Diana Patterson (born c.1951) was the first woman to be in charge of an

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

Station.

Career

Patterson originally trained as a physical education teacher. She had to persevere to join the Antarctic team. She applied four times before she was accepted. She first went to the Antarctic in 1987. By this time only ten Australian women had spent a winter there. She first worked at

Casey Station Casey Station, commonly called Casey, is one of three permanent stations and research outposts in Antarctica managed by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). Casey lies on the northern side of the Bailey Peninsula (Antarctica), Bailey Peninsu ...

which is one of three operated by Australia. She was in charge of

Mawson Station The Mawson Station, commonly called Mawson, is one of three permanent bases and research outposts in Antarctica managed by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). Mawson lies in Holme Bay in Mac. Robertson Land, East Antarctica in the Austra ...

for a year and she became the first woman to lead an Australian Antarctic Station. After she retired Patterson would guide Antarctic tourists including a visit to Mawson Station. Twenty years after her leadership, Patterson took the hint of tourists who told her she should write a book. She shared a cabin on a trip with a person who ensured that she started, "The Ice Beneath My Feet: My Year In Antarctica". The book was published in 2012.

References

Australian Antarctic scientists 1951 births Living people Women Antarctic scientists Australian women writers {{Australia-scientist-stub