Douglas Mawson | |
|---|---|
 Mawson in 1914 | |
| Born | (1882-05-05)5 May 1882 Shipley,West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 14 October 1958(1958-10-14) (aged 76) Brighton, South Australia, Australia |
| Education | Fort Street Model School University of Sydney (B.E., 1902;B.Sc. 1905) University of Adelaide (D.Sc., 1909) |
| Occupation(s) | Geologist,Antarctic explorer,academic |
| Known for |
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| Spouse(s) | Francisca Paquita Delprat (1891–1974), married 1914 |
| Children |
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| Awards |
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Sir Douglas MawsonOBE FRSFAA (5 May 1882 – 14 October 1958) was an Australiangeologist,Antarctic explorer, and academic. He is known for being a key expedition leader during theHeroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, along withRoald Amundsen,Robert Falcon Scott, and SirErnest Shackleton (with whom he undertook theNimrod Expedition in 1907–1909). However most of his geological work was undertaken inSouth Australia, in particular thePrecambrian rocks of theFlinders Ranges.
Mawson was born in England and was brought to Australia as an infant. He completed degrees inmining engineering and geology at theUniversity of Sydney, after which he was appointed lecturer inpetrology andmineralogy at theUniversity of Adelaide in 1906. From 1903 onwards he undertook significant geological exploration, including an expedition to theNew Hebrides (nowVanuatu) in 1903, and later in the Flinders Ranges and far north-east of South Australia and over the border nearBroken Hill inNew South Wales. He was interested in the commercial applications of geology, in particular the radioactive minerals being used in medical applications in the early 1900s. He identified and first described the mineraldavidite in 1906, and later became an expert in thegeochemistry ofigneous andmetamorphic rocks. Much of his later work was focused on the Precambrian rocksAdelaide Superbasin (which included the Flinders andBarrier Ranges), where there are significantfossil beds showing the beginnings of animal life on Earth.
Mawson's first experience in the Antarctic came as a member of Shackleton'sNimrod Expedition (1907–1909), alongside his geologist lecturer and mentorEdgeworth David. They were part of a group which became the first to climbMount Erebus in March 1908. Mawson, David, andAlistair Mackay formed the expedition's northern party, which later, setting off in October 1908, became the first people to attain theSouth magnetic pole. After his participation in Shackleton's expedition, Mawson became the principal instigator and leader of theAustralasian Antarctic Expedition (1911–1914). The expedition explored thousands of kilometres of previously unexplored regions, collected geological andbotanical samples, and made important scientific observations. Mawson was the sole survivor of the three-manFar Eastern Party in 1912–3, which travelled across theMertz andNinnis Glaciers, named after his two deceased companions. Their deaths forced him to travel alone for over a month to return to the expedition's main base, which became known asMawson's Huts. Mawson's account of the expedition was published in 1915 asThe Home of the Blizzard.
Mawson was knighted in 1914, and during the second half of World War I worked as a non-combatant with the British and Russian militaries. He returned to the University of Adelaide in 1919 and became a full professor in 1921, contributing much to Australian geology.
He returned to the Antarctic as the leader of theBritish Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (aka BANZARE, 1929–1931), which led to a territorial claim in the form of theAustralian Antarctic Territory. The two long summer voyages were also noteworthy for the majoroceanographic as well as terrestrial collections.
Mawson is commemorated by numerous landmarks, and from 1984 to 1996 appeared on theAustralian $100 note.
Douglas Mawson was born on 5 May 1882,[1] the second son of Robert Ellis Mawson and Margaret Ann Moore (who was from theIsle of Man[2]). He was born inShipley,West Riding of Yorkshire, but was under the age of two when his family emigrated to Australia and settled atRooty Hill, now in thewestern suburbs of Sydney.[3] Elder brother William[4] was around two years older.[5]
In 1893 the family moved to the inner-Sydney suburb ofGlebe,[3] where they lived in a double-storey Victorian house at 28 Toxteth Road. The home was nominated for aBlue Plaque in 2021.[6] Douglas first attended Plumpton Public School (then called Woodstock,[5] and later known as Plumpton Primary School) inPlumpton, an outer western suburb of Sydney,[7][8] along with his brother William.[5] They both attended Forest Lodge Superior Public School in Glebe,[9][5] and thenFort Street Model School inObservatory Hill, Sydney,[3] both graduating in 1898, despite the age difference.[10][11] It was at Fort Street that Mawson developed his interest in geology.[11]
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He entered theUniversity of Sydney in March 1899,[12] aged just 16,[13] the same year as his brother.[11] Douglas enrolled in a degree inmining engineering. His studies covered a number of subjects over the three-year degree, obtainingfirst class honours in geology andmineralogy in his second year, and winning a prize inpetrology.[14] He graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering degree in mining andmetallurgy on 19 April 1902[12] with second-class honours.[15] Even before graduating, he was appointed as a junior demonstrator inchemistry, with the approval of chemistry professorArchibald Liversidge, and with geologistEdgeworth David as his referee.[12] Both men became major influences in his geological career.[3]
He returned to study at Sydney University in 1904,[3][1] graduating with aBachelor of Science degree with first-class honours in geology and mineralogy on 6 May 1905.[15][16] By the time he graduated, he had already completed fieldwork for two papers, first inMittagong, New South Wales, and then theNew Hebrides (Vanuatu).[17]
In 1909, Mawson was awarded aDoctor of Science (DSc) degree at theUniversity of Adelaide, for his thesis about the geology of theBarrier Ranges,[3] in theOlary area in South Australia and over the border inNew South Wales.[18]
In 1903 Mawson published a geological paper onMittagong, New South Wales, with fellow science student and friendThomas Griffith Taylor, based on jointfield trips done over the course of around 18 months, and building on data created by the Geological Survey of New South Wales. Their study focused onigneous rocks, in particular their chemical composition.[17] The paper was read at theRoyal Society of New South Wales in October 1903 byEdgeworth David.[19][20]
