International Polar Year (IPY) is a scientific program sponsored by the International Council for Science and the World Meteorological Organisation. March 2007 to March 2008 was chosen as the fourth IPY and and as a result the Royal Australian Mint released this uncirculated dollar piece. The reverse was designed by W. Pietranik and features a map of Antarctica along with an image of the SY Aurora which was used in Mawson's Antarctic Expedition. The reverse legend states "AUSTRALIAN ANTARCTIC TERRITORY - INTERNATIONAL POLAR YEAR 2007 - 2008" with the denomination "1 DOLLAR". The obverse features the Ian Rank-Broadley portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II with the legend "ELIZABETH II AUSTRALIA 2007".
The First International Polar Year occurred between 1882 and 1883 after a Austro-Hungarian naval officer pushed for a coordinated scientific research on Antarctica. Twelve nations took place in the event with twelve stations in the Arctic and two in the sub-Antarctic. The event was repeated in 1932-1933, 1957-58 and 2007-2008. The most recent event was an enormous event featuring 228 separate projects in addition to numerous related national projects.