[1] It was created to care for sites important to the history of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration located in the Ross Sea region of Antarctica.
AHT-NZ patrons include the Governor General of New Zealand, and before his death Sir Edmund Hillary.
The Trust is governed by a board of trustees that represent a number of international agencies and organisations.
Currently the AHT-NZ is engaged in the "Ross Sea Heritage Restoration Project" which was launched by The Princess Royal in Antarctica in 2002.
In December 2013, the trust found 22 relatively intact negatives at the Scott site, left by the Shackleton expedition, some of which showed McMurdo Sound landmarks.