Mawson's first major independent geological work occurred when he was appointed geologist by Edgeworth David to an expedition to theNew Hebrides (nowVanuatu) from April to September 1903. He travelled there with medical student W. T. Quaife, who acted as the expedition's biologist,[a] aboard theYsabel, under the auspices of the British Deputy Commissioner of the New Hebrides, Captain Ernest Rason.[b]HMSArcher was also used on the trip. TheSouth Australian Museum holds many of Mawson's original field notes and some photographs from this trip, as well as a bibliography compiled by Mawson before setting out.[14] The first results of the expedition were presented on 11 January 1904 at a meeting of theAustralasian Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) inDunedin on Mawson's behalf by David, who was then president of the AAAS.[14] Mawson's more detailed report, "The Geology of the New Hebrides", published in theProceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales in December 1905,[23][14] was one of the first major geological works ofMelanesia.[20] The report included geological maps of the islands ofEfate andSanto.[14]
In 1904, Mawson and chemist/physicistT. H. Laby were the first to identifyradium-bearing ore in Australia,[18] in samples ofmonazite collected from thePilbara inWestern Australia. They also examined other samples collected from acrossNew South Wales, including theBarrier Ranges, not far fromOlary, South Australia, where uranium was identified a couple of years later.[24][18] Mawson built anelectroscope based on the design ofC. T. R. Wilson in Sydney University engineering laboratory to test samples from their field trips. Professor Edgeworth David made the formal presentation of their paper describing their findings to theRoyal Society of New South Wales on 5 October 1904 on the men's behalf.[12][25][26][27]
In 1905 Mawson became a lecturer inpetrology andmineralogy at theUniversity of Adelaide.[3] During this time, thanks to the freerail pass given to him by the government for the purpose of geological research, he travelled by train around the state of South Australia (SA). By 1907, he had been toKangaroo Island, theFlinders Ranges, to the southern tips of theYorke andEyre Peninsulas, as well as an area between the small town in the far east of SA,Olary, andBroken Hill, over the border inNew South Wales. He explored the Olary-Broken Hill area on horseback and by motorbike. He also accompanied groups of students on field trips, and had to plan transport and provisions for hot days and some very cold nights in the desert. He wrote extensive diaries detailing his trips in thesemi-arid areas, which have been transcribed by volunteers at theSouth Australian Museum.[28] In 1906, Government GeologistH. Y. L. Brown concluded that Mawson was undertaking commercial activities in conjunction with his academic activities at Elder's Rock, and withdrew his rail pass for a while.[17]
Mawson was always interested in commercial applications of geology.[18][28] After the discovery of uranium materials at near Olary, a "uranium rush" followed, in order to extract the mineral for commercial applications, at that time. Commercial interest in uranium rose afterMarie Curie's research and the application ofradioactivity in medicine.[18] Mawson exhibited a collection of radioactive minerals, includingcarnotite from Olary, at a meeting of theRoyal Society of South Australia on 7 August 1906. On 4 September of that year,[18] Mawson identified and first described the mineraldavidite, which containstitanium anduranium,[12][3] at the Olary site, which he namedRadium Hill. The site was developed by the Radium Hill Company, but closed in 1914 with the start of World War I. Mawson maintained an interest in Radium Hill throughout his life, in particular davidite.[18] It was the first major find of radioactive ore in Australia.[2]
After pastoralist and prospectorW. B. Greenwood[c] sent rocks that he had found nearMount Painter, in the northern Flinders Ranges, in October/November 1910 for analysis, Mawson identified the mineraltorbernite, a secondary mineral that occurs in uranium-bearing rocks.[17][32][33] Greenwood had previously sent samples to the government in 1899, a year after radium had been discovered byMarie andPierre Curie in France. However, government geologistHenry Y. L. Brown was away on leave when the specimens arrived, and they subsequently went missing. After Greenwood sent more samples in 1910, Brown was dismissive of their value, but Mawson, having recently visited Marie Curie inParis, and been urged to look for radium, thought the samples were worth analysis. He used agold-leaf electroscope given to him by Curie for the purpose[32] (one of two she had made).[33] Mawson visited the area and wrote a report which was published in newspapers in late November 1910.[34][35] His diary of his trip to Mount Painter andMount Gee dated October 1910 shows that his expedition members included the "well-known prospector still in the Govt Service" Harry Fabian, who met him atMt Serle with camels; W. B. Greenwood; his son Gordon Arthur "Smiler" Greenwood;[d] and (for at least some of the trip) H. Y. L. Brown. The group travelled to Mt Painter, and visited a number of sites, including the Mount Rose Mine, Mueller Hill, Yankaninna, and the Wheal Turner Mine. In his overview written on the back of the diary, Mawson notes a number of different types of rock of the Cambrian and Precambrian before describing the torbanite,carnotite, and uranium, as possibly "the most extensive uraniferouslode formation in the world". They also looked atcorundum atYudnamutana as well as a much larger strike of the same mineral on Mount Painter, which "may turn out enormous", and studied the rocks atMt Gee andRadium Ridge. Mawson took numerous photographs of the sites and expedition members.[36]Mawson became involved in the establishment of a development company, theRadium Extraction Company of South Australia Ltd (in which Greenwood also bought shares[18]). He was optimistic about the value of the mine, but sold his shares in the company in 1911 in order to help finance theAustralasian Antarctic Expedition,[17] and in 1917 the company was liquidated after not achieving success.[18] Mawson maintained a lifelong interest in uranium, which included the publication of a paper on uranium deposits in South Australia in 1944.[17][37]
