Along with the increase in scientific interest in Antarctica, the 1920's
saw the growth of anxiety over the supposed territorial ambitions of France and of Norway whose Antarctic whaling industry had flourished since its establishment in 1905. (1)
 
The Imperial Conference of 1926 declared that Britain had rights of discovery in certain Antarctic territories and that, if opportunity offered, formal action should be taken to make this clear on behalf of the governments concerned. These territories included the portion of Coast Land not already included in the Falkland Islands Dependencies, Enderby, Kemp and Queen Mary Lands, Mawsons Wilkes Land and King George V and Oates Lands.
 
In 1927, the British Government sought the opinion of Australia on these recommendations, and the Australian Government consulted Captain J.K. Davis, the Commonwealth Director of Navigation, who suggested an approach to the Australian National Research Council. The Council in turn, set up an Antarctic Committee which included Captain Davis, Sir David Orme Masson (Emeritus Professor of Chemistry in the University of Melbourne and Vice-President of the Council), Professor David Rivett (Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) and Sir Douglas Mawson (Professor of Geology and Mineralogy at the University of Adelaide). This Committee recommended that the Commonwealth should finance an expedition to raise the flag and conduct scientific work. (2)  
There the matter rested until 18 January 1928 when Mawson made a public statement emphasising the necessity of annexation of the Antarctic territories, and being critical of the Government's lack of action. Then, on the following day, news reached London that the Norwegian Government had annexed Bouvet Island. The British and Australian Governments were forced into action. By November, Britain had waived her right to Bouvet Island in return for Norwegian agreement not to occupy the territories mentioned by the Imperial Conference of 1926. However, this agreement provided no security for the coastlines of future MacRobertson and Princess Elizabeth lands, which had not been mentioned at the Imperial Conference. The two governments reached an agreement in January 1929 that an expedition be despatched by the Australian Government to raise the flag on the long shore-line between Enderby and Oates lands with the understanding that Australia should control the whole of this vast territory.
 
On 21 February the Prime Minister, Mr Bruce, with the support of J.H. Scullin, the Leader of the Opposition, announced that the Government would "organise and equip" an expedition to be led by Sir Douglas Mawson to "complete and crown" Mawson's great effort of 1911-1914 by conducting further scientific and meteorological work in the
Australian Section of the Antarctic, in addition to exploring and mapping that part of the coastline which Mawson's earlier expedition could not cover. Britain would supply the ship 'Discovery' free of charge and New Zealand had been invited to co-operate. It
was contemplated that the work would be completed during the summer of 1929-30. (3)
 
On 29 March the Prime Minister announced that the Committee to organise the expedition would consist of Sir George Pearce
(Vice-President of the Executive Council) as Chairman, Sir Douglas Mawson, Rear-Admiral W.R. Napier, Sir David Orme Masson, Professor David Rivett and Dr W. Henderson (Director, Department of External Affairs). Later Sir Edgeworth David (Professor of Geology at the University of Sydney) and Mr H.J. Sheehan of the Treasury were added.(4)
 
Immediately Mawson, who was already in England equipping the
expedition, objected to the Prime Minister's statement on two grounds. First, he maintained that the expedition would need two summers to complete its task and, second, he was perturbed that the expedition was labelled as an official enterprise. He had already obtained amounts of money from private sources and would always consider the venture as being a "Commonwealth-backed expedition" rather than a "Commonwealth expedition". (5)
 
On 12 September 1929, Prime Minister Bruce issued Mawson with his Instructions and his Commission from the Crown. The expedition set sail from Cape Town on 19 October 1929.
 
In two voyages over the next two summers the expedition carried out a variety of scientific work mainly in the fields of geology, geography, meteorology and oceanography. The first voyage lasted until 31 January 1930 when the ship arrived in Adelaide. The second voyage began from Hobart on 22 November 1930 and lasted until the return on 19 March 1931. (6)
 
In addition to the scientific work Mawson made three Proclamations during the two voyages declaring that the full sovereignty of the territories explored by the expedition "vests in His Majesty King George the Fifth, His Heirs and successors for ever". The first Proclamation, on 13 January 1930, claimed "the territory of Enderby Land, Kemp Land,MacRobertson Land together with off-lying Islands". On 5 January 1931, during the second voyage, the territory of King George V Land was proclaimed for Great Britain. The third Proclamation was in fact made twice. On 13 February 1931 claim was made to the territory "from Adelie Land, westwards to MacRobertson Land including Drygalski Island, Harden Island, David Island, Masson Island, Henderson Island, Haswell Island as far as the South Pole". Unfortunately, it turned out this Proclamation had been made on an ice-island which subsequently had floated out to sea. As it was necessary that the thing be done properly on the mainland, the ceremony was repeated on 18 February 1931.  
On 7 February 1933 His Majesty the King, in an Order-in-Council affirmed his sovereign rights over the Antarctic territory explored by Mawson and placed the region under the control of the Commonwealth of Australia. The Commonwealth Government, in turn, listed the proposed transfer of control in the Commonwealth Gazette on 16 March 1933. (7) The Australian Antarctic Acceptance Bill was read for a second time and passed in the House of Representatives on 26 May 1933. (8) The Bill was given Royal Assent on 30 June 1933, and was proclaimed and came into operation on 24 August 1936. (9)
 
The majority of the records of the BANZARE voyages are now housed in the Mawson Institute of the University of Adelaide. Official
Commonwealth
Records are contained in the following Commonwealth Record Series: CRS A461 (files A413/1- W413/6), A2442 and B1759.
 
 
References:
 
(1) For a full description of the history of the expedition see the      following source on which this note is largely based:
 
Price, A. Grenfell. The Winning of Australian Antarctica -
                  Mawson's B.A.N.Z.A.R.E. Voyages 1929-31.
                  Based on the Mawson Papers. Vol. 1
                  Angus Robertson: Sydney, 1962
 
(2) The records of the Australian National Research Council are held       in the National Library of Australia. For the records of the Antarctic
      Committee see: MS 482 esp. folders 16 and 17).
 
(3) Commonwealth of Australia. Parliamentary Debates
     19 Geo. V Vol.120 pp. 461-463 and 1747-1749.
 
(4) Price, A. Grenfell. op. cit. p. 16
 
(5) ibid. p. 18
 
(6) For further information on the scientific achievement of the two voyages see:
     Commonwealth of Australia Parliamentary Papers 1929-1931                                Vol. 11 No. 80, pp.823-829.
                               "British/Australia and New Zealand Antarctic
                                Research Expedition - report by Sir Douglas
                                Mawson on the work of the Expedition in RSS
                                'Discovery' during the season 1929-30" and
Australia and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science. Report of the Twenty-second Meeting. Melbourne, 1935. pp. 1-37 "Presidential Address: The Unveiling of Antarctica" by Sir Douglas Mawson.
 
(7) Commonwealth of Australia. Gazette No. 15, 16 March 1933, p. 365  
(8) Commonwealth of Australia . Parliamentary Debates 23-24 Geo. V. Vol. 139 pp. 149-1958
 
(9) Commonwealth of Australia. Gazette, No. 70, 24 August, 1936, p. 1553
 
Further Sources:
 
Mawson, P. Mawson of the Antarctic - the life of Sir Douglas Mawson.           Longmans, London 1964.
Swan, R. A. Australia in the Antarctic - interest, activity and endeavour.
          M.U.P. Melbourne, 1961.
 

Historical agency address
Antarctica(Approx between long. 45deg-85deg E and lat. 64deg.-68deg.S)
Legislation administered
Royal Commission on ir Douglas Mawson, 25 July 1929 Royal Commission for Sir Douglas Mawson 1929