What others said about Joseph van Waterschoot van der Gracht, Dutch explorer, balloon commander, geologist, penguin enthusiast and painter on Douglas Mawson’s Australasian Antarctic Expedition 1912-1913:
“He is a highly skilled geologist, and also an artist and photographer of exceptional ability.”
– David Orme Masson, a member of the AAE Advisory Committee
“… a very fine fellow…”
– John George Hunter, Main Base, Australasian Antarctic Expedition
“… I have written to Prof. Masson suggesting that Mr. Van der Gracht, a very clever Dutch geologist, should be taken on the trip when you go down to fetch Mawson.”
– Sir Ernest Shackleton
“Mawson regarded him as a con-man and did not like his paintings.”
– David Francis Branagan, Associate Professor of Geology,
Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Sydney