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In March 1906, he wrote his first report on the geology of South Australia, and specifically of the Flinders Ranges, which he later revisited many times.[38] The short handwritten report was submitted to thestate government in March 1906, based on his first visit to the Flinders Ranges withWalter Howchin and Thomas Griffith Taylor in February 1906.[38] It was titled "Notes on the Geological Features of the Beltana District", and was not published until 2007.[e] It described the geology of the area around Beltana, and the abandonedAjax Copper Mine (now the heritage-listed and world-famous Ajax Mine Fossil Reef),[38] located nearPuttapa, apastoral lease around 10 mi (16 km) north of Beltana.[39] Mawson's report is a technical description of the mine and its activity, and also discusses the geology of the copper mineralisation and its relationship with the limestone bearing theArchaeocyatha (marine sponge) fossils (about which Taylor later wrote a major monograph). The report shows his abiding interest in the Cambrian right from the beginning of his career. He later returned to do major research on the Cambrian in the Flinders, building on Howchin's work, publishing important papers in the 1930s.[38][40]
Also in 1906, while in Adelaide, he published a substantial and detailed study focused on thesyenites of theBowral Quarries in New South Wales. This was a follow-up to his earlier work with Taylor at Mittagong (1903).[17] In January 1907, Mawson was responsible for organising the geological section of a meeting of the AAAS in Adelaide, and presented a paper about theBarrier Ranges, near Broken Hill.[17] As part of the conference, as reported by Howchin, Mawson participated, along with Howchin, T. Griffith Taylor, Walter Woolnough, and 16 others, in a five-day excursion dubbed "Scientific Trip of Governor Macquarie to Spencer Gulf". The ship visitedKangaroo Island as well asNeptune,Williams, andThistle Islands, proceeded toPort Lincoln and then returned toPort Adelaide after stopping off atWedge Island. Later that year, Mawson visited theAustralian Alps with T. Griffith Taylor and W.T. Quaife, who had accompanied him on his New Hebridean expedition two years prior.[17]
Mawson's early work shows two major interests: an academic interest in ancient glacial rocks, and the commercial possibilities of mining certain minerals.[17] The focus of his early geological work was thePrecambrian rocks of the Barrier Ranges, which run from the northern Flinders Ranges in South Australia northwards through Broken Hill. There are several types of rock along the ranges, with varying degrees ofmineralisation. He identified two groups: an olderArchaean ("Willyama") Series, and a newer,Proterozoic ("Torrowangee") Series. His work in this area was reported in his 1909 D.Sc. thesis, and he subsequently published "Geological investigations in the Broken Hill area",[3] in 1912, co-authored by English geologistWalter Howchin.[41] His work on theglacial sediments of the Precambrian Age in SA and around Broken Hill led him to want to investigate the glaciers of Antarctica, and his later trips there, studying how they move and deposit sediment, increased his understanding of how the rocks formed in SA millions of years earlier.[28]
Until 1913 he was largely occupied with Antarctic expeditions, and only returned to geological research in Australia in 1922.[18] He did complete his doctorate after returning from Shackleton'sNimrod Expedition and completing his studies in the Broken Hill area, and was awarded aD.Sc. at the University of Adelaide in 1909 for his thesis about the geology of the Barrier Ranges.[3][17]
Mawson served in a scientific capacity from May 1916 in the BritishMinistry of Munitions, first as embarkation officer for shipments of explosives and poison gas from Britain to Russia. He then worked for a Russian military agency,[f] reporting on British production of high explosives with the aim of increasing Russian production. After theRussian Revolution in 1917, he was transferred to theCommission Internationale de Ravitaillement, as amajor.[3]
Returning to theUniversity of Adelaide in 1919,[1] after the retirement of Howchin in 1920,[40] Mawson was promoted to the professorship of geology andmineralogy in 1921, a position held until his retirement in 1952.[1] He built an effective teaching and research department, with students always involved infield work.[2]
Along withCecil Madigan and their students, Mawson made significant contribution to the knowledge about the Cambrian.[40] During these 30 years, much of his research was focused on theAdelaide Superbasin (formerly known as Adelaide Geosyncline and Adelaide Rift Complex) of Precambrian rocks, especially in the northern Flinders Ranges. He showed thatglacial beds extended for 930 mi (1,500 km), and also that glacial conditions existed on and off throughout theProterozoic period. During this time he did a lot offield work with students, sometimes usinghorse and cart or camels as transport.[3] In August 1924, Mawson undertook fieldwork as part of his teaching and research programme in the northern Flinders Ranges, which led the discovery of an extensive Cambrianoutcrop nearMt McKinlay in theGammon Ranges.[40]
His geological excursions and research into the Cambrian were interrupted by work and travel relating to another polar expedition,BANZARE, which took place from 1929 to 1931. After completing the work relating to BANZARE, Mawson once again took up and expanded his research into the Cambrian in the late 1930s, with some assistance from his students.[40] He published studies in 1937,[g] 1938, and 1939, and a sketch map in 1942. In his studies, he included measuredsections of parts of the Flinders Ranges, showing the Cambrian layers of rock.[40]
He was also interested in thegeochemistry of igneous and metamorphic rocks, the geological significance ofalgae, and other topics. His reputation meant that specialists around the world were happy to provide assistance in his descriptions of rocks and fossils which he had collected both in Australia and Antarctica.[3]
Another area of interest for Mawson waspetroleum geology, in particular researchingcoorongite, a substance first found in 1852 atSalt Creek onthe Coorong, and othersapropelic deposits in the area. Some observers thought that this was formed by oil seepage, owing to its viscous nature and combustibility, but it was determined by scientists that coorongite had its origin in a type of alga calledBotryococcus braunii. Mawson's diaries[h] show that he did extensive field work in the Coorong and atLake Albert (the first geologist to visit the latter site) in January 1938, February 1940, and January 1941, although only published one study in 1938.[43][44] His personal correspondence also shows an interest in oil. Mawson's collection at the South Australian Museum also includes a sample of crude oil fromOil Creek, nearTitusville, Pennsylvania, United States, although there is no indication of how he came by it. This oil, discovered byEdwin Drake, was the first discovery of unconventional crude oil in the world, and the first commercially successfuloil well in the US when it opened in 1859.[43] After his retirement from teaching in 1952,[3] in 1954 Mawson was appointed as an inaugural director of the new oil companySantos (South Australia and Northern Territory Oil Search), but resigned very soon afterwards due to ill-health, becoming an honorary consultant to the company.[43]
