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ANTARCTICAS
UNSUNG HERO
Rob Fenwick has had more impact on Antarctica than possibly
any other New Zealander. But after two decades of work there,
hes stepping back. Mike White talks to him about whats been
achieved, and his concerns for the frozen continents future.
MIKE WHITE IS A NORTH & SOUTH SENIOR WRITER.

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MIK E WHITE

JA NE USSHER

Rob Fenwick.
Left: Scotts Hut
at Cape Evans.

here have been a couple of

close calls lately for Rob
Fenwick. A couple of times
when things looked a bit
forlorn, a bit final.
One was in October 2013 on his way
to Antarctica. No New Zealander needs
reminding of the dangers of flying there,
given how 1979s Mt Erebus tragedy still
resonates Fenwick himself knew three
of the victims. But as Antarctica New
Zealands chairman, Fenwick had made
the flight so often he scarcely gave a
thought to something going wrong.
However, just after the point of no
return when the RNZAF 757 he was
on didnt have enough fuel to turn

round and go back to Christchurch an

unexpected fog bank crept across the
runway near Scott Base.
Committed to continuing, the pilot
attempted to land, but pulled away,
unable to see the runway, despite descending to a few hundred feet. For
the next two hours, the plane circled,
burning up fuel, everyone hoping the
fog would clear. It didnt.
So at 4.20pm, the pilot tried once
more, breaking aviation rules by descending even lower, but still couldnt
see anything so again aborted the landing at the last minute. As they banked
away, the second captain glimpsed what
he thought was a runway light, and the
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s soon as Fenwick realised that

he was seriously sick, he
scaled back his numerous
business commitments and community
roles. The founder of Living Earth, an
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JA NE USSHER

JA NE USSHER

pilot decided to make a third attempt

to land. As they circled above the airfield, Fenwick realised things werent
good. But when youre in a situation
like that, you just have to have total
confidence that the guy in the cockpit
knows what hes doing.
On board with him was Foreign Affairs
Minister Murray McCully, and the pilot
quietly apprised them of how serious
things were. If they didnt make it this
time, they had enough fuel for only one
more approach, and that might have to
be a crash landing in the whiteout.
The rest of the flight didnt quite have
the benefit of his candour, remembers
Fenwick.
At 4.45pm, the plane began its descent
from 2500 feet. At 110 feet, the pilot suddenly saw the runway of Pegasus Field
and safely landed on the ice, in what
Fenwick describes as a sensational job.
A year later, Fenwick tired of a dry
cough and went to see his doctor. An
x-ray showed a tumour in his lung. And
because it was sitting on top of my
aorta it was diagnosed as inoperable,
because it would be too difficult to remove. And I can tell you, that made me
pretty gloomy.
But the doctors got together, took
another look, did more scans, and
changed their minds.
So just before Christmas, a surgeon
removed the top half of Fenwicks left
lung, along with the tumour measuring
15cm across. This was followed by
three months of chemotherapy, which
ended in late April.
Its not at all pleasant, but I think
Ive been pretty fortunate, acknowledges the 64-year-old, with the acceptance of a man reprieved.
Hes had plenty of aches, times when
he felt his head was exploding, and
sleep became troublesome, but didnt
lose his hair or suffer chronic nausea.
The next 18 months will be critical,
as specialists track whether the cancers returned. So you kind of live in
a bit of no-mans land until then. But
Ipersuade myself I havent got cancer
any more and will remain that way
until proven otherwise.

