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Alert workers at Antarctica New Zealand have tipped their Australian counterparts off to a bid to sell artefacts stolen from a historic hut on the frozen continent.
A spoon used by Australian explorer Sir Douglas Mawson and two planks of wood carrying the Australian Antarctic Exploration insignia were listed for auction at New York's Swann Art Gallery this year.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that Antarctica NZ was told of the items, which disappeared from Mawson's Hut in 1971, and contacted Australian authorities to arrange for their return.