While still undertaking his doctorate,[13] Mawson joinedErnest Shackleton'sNimrod Expedition (1907–1909; also known as the Third British Antarctic Expedition) to the Antarctic, as surveyor,cartographer, andmagnetician.[1][2] He was keen to learn more aboutglaciation and its effect on rocks, because his earlier studies in South Australia had looked at the largest Precambrian glacial deposits yet recorded anywhere.[3][2] Originally intending to stay only for the duration of the ship's presence in the first summer, instead both he and his mentor, Edgeworth David, stayed an extra year. In doing so they became, in the company ofAlistair Mackay and a support group of three men, the first to climb the summit ofMount Erebus (the second-highest volcanic peak in Antarctica, at 3,794 m (12,448 ft)[13]) and to trek to theSouth magnetic pole locality, which at that time was over land.[3][45][46] On the return journey toNimrod, Mawson fell into a crevasse and had to be rescued.[3][2]
During their stay, they also wrote, illustrated and printed the bookAurora Australis. Mawson contributed with the science fictionshort story "Bathybia".[47][48]
Mawson turned down an invitation to joinRobert Falcon Scott'sTerra Nova Expedition in 1910, as Scott showed no interest in Mawson doing scientific research on the expedition.[49] Instead, Australian geologistThomas Griffith Taylor went with Scott. Mawson chose to lead his own expedition, theAustralasian Antarctic Expedition (AAE),[3][50] toGeorge V Land andAdélie Land, the sector of the Antarctic continent immediately south of Australia, which at the time was almost entirely unexplored. The objectives were to carry out geographical exploration and scientific studies, including a visit to theSouth magnetic pole. Mawson raised the necessary funds in a year, from British and Australian Governments, and from commercial backers interested inmining andwhaling.[51][49] Over nearly three years, the group mapped the Antarctic coastline, explored other nearby locations such as thesubantarcticMacquarie Island, as well as voyaging inland for over 500 km (310 mi), collecting geological and scientific data.[13] Mawson had meant to return in February 1913, but owing to a series of mishaps during hisFar Eastern Party expedition and the loss of his companions, missed the returning boat, and was forced to spend another year there.[52]
The expedition used the shipSY Aurora commanded by CaptainJohn King Davis, who led an extensive programme ofmarine science from the ship. It departed fromHobart on 2 December 1911, landed atCape Denison (named afterHugh Denison, a major backer of the expedition) onCommonwealth Bay on 8 January 1912, and established the Main Base. A second camp was located to the west on the ice shelf inQueen Mary Land.[3] Cape Denison proved to be unrelentingly windy; the average wind speed for the entire year was about 50 mph (80 km/h), with some winds approaching 200 mph (320 km/h). They built a hut (now one ofMawson's Huts) on the rocky cape and wintered through nearly constantblizzards.[53] In his book published after the expedition,The Home of the Blizzard (1915), Mawson talked of "Herculean gusts" on 24 May 1912, which he learned afterwards "approached two hundred miles per hour".[54]: 94 Thesekatabatic winds can reach around 300 km/h (190 mph), and led Mawson to dub Cape Denison "the windiest place on Earth".[55][56]
Mawson wanted to do aerial exploration and brought the first"air tractor" to Antarctica. The aircraft, aVickers R.E.P. Type Monoplane, was to be flown byFrancis Howard Bickerton. When it was damaged in Australia shortly before the expedition departed, plans were changed, and it was to be used only as a tractor on skis. However, the engine did not operate well in the cold, and it was removed and returned toVickers in England. The aircraftfuselage itself was abandoned.[53] On 1 January 2009, fragments of it were rediscovered by theMawson's Huts Foundation, which works on restoring and conserving the original huts.[57]
Mawson's exploration program was carried out by five parties from the Main Base and two from the Western Base. Mawson himself was part of a three-man sledging team, the Far Eastern Party, withXavier Mertz andLieutenant Belgrave Ninnis, who headed east on 10 November 1912, to surveyGeorge V Land. After five weeks of excellent progress mapping the coastline and collecting geological samples, the party was crossing theNinnis Glacier 480 km (300 mi) east of the main base. Mertz was skiing and Mawson was on hissledge with his weight dispersed, but Ninnis was jogging beside the second sled. Ninnis fell through acrevasse, and his body weight is likely to have breached the snow bridge covering it. The six best dogs, most of the party's rations, their tent, and other essential supplies disappeared into the massive crevasse. Mertz and Mawson spotted one dead and one injured dog on a ledge 165 feet (50 m) below them, but Ninnis was never seen again.[58][3][59]
After a brief service, Mawson and Mertz turned back immediately. They had one week's provisions for two men and no dog food, but plenty of fuel and aPrimus stove. Their lack of provisions forced them to use their remainingsledge dogs to feed the other dogs and themselves:[60] There was a quick deterioration in the men's physical condition during this journey. Both men suffereddizziness;nausea;abdominal pain;irrationality; mucosal fissuring; skin, hair, and nail loss; and theyellowing of eyes and skin. Mertz began to deteriorate rapidly, withdiarrhoea and madness, eventually falling into a coma and dying on 8 January 1913.[61] It was unknown at the time that high levels ofvitamin A are toxic to humans, causingliver damage, and thathusky liver contains extremely high levels of Vitamin A.[62] Mawson himself also became very ill, with the soles of his feet becoming detached.[63]
Mawson cut his remaining sledge in half to make it lighter and easier to single man-haul, taking on the barest minimum equipment with him.[64][65] The half sledge is displayed in the South Australian Museum.[66]
He continued the final 160 kilometres (99 mi) alone and slowly, back to Main Base.[49] When he finally made it back toCape Denison, the shipAurora had left only a few hours before. It was recalled bywireless communication, only to have bad weather thwart the rescue effort. Mawson and six men who had remained behind to look for him wintered a second year until December 1913. In Mawson's bookHome of the Blizzard, he describes his experiences.[67][20] His party, and those at the Western Base, had explored large areas of the Antarctic coast, describing itsgeology,biology andmeteorology, and more closely defining the location of theSouth magnetic pole. They had covered around 4,000 mi (6,400 km).[3]
