Bust of Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen finds fitting home on Hobart’s waterfront

AN under-appreciated bust of Roald Amundsen, the Norwegian explorer who led the first successful expedition to the South Pole, has finally been given a home on Hobart’s waterfront.

Norway's Ambassador to Australia Unni Klovstad unveils a bust of Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen in Hobart. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

AN under-appreciated bust of Roald Amundsen, the Norwegian explorer who led the first successful expedition to the South Pole, has finally been given a home on Hobart’s waterfront.

Norwegian Ambassador Unni Klovstad joined former Australian Antarctic Division chief scientist Pat Quilty at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies Salamanca building to unveil the bust, which had been delivered from Norway in 1988.

The sculpture will remind Tasmanians of Amundsen’s dramatic visit to Hobart on March 7, 1912.

Professor Quilty said Amundsen, returning from the South Pole aboard the Polar Ship Fram, had “avoided New Zealand” because it was “closely associated” with his UK rival Robert Scott, who died around March 29, along with the rest of his party, after reaching the South Pole 34 days after Amundsen.

He said for about three days Amundsen had been “treated as a tramp and given a back room” at Hobart’s Hadley’s Hotel until a telegraph message from Norway authorised him to tell the world about his expedition’s success.

Suddenly Amundsen found himself popular in Hobart, with a ceremony at St David’s Cathedral held in his honour.

Originally published as Bust of Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen finds fitting home on Hobart’s waterfront