New Zealand Antarctic programme

The New Zealand Antarctic Research Programme (NZARP) was a research program that operated a permanent research facility in Antarctica from 1959 to 1996. It was created by the Geophysics Division of New Zealand's Department of Scientific and Industrial Research to assist with research in Antarctica, originally based in Wellington. NZARP promoted research in areas such as geochemistry, zoology, geology, botany, meteorology, and limnology.

The mission of NZARP was to provide support for a variety of scientific fieldwork in Antarctica. Members worked as researchers, assistants, tour guides, operators, and administrators to Scott Base.

NZARP began as a proposal by the New Zealand government, in 1953, for a research base in Antarctica.

Ground was broken for Scott Base on 10 January 1957. Assembly of the base began 12 January, conducted by the eight men who first assembled the base in Wellington, and was completed by 20 January. In 1959 NZARP was established to work with the Ross Dependency Research Committee in the Ross Dependency (New Zealand's claim to a defined sector in Antarctica). In 1962, because of the important research being conducted, Scott Base became a permanent research station in Antarctica. NZARP was in charge of maintaining the base. They hired people to act as field safety leaders and assist scientists during research projects.

When DSIR was broken up to form the Crown Research Institutes (CRIs) in 1992, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) took over the NZARP.

In 1967 the first tetrapod remains in Antarctica were discovered by New Zealander Peter Barrett, his finding eventually lending support to the theory of continental drift. Two years later, in 1969, an NZARP party of six women became the first women to reach the South Pole. Some more of NZARP's discoveries include, Ball Glacier, Atkinson Glacier, Findlay Range, Thomas Heights, and Mount Bradshaw.

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