Many of us are familiar with Sir Douglas Mawson, the man responsible for the legacy of scientific knowledge of the Antarctic region since the 1910s and Chair of the South Australian Museum Board from 1951-1958.

The gallery also tells the story of Sir Hubert Wilkins, who carried out the first aerial exploration of Antarctica in the 1920s, and John Riddoch Rymill, who won several medals for his survey work in the Antarctic during the 1930s.

Funding to renew the gallery in 2017 was generously donated by the Mawson Collection Trust, which is made up of descendants of the late Sir Douglas Mawson, and through a public appeal.