Upon his return Mawson gave public lectures, showing photographs and relating relating stories of the AAE, including atAdelaide Town Hall on 9 September 1914.[68] He also edited the 22 volumes of theA.A.E. Scientific Reports, the publication of which was finally completed .[3]
TheAustralian Government has published a website called "Home of the Blizzard: The Australasian Antarctic Experience".[69]
With the support of both theAustralian National Research Council and theAustralian Government, resulting from theImperial Conference 1926, Mawson led theBritish Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE) of 1929-30 and 1930–31.[3] This expedition used the shipDiscovery and did not establish land bases, instead focusing on data relating to geology, magnetism, zoology, and botany.[13] BANZARE resulted in the formation of theAustralian Antarctic Territory in 1936, by the enactment of theAustralian Antarctic Territory Acceptance Act 1933.[3]
The expedition also carried out extensive work inmarine science, with the examination and analysis of specimens carried out over the following 50 years by specialists all over the world, culminating in the 13-volumeB.A.N.Z.A.R.E. Scientific Reports,[3] with the last only published in 1975. The narrative of the BANZARE was written byArchibald Grenfell Price, working from Mawson's papers, and was published commercially byAngus & Robertson asThe winning of Australian Antarctica; Mawson's B.A.N.Z.A.R.E. voyages, 1929-31 in 1962.[70]
Mawson was Honorary Curator of Minerals for theSouth Australian Museum from 1907 to 1958, and also chair of the South Australian Museum Board of Governors from 1951 to 1958.[71]
In 1915, he represented the University of Adelaide at a conference convened by prime ministerBilly Hughes in order to establish[72] the Advisory Council of Science and Industry, which was the predecessor of theCommonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).[73][74] In early 1916 Mawson participated in the first executive meetings of the new body, in which its charter and operational procedures were established.[72]
On 21 August 1919, Mawson was a founding member, representing the science of geography, of theAustralasian Research Council, based in Sydney. The council was formalised by theAustralasian Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and renamed the Australian National Research Council (ANRC) in July 1921, and eventually dissolved in 1955,[1][75] its functions taken over by theAustralian Academy of Science.[75] He was a petitioner for the academy in 1953, a founding fellow 1954–1958, and council member from 1954.[1]
From the end of World War I until 1923, he was a committee member of theAustralian War Museum (later the Australian War Memorial).[2]
He was a member of the council, and later president of theRoyal Geographical Society of South Australia[76] from 1924 to 1925.[1]
In 1920 he was elected president of Section E (Geology) theAustralasian Association for the Advancement of Science. From 1932 to 1937 he was president of the association, by then renamed Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS).[1]
In 1924-1925 and again in 1945 Mawson was president of theRoyal Society of South Australia.[1]
In 1939 he became a foreign member of theSwedish Society for Anthropology and Geography.[1][72]
After World War II ended in 1945, Mawson promoted theAustralian National Antarctic Research Expeditions, and was a member of the Australian Antarctic Executive Planning Committee until his death.[3]
His other interests includedconservation, farming, andforestry.[3] His wife wrote that he was happiest planting trees.[77] Along with artistHans Heysen, he was in 1920 a founding member of the South Australian Forest League, which was dedicated to protecting forests and valuable trees, and encouraging the planting of native trees.[28] Mawson owned and worked a 1,200-acre (490 ha) farm called "Harewood" atMeadows, and was a founding director of S.A. Hardwoods Pty Ltd. He established a mill nearKuitpo Forest.[78][3] A painting by artistSam Leach of the farm, based on his childhood memories and assisted by AI, was a finalist in theWynne Prize in 2022.[79]
He also advocated fordecimalisation and supported strict regulation of thewhaling industry.[3] When he returned from Antarctica in 1914, Mawson was determined to have Macquarie Island proclaimed a sanctuary, and this was achieved in 1916.[80]
In 1914, Mawson was knighted.[81][3][1]
He was made a fellow of theRoyal Society (FRS)[81] in 1923,[3] and was a foundationFellow of the Australian Academy of Science.[3] He was made a life fellow of theRoyal Geographical Society in 1913.[1]
Other recognition and awards included:
Mawson marriedFrancisca Adriana (Paquita) Delprat (1891–1974[85]) on 31 March 1914 at Holy Trinity Church of England,Balaclava, Melbourne,[3] in an elaborate wedding. CaptainJohn King Davis, who had captainedAurora and served as second-in-charge of the AAE, served asbest man.[86] She was the daughter of the Dutch-bornmetallurgist and general manager ofBHP,G. D. Delprat, whom Mawson had met during his time in Broken Hill.[20] They had met when she was 17, not long after Mawson's return from theNimrod Expedition in 1909. They got engaged before Mawson left for the Australasian Antarctic Expedition in 1911.[85] A series of letters written by both of them between 1911 and 1914 was published in 2005 asThis Everlasting Silence: The Love Letters of Paquita Delprat and Sir Douglas Mawson, 1911-1914, introduced and annotated by Nancy Robinson Flannery.[87]
Their first daughter,Patricia Marietje Thomas,[3] later a notableparasitologist,[88] was born in 1915. The family moved into an apartment in the recently-completedRuthven Mansions inPulteney Street, Adelaide, which was their first home together. However, Douglas was called to do war service in England, so they were only there for around a year. Paquita and Patricia went to stay with Mrs Delprat inMelbourne for some time, before Paquita, too, went to assist Mawson in his wartime role at the Ministry of Munitions in England, leaving Pat with her mother.[89] Their second child, Jessica Paquita "Quita" Mawson (1917–2004; married name McEwin), who became abacteriologist,[90] was born inLondon.[85]
In 1920 the Mawsons moved into their new home, "Jerbii"[91] at 44[92] King Street, Brighton, built on land owned by Paquita's parents and given to Douglas and Paquita as a wedding present. They had previously rented a home on the South Esplanade while it was being built, after returning from England afterWorld War I. They lived in Brighton until at least 1958, when Douglas died.[91]
Paquita worked for theMothers' and Babies' Health Association, for which she was president for nine years, and theAustralian Red Cross Society. Like her husband, she was prominent in Adelaide's social and cultural life, and wrote two books:A Vision of Steel, a biography of her father G. D. Delprat published in 1958, andMawson of the Antarctic, about her husband, published in 1964. She too was awarded an OBE, and after Mawson's knighthood, became Lady Francisca Adriana Mawson.[85]