Above: Restored shelves stacked with supplies and provisions inside Shackletons Hut.
Opposite page: Bunk beds and the wardroom table inside Scotts Hut at Cape Evans.

organic composting business, Fenwicks

public positions have included board
roles at TVNZ, Landcare Research, the
governments Waste Advisory Board, and
as a special adviser to the Department
of Conservation. Hes chaired St John,
the Fred Hollows Foundation, Save the
Kiwi Trust, and Mai FM, and been a
board member of the Sir Peter Blake
Trust, the World Wildlife Fund, Predator
Free New Zealand, the NEXT Foundation and Ngati Whatua Orakei. In addition, his family owns 370ha of bush on
Waiheke Island that hes allowed public
access through.
But its his association with Antarctica thats taken much of his time and
leadership skill in the past 20 years.
Growing up, Fenwick was fascinated
by Antarctica, engrossed by the stories

of heroism and disaster found in books

around his familys home Scotts journals, accounts of Shackletons voyages,
Pontings miraculous monochrome
photographs. So when one of Fenwicks
business mentors, Sir John Ingram,
suggested he might be interested in
joining the Antarctic Heritage Trusts
board, Fenwick happily accepted.
The trusts aim was to preserve the
historic buildings erected by explorers
in the Ross Sea region, the Antarctic
area New Zealand is responsible for.
Primary among these were the huts of
Scott and Shackleton, left intact by the
explorers, time capsules crammed with
relics and rations from a century ago.
Having kindled the idea of restoring
the huts, the trust had come to realise
the task was mammoth. It was something

that confronted Fenwick when he first

visited Antarctica, accompanied by a
television crew wanting to see the huts.
And I was appalled. I remember being recorded, and my shock at these
extraordinary buildings and the collection of artefacts that were just decaying
in front of us.
With little thought of diplomacy,
Fenwick blurted out it was a travesty that
New Zealand officials lauded the unspoilt Antarctic experience while these
precious huts were disintegrating.
His comments ruffled feathers but
also brought attention to the situation.
And of course what it did was, everyone
said, If you think you know the problem, youd better find the solution.
Fenwick was made the trusts chairman
and drew up a plan to raise $9 million

for the huts restoration. While he considered it ambitious, others saw it as

fanciful or absurd, arguing the huts
should be left to decay, given they were
neither architectural wonders nor intended to be permanent.
But Fenwick realised that on no other
continent were mans first buildings still
standing and beyond their plain wooden walls, they contained a trove of remarkable stories.
It was these stories, these incredible
tales of fortitude and failure, that were
Fenwicks greatest ally as he sought international funding.
Ironically, Britain, the country with
two of the central characters, Scott and
Shackleton, initially declined to help.
Eventually, it took a visit by Princess
Anne, and condemnation of British

I WAS APPALLED.
I REMEMBER
BEING RECORDED,
AND MY SHOCK
AT THESE
EXTRAORDINARY
BUILDINGS AND
THE COLLECTION
OF ARTEFACTS
THAT WERE JUST
DECAYING IN
FRONT OF US.
ROB FENWICK

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RICH A RD GORDON

JA NE USSHER

Above: Rob Fenwick (right) in Antarctica, with Dr John Hay, chairman

of the Science Board, which funds research, science and technology.
Right: Discovery Hut was built by Robert Scott during the Discovery
Expedition in 1902, on Ross Island, just 300m from McMurdo Base.

THE ABILITY TO GO AND WATCH

ASUNSET, THE ABILITY TO ENJOY
ABLIZZARD, THE ABILITY TO GET
EXCITED WHEN AMINKE WHALE
CAME UP THE CHANNEL HE WAS
LIKE A SCHOOLKID.
LOU SANSON, CONSERVATION DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR-GENERAL

inaction by Sir Edmund Hillary, to

shame the UK government into helping
fund the work. No one had ever considered them to be of any importance
so it needed us to evoke a mindset
change pretty quickly.
Now, both Scotts huts and Shackletons
hut on Ross Island have been fully preserved, with work continuing on two
others. The trusts executive director,
Nigel Watson, says without Fenwicks
mana, connections and boardroom ability, the project would have failed. Its
that simple. Hes got that ability to connect across people in different situations
and different backgrounds everything
from British royalty to the carpenters
working on the huts.
Watson says Fenwicks impact on our
operations in Antarctica is unrivalled.
Robs transformed the way New Zealand has perceived and valued what it
does in Antarctica. And hes had to rattle
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the cage to do that, but hes done it in

such a gentlemanly way that people
tend to want to get in behind him.
In recognition of his work, the New
Zealand Geographic Board named the
Fenwick Ice Piedmont in Antarctica in
his honour.
Fenwick says preserving the huts has
been tremendous and his greatest joy
is seeing visitors step into them for the
first time allowing them to go into
these buildings and just be swept up
in the nostalgia of it all. And Im still
knocked out by it.

