Australian Groups

Lot 3999       Australian Groups

Estimate $25,000
Bid at live.noble.com.au
SOLD $34,000

GROUP OF NINE, Order of the British Empire - civil officer's breast badge, British War Medal 1914-18, Victory Medal (Capt), 1939-45 Star, Africa Star, Defence Medal, British War Medal 1939-45, Polar Medal (silver) two bars Antartic 1912-14; Antartic 1914-16; Polar Medal (bronze) one bar Antartic 1929-31. Capt Frank Hurley. An extremely rare group with a unique combination of bars to the Polar Medal. Extremely fine, the silver polar medal in Royal Mint case of issue, the victory medal with m.i.d. palm leaf badge, the African Star with 8 badge. Included are newspaper clippings, photocopies and a letter from Central Chancery, 1973.

Ex Spink Australia Sale 11 (lot 257). Famous Australian Antarctic explorer, adventurer, pioneer, photographer, film maker and aviator, James Francis Hurley was born at Glebe, Sydney in October 1890. Buying his first camera at the age of 15 he was a partner in a photography and post card business by the time he was 20, already displaying in his photographs the daring, imagination and originality for which he was to become famous. He accompanied Sir Douglas Mawson on the 1911-14 Australian Antarctic Expedition and sledged to the South Magnetic Pole. He also served with the Shackleton Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914-17. Later in 1917 he joined the A.I.F. overseas as official war photographer where he pioneered the then infant art of colour photography. His colour plates of the first world war are believed to be unique. In the post war years he travelled extensively in Australia and New Guinea with his camera and in 1924 published the first of more than a dozen books. In 1929 he returned to the Antarctic again with Sir Douglas Mawson as official photographer to the British/Australian/New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition. With the outbreak of war in 1939 he joined the second A.I.F, again as official war photographer, for which service he was awarded the OBE in 1941. In his later years he published a series of colour photography books on Australia, remaining active in his profession until his death in 1962.