During his time based in England in 1916 when working for the War Office, Mawson established a close personal relationship withKathleen Scott, the widow of polar explorerRobert Falcon Scott.[93] HistorianDavid Day, in his 2013 workFlaws in the Ice: In Search of Douglas Mawson,[94] suggested that the pair had conducted anaffair in 1916 inSandwich, Kent.[95] However, this is refuted by historianTom Griffiths, who says that they were united in grief at the time, and found solace in each other, perhaps an emotional and spiritual connection.[93] The claim is also rejected by Mawson's great-granddaughter Emma McEwin, who has read Kathleen Scott's diaries and written a book about her great-grandparents' marriage, and adventurerTim Jarvis.[95]
Mawson's elder brother William studied medicine at Sydney university and became a GP inCampbelltown. He cared for their parents in their later years, with their father Robert dying in 1912 aged 58 and their mother Margaret at the same age in 1917.[11] Mawson Park in Campbelltown was named after William in 1938.[96] William died in 1939.[5]
Upon his retirement from teaching in 1952 he was made anemeritus professor of the University of Adelaide.[3] The university publishedSir Douglas Mawson Anniversary Volume: Contributions to geology in honour of Sir Douglas Mawson's 70th birthday anniversary.[97][2]
On 12 March 1958, Mawson paid a visit to theSoviet Antarctic shipCooperatzia (akaCooperatsiya andKooperatsiya[98][99]), and spent several hours talking to Soviet scientific leaderAlexey Tryoshnikov. The ship's visit was an occasion for helping to develop further friendly relations between Australian and Soviet scientists, and the American scientist G. D. Cartwright was also on board.[100]
He died at hisBrighton home in South Australia on 14 October 1958 from acerebral haemorrhage, aged 76.[3][2] Prime MinisterRobert Menzies said of him upon hearing of his death: Sir Douglas Mawson was one of the very great men of my lifetime. He had courage, remarkable ability, great vision and great tenacity. Future generations of Australians will look back on his life as a source of inspiration".[101]
He was honoured with a Commonwealthstate funeral[49] on 17 October atSt Jude's Church inBrighton, South Australia, where he was also interred.[102] The Governor-General SirWilliam Slim, was not able to attend, but was represented at the funeral by Brigadier G. E. H. Bleby.[103]
Amemorial service was also held atSt Peter's Cathedral in Adelaide, arranged by the University of Adelaide.[3]
On 31 October 1958, a tribute to his memory was paid by members of theSoviet Geographical Society at a special meeting. Evgeny Suzyumov,[i] a member of theFirst Russian Antarctic Expedition, said that Mawson had developed friendships with Soviet Antarctic explorers in his later years.[106]
In 2008, the Brighton Historical Society with support from the Mawson andSprigg families, endorsed by theHoldfast Bay Council, installed an official monument at the gravesite of both Paquita and Douglas Mawson. The monument consists of a granite boulder fromArkaroola, gifted by the Sprigg family with the approval of theAdnyamathanha people. A small plaque acknowledges the gift, while the main plaque highlights some of Mawson's achievements.[92]
At the time of his death he had still not completed editorial work on all the papers resulting from the BANZARE. He had been assisted in this work by his eldest daughter,Patricia Thomas, and upon his death, the Science and Industry Endowment Fund provided a £300 grant to assist in completing the work. Thomas completed the work in 1975.[107]
Mawson's early geological studies were highly regarded.Frederick Chapman, then palaeontologist at theNational Museum of Victoria and later the Commonwealth government official palaeontologist, based two of his own studies on Mawson's New Hebridean study (1905 & 1907). A paper co-authored by Chapman and Mawson was published in theQuarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London in 1906 – significant recognition for one so early in his career.[17] Two of his studies (both 1949), along with a 1947 study byReg Sprigg as well as more recent studies, are cited in support of the application to make seven geographically separate areas in the Flinders Ranges aWorld Heritage Site. The application was submitted to theUNESCO World Heritage Centre for consideration in 2021, and as of August 2025[update] remain on the "tentative" list.[108] Alderman and Tilley (1960) considered that Mawson could be regarded as one of the founders ofgeochemistry in Australia, based on his early work on the chemical aspects of geology.[81][17]
As leader of the BANZARE expeditions, Mawson was instrumental in establishing the territorial claim to 42% of the Antarctic during 1929–1930 and 1930–1931,[71] which was established under legislation passed in 1933.[3]
According toADB biographer F. J. Jacka: "He did not propound new, fundamental theories but he extended and developed geological thinking and knowledge over a wide range of topics and locations, and through his leadership created opportunities for the realization of major developments in many disciplines. His lectures about Antarctica were widely acclaimed around the world".[3] His former mentor Edgeworth David said of Mawson in a public tribute: "Mawson was the real leader who was the soul of our expedition to the Magnetic Pole. We really have in him an AustralianNansen, of infinite resource, splendid physique, astonishing indifference to frost".[3] J. Gordon Hayes wrote in his bookThe conquest of the south pole; Antarctic exploration, 1906–1931 (1928): "Sir Douglas Mawson's Expedition, judged by the magnitude both of its scale and of its achievements, was the greatest and most consummate expedition that ever sailed for Antarctica".[3][109]
Soon after news of the disastrous Far Eastern expedition broke, Mawson's decision to put such a large amount of their essential provisions on one sledge was criticised. Mark Pharoah, researcher and curator of the Mawson Collection at the South Australian Museum, said that since the release of his journals and other expedition records, historians have questioned his navigational and leadership abilities, and criticised his risk-taking.[51] J. Gordon Hayes was critical of the three men not using skis.[3]
His image appeared on several postage stamps of the Australian Antarctic Territory: 5 pence (1961),[110] 5 pence (1961), 27 cents and 75 cents (1982),[111] 10 cents (2011),[112] 45 cents (1999).[113]
In 1979 theAustralian Academy of Science established the Mawson Lecture.[3]
