Public Talk - Colin Monteath - Raiders of the Lost Archive
Schedule
Tue Jun 09 2026 at 09:30 am to 11:00 am
UTC+12:00Location
WEA Canterbury Workers' Educational Association | Christchurch, CA
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“Raiders of the Lost Archive” - Colin MonteathDusting off his expedition archives Colin will take us through a career spanning 33 seasons in Antarctica, 4 in the Arctic and over 20 expeditions in Asia and beyond. The lecture will focus on his freelance photography and writing career.
From 1973 to 1983 he was Field Operations Officer at Scott Base. During this time he helped coordinate recovery operations of the Air NZ crash site. Colin’s organisation and maintenance of Field Operations became highly respected for efficiency, safety and success. He was also in charge of the Scott Base huskies.
Since 1983 he has worked as an expedition leader and lecturer on many polar cruises and adventure companies. He has been a very active and highly respected mountaineer with outstanding climbs in Antarctica (including descents into the live volcano Mt Erebus), NZ, Peru, Irian Java, Pamirs and 21 expeditions to the Himalayas.
Amongst the very long list of extraordinary accomplishments he has ski/dog sledded across the Greenland ice cap, twice crossed South Georgia, skied across Svalbard, and climbed Mt Cook 13 times. He has also ski traversed Denali in Alaska as well as climbed Karsten’s Pyramid in Irian Jaya.
Colin’s 21 Himalayan successes are astounding and can be seen in detail in his extraordinary bio on his web site: https://www.colinmonteath.nz/about
He is a highly acclaimed writer of articles and written many very well received and popular books, most recently “Erebus - The Ice Dragon”. Colin was awarded the New Zealand Antarctic Medal in 2025 for lifetime services to Antarctic Field Support, archival preservation, literature and photography.
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Where is it happening?
WEA Canterbury Workers' Educational Association, 59 Gloucester Street,Christchurch, New ZealandEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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