvard

Ice axe used during Sir Dougas Mawson's Australasian Antartic Expedition 2023, Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, accessed 30 May 2023, <https://ma.as/257629>

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://ma.as/257629 |title=Ice axe used during Sir Dougas Mawson's Australasian Antartic Expedition |author=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences |access-date=30 May 2023 |publisher=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Australia}}

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