The centenary of Mawson's birth was celebrated in 1982, which included the Fourth International Symposium on Antarctic Earth Sciences being held at the University of Adelaide, with the proceedings dedicated to him,[3] held in August. The symposium was brought forward two years and held in Adelaide to mark the occasion.[114]
In 1983 the Douglas Mawson chair of geology was established at the University of Adelaide.[3][2] As of 2024, Professor Alan Collins held the post.[115]
His image appeared from 1984 to 1996 on the first Australianone hundred-dollar note,[116][117] and in 2012 on a $1 coin issued within the "Inspirational Australians" series.[118]
One of Mawson's students at the University of Adelaide wasReg Sprigg, who discovered Precambrian fossils when assessing an old mine site in theEdiacara Hills in 1946. His discovery led to other geologists defining a new geological period, theEdiacaran, for the first time in over 100 years,[28][119] which was officially ratified by theIUGS in 2004.[120] Sprigg co-founded, with his wife Griselda, theArkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary,[121] and named his son Douglas after his former mentor. Doug Sprigg continues to run the sanctuary as of 2024[update].[122]
In 2007, adventurerTim Jarvis re-enacted Mawson's expedition to Antarctica,[95] simulating the conditions in the 1912 trek. They followed the same route and tried to do everything done by Mawson's expedition, although did not eat any dogs. Jarvis said afterwards that it gave him a new-found respect for Mawson.[123]
In 2011,Ranulph Fiennes included Mawson in his bookMy Heroes: Extraordinary Courage, Exceptional People.[124]
In May 2012, theAustralian Antarctic Magazine published a "Mawson Centenary Special" issue to commemorate 100 years since the Australasian Antarctic Expedition.[125]
In 2013, the "Australian Mawson Centenary Expedition", led byChris Turney and Chris Fogwill, scientists from theUNSW Climate Change Research Centre, led a privately-funded expedition of 48 people including scientists and members of the public,[126] to investigate Antarctic andsubantarctic oceanography, climate, and biology.[127] The expedition visited Mawson's huts at Cape Denison, using motorised vehicles with tracks to traverse the 65 km (40 mi) of ice from the shore.[128] On the return journey, their ship, theMVAkademik Shokalskiy, became trapped in ice.[127] After two other vessels were unable to reach the stricken ship, the expedition members were eventually being airlifted by helicopter to the Chinese polar research vesselXue Long, while the Russian crew members had to stay on board the ship.[129] Turney presented the results of their findings at an event at theRoyal Institution in London in July 2014.[130][131]
ReviewingDavid Roberts' 2013 bookAlone on the Ice inThe Observer, Paul Harris called Mawson "the unsung hero of Antarctica". In the book, Roberts suggests that Mawson was little known for two reasons: firstly that the British press of the time focused on British "imperial heroes" such as Scott; and secondly that Mawson had opted for carrying out scientific expeditions rather than the "exciting race to the south pole that had captured the public imagination".[132]
In 2015, theAustralian Museum in Sydney developed an exhibition calledTrailblazers: Australia's 50 Greatest Explorers, which included Mawson.[13]
Mawson Analytical Spectrometry Services (MASS) are facilities offered by the Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology at the University of Adelaide to researchers and commercial partners. The service providesthermal ionisation mass spectrometry,Stable Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry, and Organic Molecular Analysis and Characterisation.[133]
AtOxley College (founded in 1982[134]) inBurradoo, New South Wales, one of the sixhouses is called Mawson,[135] as is atClarence High School inHobart, Tasmania,[136] Forest Lodge Public School,[9] andFort Street High School, both in Sydney, where he was educated.[10]
In April 2023, Emma McEwin, a great-granddaughter of Mawson,[137] presented theSir Hubert Wilkins Oration for theHistory Trust of South Australia, "explor[ing] the personalities and backgrounds of both Hubert Wilkins and Douglas Mawson".[138][139]
In 1937 the fish speciesDissostichus mawsoni (Antarctic toothfish) was named by English ichthyologistJohn Roxborough Norman in honour of Mawson, as the 1911-1913 Australasian Antarctic Expedition obtained the species'type specimen.[140]
In 1948,Carroll William Dodge published agenus offungi within the familyLichinaceae, namedMawsonia in his honour.[141]
In 1966, the fossil genusMawsonites, dated to the Ediacaran, was named after Mawson, and itstype species,Mawsonites spriggi, after his student Reg Sprigg, byMartin Glaessner andMary Wade.[142][143][122]
TheAustralian Polar Collection of Antarctic exploration artefacts is on permanent display at theSouth Australian Museum.[144] Previously known as the Mawson Gallery, in 2018 the gallery underwent development to expand the displays of two other South Australian explorers,John Riddoch Rymill andGeorge Hubert Wilkins.[145] The Mawson collection is the largest of the three collections, containing over 100,000 items. These were acquired in two lots: one came from theAustralian Museum in Sydney, while a larger collection of items was donated by the Mawson family via the University of Adelaide in 2000. The collection includes Mawson'sbalaclava, as illustrated on the hundred-dollar note,[71] as well as his earliest surviving field notebook after arriving in Adelaide, which include notes onMount Lofty,Kangaroo Island, Broken Hill, and Olary.[17] The Mawson Collection Trust, made up of descendants of Douglas and Paquita Mawson, provided significant funding towards renewing the gallery in 2017.[146]
The Douglas Mawson Antarctic Collection is held in theTate Museum in the Mawson Building at the University of Adelaide, along with many minerals, rocks, fossils, and other specimens related to geological phenomena. The museum, named afterRalph Tate, foundation Elder Professor of Natural Sciences at the university of from 1875 until 1901,[147] opened in 1902, and moved into Mawson Laboratories (Building) when it opened in 1952.[148][147]
The Australian Museum has a collection of 2000 Antarctic rock and mineral specimens collected on the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, named the Sir Douglas Mawson Collection.[149]
TheNational Library of Australia in Canberra holds a collection of papers relating to the Mawson family, collected by Gareth Thomas and presented to the library in 2010. Most of the papers consist of personal correspondence of Paquita Mawson principally with her daughterPatricia, but also includes letters to her daughter Jessica and other members of her extended family, some written from the Netherlands inDutch. There are a few letters written by Douglas Mawson to Patricia between 1925 and 1931.[150]
