The New Zealand Antarctic Medal was created 1 September 2006, as a New Zealand Royal Honour to replace the British Polar Medal

Polar Medal

The Polar Medal is a medal awarded by the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It was instituted in 1857 as the Arctic Medal and renamed the Polar Medal in 1904.-History:...

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History

The Polar Medal was instituted in 1904 and awarded to those who had made notable contributions to the exploration and knowledge of Polar Regions and who, in doing so, had undergone the hazards and rigors imposed by the Polar environment to life and movement, whether by land, sea or air.

In 1995, the Prime Minister’s Honours Advisory Committee recommended that the Polar Medal should be created under a New Zealand Royal Warrant. It also recommended that it should be renamed as “The Antarctic Medal” to reflect the fact that it is in relation to Antarctica that New Zealand’s endeavors and achievements have been made. The New Zealand Antarctic Medal was formally instituted by The Queen on 1 September 2006.

Eligibility

The New Zealand Antarctic Medal may be awarded to those New Zealanders and other persons who either individually or as members of a New Zealand mission in the Antarctic region have made an outstanding contribution to exploration, scientific research, conservation, environmental protection, or knowledge of the Antarctic region; or in support of New Zealand’s objectives or operations, or both, in the Antarctic region. The Medal will not be awarded for acts of bravery, for short-term acts of extreme endurance, for long service or for service in Antarctica generally.

Recipients

As of 31 December 2009, nine individuals have received the medal.

• Professor John D. Bradshaw
• Dr. Karl Erb
• Dr. Clive Howard-Williams
• Dr. Frederick J. Davey
• Dr. Timothy G. Haskell
• Professor Peter J. Barrett
  Peter Barrett (researcher)
  Peter Barrett is a geologist who first rose to fame for discovering the first tetrapod fossils in Antarctica in 1967.Barrett first went to the Antarctica with the University of Wisconsin in 1962, but it was during his PhD with the Institute of Polar Studies at Ohio State University in 1966 and 1968...
  
  
• Dr. David L. Harrowfield
• Professor Timothy R. Naish
• Mr Alexander R. Pyne