Mr Colin Monteath, of Christchurch, New Zealand Antarctic Medal for services to Antarctic field support, archival preservation, literature and photography
Colin Monteath has contributed to Antarctica in the areas of tourism and library services and as a researcher, photographer and author, since being awarded a Queen’s Service Medal for his contributions to the Mt Erebus 1979 air crash recovery operation. After working for the New Zealand Antarctic Research Programme as Field Operations Officer from 1973 to 1983, Mr Monteath established his reference library on Antarctic and Arctic books and archival material, which is now New Zealand’s most extensive polar library. He assists authors and publishers both nationally and internationally with information and historic images, and his library is used by researchers, expeditioners, and the University of Canterbury. He is a Life Member of the New Zealand Antarctica Society and is recognised internationally as a leading authority on Antarctica, with his work spanning 51 years. He has advocated for and promoted conservation practices, as well as safety and security practices. He has been a photographer and author/co-author for numerous book projects, including ‘Wild Ice – Antarctic Journeys’ (1990), ‘Vanishing Wilderness of Antarctica’ (2010) and his award-winning 2023 book ‘Erebus the Ice Dragon – A Portrait of an Antarctic Volcano’. Notably he was principal photographer for the 1985 Reader’s Digest book ‘Antarctica’ and his Antarctic photographs have since been published in dozens of polar books. From 1983 to 2020 Mr Monteath worked as an expedition leader, lecturer and guide for various polar cruise and adventure companies.