In 1975, Christchurch 3M technician Karl Marshall answered the phone on a Monday morning and, by Friday, found himself at the South Pole repairing a 3M 209 photocopier.
Fifty years later, Karl’s extraordinary journey has inspired 209 Antarctic Connections — a growing collection of the stories that connect people to the Ice.
Now the producers are collecting your pages.
Perhaps you have filmed or photographed on the Ice, contributed to an Antarctic production, documented an expedition, worked alongside Antarctic scientists, inherited a family story or discovered another unexpected connection.
Your story might be a single moment, a friendship, a photograph, a journey or simply the way Antarctica found its way into your life. You don’t need to have travelled there yourself.
Ordinary or extraordinary, there is a page for you.
The collection will be displayed beneath Ferrymead’s historic US Navy LC-47 aircraft during the Christchurch Heritage Festival. Everyone is warmly invited to the opening celebration at 2pm on Saturday 17 October at Ferrymead Heritage Park.
209 Antarctic Connections has grown from the project The Visitors Book, awarded Best New Zealand Immersive Impact Project at Doc Edge 2025. The work explores what happens when audiences no longer sit back and watch a story unfold, but step across its threshold, contribute something of themselves and become part of it.
Share your page at www.rewarendall.com/209 or contact Rewa at rewa@rewarendall.com.