A former Victoria student has donated $1 million to the University’s Antarctic Research Centre, on the eve of the 50th anniversary of Victoria University of Wellington Antarctic Expeditions (VUWAE).

The donation from Alan Eggers – a member of the University’s 1975 Antarctic Expedition – is a significant boost for the Centre’s research on the ice, says Centre Director Professor Peter Barrett, and will help strengthen its research into the history and behaviour of the Antarctic ice sheet, in the face of global warming.

A Victoria geology graduate, Mr Eggers says he is delighted to be able to “give something back” to the University for his time on the ice.

A mining geologist for more than 30 years, Mr Eggers was managing director of Australian-based uranium mining company Summit Resources until his resignation last month.

He sold his Summit shares in a deal worth more than $85 million, earlier this year.

Victoria’s Antarctic expeditions began on December 30, 1957, when two third-year geology students stepped off the H.M.N.Z.S. Endeavour – equipped with WWII field gear for warmth – and hitched a helicopter ride with biologist Ron Balham to the unexplored McMurdo Dry Valleys.

Their mapping and reporting from that season formed the basis for the annual Victoria University Antarctic Expeditions (VUWAE) that continue to this day.

Since the historic first expedition, VUWAEs have taken more than 250 staff and students to Antarctica.