Karl Marshall
The Man Behind the Machine

In 1975, a technician named Karl Marshall received an unusual service call.

The 3M 209 Automatic Copier stationed at the South Pole Station had broken down. It wasn’t just any copier. It was the lifeline of duplication at the bottom of the Earth, and its failure had brought operations to a standstill.

Karl, an unassuming man from New Zealand with a soft heart and a sharp mind, answered the call. Within days, he was on a Hercules transport plane, heading into the ice.

Wearing borrowed boots and carrying only his tools and wits, Karl made the journey few ever would. He fixed the machine. He left quietly. And for nearly 50 years, the story sat frozen in time.

Until now.

The 3M 209 Automatic Copier has returned.

Frozen, preserved, and humming once more with memory, the machine has been brought back to life to tell its story. It now stands as a centrepiece of The Visitors Book exhibition at Doc Edge 2025.

Come See It In Person Friday 28 June – Sunday 14 July 2025 The Silo, Auckland

Step into the story. Witness the moment a technician’s quiet act of service became part of an Antarctic legacy.

“I went to work to fix a copier — I didn’t expect to reach the South Pole.  I said yes, and here I am.”

— Karl Marshall, 3M Technician & accidental South Pole explorer.