Antarctic Place-NamesPlease note: this page has been archived and is kept available for historical interest. The information here, while accurate at the time, is now not current. For the latest information, please check our home page, try a search, or contact us.
The Australian Antarctic Names and Medals Committee (AANMC) is the official authority on names in the Australian Antarctic Territory and Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands. The Committee is responsible for the investigation and acceptance or rejection of all names proposals. Names provisionally accepted by AANMC are subject to confirmation by the Minister or Parliamentary Secretary responsible for Antarctic administration before being officially recognised.
Names for Macquarie Island are considered by AANMC and then referred with recommendations to the Nomenclature Board of Tasmania.
Criteria
In general, names proposals are considered by AANMC having regard to the following criteria:
- Priority of discovery
- Consideration of circumstances of publication of any previous name(s) for the feature
- Significance of the feature
- Position of the feature - both absolute, and relative to other features
- Suitability of the proposed name
- Appropriateness of the proposed name with particular regard to euphony and elegance (what it sounds like and what it looks like)
Where a name is proposed, it should NOT be used until it has been considered by AANMC and a decision has been made by the Minister or Parliamentary Secretary. If necessary, an interim arrangement would be to give the feature a reference number - e.g. Nunatak 13.
Names proposals with accompanying background information may be recommended by following the procedures and completing the Antarctic Names Proposal form.
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