ith his job saving the huts

largely done, Fenwick
stepped back from the
trust. However, it wasnt long before someone else came calling, this time Prime
Minister Helen Clark, asking him to join
Antarctica New Zealand, the body operating our Antarctic programme. Within six

months, Fenwick was appointed chairman

and began a reassessment of what New
Zealand was doing in Antarctica.
One of the results was an increased
scientific focus on climate change and
its effect on the Antarctic. While this
might seem remote and rarefied for most
New Zealanders, Fenwick insists it will
have enormous impacts on all our lives.
Antarctica will determine the fate of
the planet. It contains 80 per cent of the
worlds fresh water, 90 per cent of the
worlds ice, and what happens there as
the world warms will determine what
happens to us all.
Fenwick stresses New Zealand stands
to be particularly hard hit if global warming leads to runaway melting of Antarctic ice. Not only would it dramatically
increase sea levels, threatening coastal
communities, but it could seriously alter
our weather, much of which originates
in Antarctica, potentially devastating
our agricultural economy. Moreover, if
the oceans warm and the marine ecosystem is disrupted, it could affect our
entire fishing industry.
The only certainty was that climate
changes impacts would accelerate,
something that scares Fenwick. Its a
fear of what we dont know, really, so
thats why research is so important.
What most New Zealanders dont realise is that the slice of Antarctica New
Zealand claims, the Ross Dependency,

is probably the most vital region for

studying climate change.
Its important because it contains
the Ross Ice Shelf, the biggest slab of
ice on the planet, a single piece of ice
bigger than France and 800m thick,
floating on the ocean and we dont
know whats happening to it.
Fears are that the shelf is melting from
underneath, and New Zealand scientists
will this summer drill through the ice
to determine if thats begun.
Next year, were going to celebrate
the 175th anniversary of the amazing
voyage of Sir James Clark Ross into the
Antarctic Circle and his discovery of
the Ross Sea, and landfall on Ross Island, and discovery of the Ross Ice
Shelf. And what an irony it would be
if, on that anniversary, we also discovered the ice shelf was disappearing.
Such is the interest in the Ross Sea
region that America, Italy, Germany and
South Korea all have research stations
along its edge, with China also planning
a base.
Realising there was never going to be
enough New Zealand government funding for critical research, Fenwick helped
create the New Zealand Antarctic Research Institute, launched with a $5
million donation from philanthropist
Sir Julian Robertson. The institute sees
New Zealand scientists work with experts from around the world to try to

answer some of the planets biggest

questions. Its already gained global
attention and funding, including from
National Geographic, which is paying
$US750,000 to cover its work, in print
and on television.
The international collaboration that
Fenwick has encouraged reflects how
nations have traditionally approached
Antarctica. In 1959, the Antarctic Treaty ruled no country could own territory
and it was to be used only for peaceful
purposes. In 1991, the Madrid Protocol
banned mining for 50 years.
However, such remarkable global
co-operation is likely to be tested as
resources run out elsewhere, nations
seek to exert influence, and new technology makes mining in Antarctica easier. Wed be fooling ourselves if we
didnt accept that pressure on mineral
and energy resources will increase inexorably, says Fenwick.
And the inability of nations, including
New Zealand, to protect the seas around
Antarctica from fishing has not only disappointed him, but points to national
interests overriding the greater good.
But Im an optimist. The treaty has
been an incredibly successful experiment in diplomacy and hasnt been
breached in 50 years. And its resisted
the demand for tourism as its become
much more accessible through air
transport. Tourism wouldnt be good

