 During the 1980s , it became increasingly important for the Government of Norway to have a permanent base in Queen Maud Land . The area had been annexed as a dependency on 14 January 1939 , at the time mainly based on Norwegian whaling interests in the Antarctic . From 1956 , Norway operated the research station Norway Station , but this was given to South Africa in 1959 . From the 1960s through the 1980s , Norway 's research activities in Antarctica were sporadic and without a fixed base . This gave the advantage that the research was not bound geographically , but it weakened the Norwegian claim for Queen Maud Land and the right to participate as a consultative member of the Antarctic Treaty . In 1989 , any party to the Treaty could ask for it to be renegotiated , and Norwegian authorities saw the need for a permanent base to strengthen Norway 's claim to Queen Maud Land . 
