We the undersigned, having been made aware of the proposals for the establishment of a centre of excellence at Ancanthe, including the preservation and restoration of the original structure, botanical gardens, a "Franklin Trail" over Mount Wellington, and a venue for public events, wish to add our support to such a plan, and believe that it would be a great cultural asset and site of international historical and cultural significance, as well as preserving the environmental and historic context of Lady Franklin's original establishment of Ancanthe. We believe Sir John and Lady Franklin to be persons of significant and lasting importance to the history of polar exploration and Victorian culture and society, as evidence the hundreds of scholarly books written on them, including more than twenty novels by authors from Germany, Canada, England, Ireland, Australia, and the United States in the past two decades alone.