Sir Douglas Mawson’s Expedition, judged by the magnitude both of its scale and of its achievements, was the greatest and most consummate expedition that ever sailed for Antarctica. The expeditions of Scott and Shackleton were great, and Amundsen’s venture was the finest Polar reconnaissance ever made; but each of these must yield the premier position, when fairly compared with Mawson’s magnificently conceived and executed scheme of exploration.

J. Gordon Hayes’s assessment in 1928