We're proud to showcase the diverse bunch of ambassadors that use Ōtautahi Christchurch as their gateway to the ice. Each with a unique Antarctic story behind them.
Christchurch Antarctic Gateway
Our connection to Antarctica is not just about geographic location — it's about people and purpose.
They work in logistics and manufacturing. They're scientists and researchers. Pilots. Engineers. Chefs. Innovators. Inspiring young explorers. They're all kinds of people.
After 45 years as a primary school teacher and principal, Bu Windsor now sparks curiosity as the Education Coordinator at the International Antarctic Centre.
Life on the ice researching how changes in Antarctica will affect New Zealand and the entire planet.
NASA's GUSTO mission, short for Galactic/Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory, has an out of this world mission.
For more than 70 years, Christchurch has played a key role in global Antarctic collaboration. We’ve built up world-leading expertise, infrastructure, and a reputation for delivering Antarctic logistics and science better than anywhere else.
Christchurch has been the final port of call for some amazing polar explorers throughout history.
Find out more about our Antarctic pioneers and contemporary champions.
Born in Akaroa and raised in Christchurch, Frank Worsley was a daring adventurer from the start. He captained Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance during the legendary 1914–17 Antarctic expedition. When their ship was crushed by ice, Worsley’s extraordinary navigation skills saved the crew – sailing a tiny lifeboat over 1,300km of freezing ocean using just a sextant, the sun and the stars. He then helped trek across South Georgia to raise the alarm. Every man survived.
Worsley’s courage, precision, and unshakeable spirit turned disaster into one of the greatest survival stories of all time. Today, he’s remembered as one of New Zealand’s true Antarctic heroes – with strong ties to both Akaroa and Christchurch, where his legacy continues to inspire new generations of explorers.
A pioneering geologist and polar explorer, Dr Margaret Bradshaw was the first woman to lead a deep field science party in Antarctica. Based at Canterbury Museum, she first visited the ice in 1975 to collect fossils for a new Antarctic Hall. Over three decades, she led six expeditions from Christchurch, venturing up to 1,200km from Scott Base.
Bradshaw’s discoveries – including the first Devonian fish fossils found in Antarctica – reshaped scientific understanding of the continent’s ancient ecosystems. A specialist in 400-million-year-old rocks and trace fossils, she helped map Antarctica’s prehistoric story. Awarded the Queen’s Polar Medal, she also served as President of the NZ Antarctic Society. Today, an Antarctic peak and science lab bear her name – honouring a true trailblazer in polar science.
Christchurch filmmaker Vanessa Wells brings Antarctica’s stories to life on screen. Her award-winning documentary Mighty Indeed follows three generations of women scientists – Dr Natalie Robinson, Jacqui Stuart, and Prof Pat Langhorne – whose research into sea ice sheds light on climate change and its global impacts.
Vanessa travelled to Scott Base in 2019 through Antarctica New Zealand’s Community Engagement Programme. Through film, she captures the wonder, challenges, and human spirit of Antarctic exploration – helping audiences connect with a continent few will ever visit, but all have a stake in protecting. Mighty Indeed won Best New Zealand Feature and Best Director at Doc Edge, an Academy Awards-qualifying festival for documentary filmmaking.
Professor Matthew Stott from the University of Canterbury studies extremophiles – microbes that thrive in the harshest environments on Earth. On Antarctica’s Mt Erebus, a steaming volcano surrounded by ice, he collects heat-loving microbes from soils reaching 70°C, while air temperatures can plunge to -40°C. In collaboration with scientists from New Zealand and the US, his team uses clever “halfway houses” to help these elusive microbes grow, revealing how life survives against the odds.
From sunlight-dependent organisms enduring polar winters to microbes feeding on metals, their work could unlock secrets of early Earth – and hint at what life might look like on other planets. It’s cutting-edge Antarctic science, with its roots right here in Christchurch.