for Antarctica. Thats always easier to

say for someone who goes there often,
but increasing traffic will destroy
whats precious about it.
When he got sick, Fenwick decided
to stand down as Antarctica New Zealands chairman and will end his term
later this year. But hes confident New
Zealands scientific work is firmly established, and that our influence in
Antarctica will continue. Were an
important player. Were seen as reliable, stable and big contributors.
In addition, New Zealand is the
launching pad for Antarctic operations
by other countries, with America, Italy
and now South Korea using Christchurch
as a base.
But as he steps back from leading our
Antarctic work, Fenwicks wishes for
the future go beyond the economic,
diplomatic and strategic. Id just hope
New Zealanders appreciate more and
more how important Antarctica is going to be in their day-to-day lives.
Lou Sanson has worked closely with
Fenwick, in his roles as Antarctica New
Zealands chief executive and the Conservation Departments directorgeneral, and says Fenwicks vision for
what New Zealand can achieve is inspirational and influential. But despite
always looking to the future, Sanson
says Fenwick has never lost sight of
what was around him or a sense of
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FR A NK HURLE Y/ SCOT T POL A R RESE A RCH INSTITUTE, UNI V ERSIT Y OF CA MBRIDGE / GE T T Y IM AGES

The Skipper, Frank A. Worsley, who

miraculously navigated the Endurance
crew to safety during Shackletons
trans-Antarctic expedition.

PERHAPS THE
REAL HERO
FOR FENWICK
IS A LITTLEKNOWN NEW
ZEALANDER,
FRANK
WORSLEY,
CAPTAIN OF
SHACKLETONS
SHIPS.

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amazement at the world.

The ability to go and watch a sunset,
the ability to enjoy a blizzard, the ability to get excited when a minke whale
came up the channel he was like a
schoolkid.

nybody captivated by Antarctica usually has a favourite

character, someone adventurous and admirable from the heroic age of
exploration. Fenwick readily cites Shackleton, a remarkable leader of men.
But perhaps the real hero for Fenwick
is a little-known New Zealander, Frank
Worsley, captain of Shackletons ships
and the man who miraculously navigated the Endurance crew to safety, then

crossed South Georgias mountains with

Shackleton to get help.
Worsleys own life story is incredible,
filled with bravery and brilliance, and
Fenwick so admires him that in 2005
he and friends chartered a yacht and
recreated an expedition to the Arctic
Circle Worsley had done 80 years before. The other thing about Worsley is
that few New Zealanders know of him
and his achievements. And in that sense
hes much like Fenwick, someone whos
done remarkable things with little public acknowledgment.
Fenwicks good friend, former Waitakere mayor Bob Harvey, says hes been
unstinting in working for good, and
understated in everything hes accomplished. I think in the past four decades, this country wouldnt be as good
as it is without Rob Fenwick.
Fenwick doubts hell now pass a medical that would let him return to Antarctica, but isnt grieving at this prospect. When you think about what Ive
been able to do and the joy Ive had of
visiting that place, its time for others
to be given the same chance.
Anyway, there are 20 years of memories: seeing Princess Annes profound
response in Scott and Shackletons
huts; the sense of insignificance he felt
when he first visited the Dry Valleys;
getting wind turbines established at
Scott Base in the worlds harshest climate; and accompanying the families
of Erebus crash victims to Antarctica.
That was an incredibly moving
experience to observe the buried
anguish and the loss theyd been living
with all these years.
Theres little doubt that if everyone
could visit Antarctica and see what an
unspoilt world looked like, we wouldnt
have to worry about its future. But
thats never going to happen, and Fenwick says you dont need to visit Ugandas gorillas to know they should be
protected.
It comes back to the stories you tell
stories and pictures are everything.
Evoking a response from the hearts and
minds of people will be the only thing
that saves the world.
That said, hes incredibly grateful for
the roles hes been able to play in one of
the worlds most special places. It just
reminds you how opportunity strikes but
once and youve got to keep saying yes,
until you have to say no.
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