The Sir Douglas Mawson Collection at theNational Museum of Australia contains four items relating to BANZARE in 1931, including three proclamations relating to claiming land in Antarctica, and a food canister.[151]
In his role as honorary curator of the South Australian Museum from 1906 to 1958, Mawson was instrumental in helping to establish the minerals collection there. In 1906, he arranged the purchase of part of the John Henry Dunstan Collection, which contained significant specimens from the copper mines at Burra,Moonta andWallaroo Mines. This formed the core of the museum's now extensive minerals collection, and was at the time the largest private mineral collection in country. Mawson also assisted in the purchase of the Hall and Watkin Brown Collections, which included many specimens from Broken Hill and other important places in New South Wales.[152]
Mawson's Antarctic and field diaries are kept in the South Australian Museum. Those pertaining to his extensive Australian geological field work have been transcribed fairly recently at the museum.[43] The transcription work, undertaken by volunteers including Mawson's grandson Alun Thomas, was undertaken from around 2005 to 2025.[153][43]
Betewen 1905 and 1953 Mawson carried out many field trips, mostly in northeastern South Australia, and he kept diaries of every one of his roughly 70 trips. Over 30 field note books, each recording one of more trips, are held in the Polar Collection at the South Australian Museum, along with more than 2000 photographs, mostly taken on his field trips. Many of the diaries are illustrated by hand-drawn sketches andgeological sections, and scans of these sketches as well as the photographs have been inserted into the transcribed diaries. The diaries also include accounts of the annual excursions with third-year geology students, who only numbered a few in the early trips but by 1948 there were 17 students and staff. If a female student was included, a female chaperone would be included, and in 1937 Mawson's daughters Patricia and Jessica joined a student excursion.[153]
Mawson recorded significant geological observations in these diaries, mostly for his own research and preparation of scientific papers, so used many abbreviations indecipherable to the lay reader. These have been deciphered and included in the transcriptions with the help of geologist Jim Jago. The diaries also provide an interesting historical record of the times. The work continues, and it is hoped to make the content of the transcribe diaries, along with drawings and photographs, more widely available.[153]
The geology building on the main University of Adelaide campus was named Mawson Laboratories on the occasion of his retirement in 1952.[3] The building is now known as theMawson Building. In November 1959, theMawson Institute for Antarctic Research was established[2] within the Department of Geology,[154] in what is as of 2025[update] known as the Mawson Geo Centre.[155] The aim of the institute was to foster Antarctic study and research, by the maintenance of a library and collection, and by the delivery of occasional public lectures.[154] The Mawson Institute was officially opened on 15 April 1961 by the prime minister,Robert Menzies, and included the collection of Mawson's geological and historical artefacts bequeathed by Paquita Mawson after Mawson's death.[147] A recording of his speech is available online via theNational Library of Australia website.[156]
On 21 October 1952,Mawson Peak, an active volcanic summit onHeard Island, Antarctica, was officially named in honour of Mawson.[157]
Mawson Station in Antarctica was officially named after Mawson on 13 February 1954.Phillip Law, inaugural director of theAustralian Antarctic Division, selected the location nearHorseshoe Harbour as Australia's first overwintering station on the Antarctic continent, and conducting a flag-raising and official naming ceremony on that date. Mawson is the oldest station established south of the Antarctic Circle.[158] TheMawson Coast was also named after him.[3]
In 1959, a mountain peak in Tasmania was gazetted asMount Mawson, named after Mawson.[j][159][160] It lies within theMount Field National Park.[161]
Mawson is a suburb ofCanberra, Australian Capital Territory. The suburb was gazetted in 1966 and is named after him. The theme for street names in this area is Antarctic exploration.[162]
In 1969 theDistrict of Mawson, anelectoral district of South Australia, was created and named in honour of Mawson.[163]
Mawson Plateau, situated in what is now theArkaroola Protection Area in the Northern Flinders Ranges, was originally known as the Freeling Heights lower granite plateau. It was named after Mawson some time before 1984.[164][165][166] Mawson Valley is also in Arkaroola, and Mawson was responsible for naming a rocky granite outcrop in the valley "Sitting Bull"[121][122] in 1945.[167]
Minor planet4456 Mawson was named in his honour after its discovery on 27 July 1989 byR. H. McNaught atSiding Spring Observatory in New South Wales.[168] as isDorsa Mawson, awrinkle ridge on the Moon.[169]
TheMawson Trail, a cycling and walking trail created in the 1990s, stretching from theAdelaide Hills to the Flinders Ranges, was named after Mawson.[170]
The Mawson's Huts Foundation, based in Sydney, was established in 1996 as a charity. It works on conservingMawson's Huts at Cape Denison, has funded and organised 14 major expeditions there, and in 2013, it opened theMawson's Huts Replica Museum inHobart.[171] The museum is located on the waterfront, near the wharf used bySY Aurora.[172]
The suburbMawson Lakes, a northern suburb of Adelaide, was founded in the late 1990s and named in his honour,[173] and one of the twoman-made lakes in the suburb is called the Sir Douglas Mawson Lake.[174] A campus of theUniversity of South Australia in the suburb is known as the Mawson Lakes campus.[175]
The high street inMeadows, South Australia, the town near his farm, Harewood, is named after him.[176]
After official photographerFrank Hurley's return from AAE in early 1913, documentary footage attributed to him was released in cinemas. Now often referred to asHome of the Blizzard in Australia, thissilent film has a complicated provenance, and it is no longer known which reels (now restored and held by theNFSA) were shown in the 1913 cinema showing. This version of the film was released in the UK asLife in the Antarctic.[177][178]
Two films about BANZARE, the silent filmSouthward Ho with Mawson (1930) and thetalkieSiege of the South (1931), both made by Frank Hurley using footage filmed by him on the expeditions, were released in cinemas as official recordings of the voyages.[179] Takings from the film contributed to defray the costs of the expedition,[180] and schoolchildren's attendance contributed significantly to the takings.[179]
A portrait of Mawson painted by in 1933 by Henry James Haley was gifted to theNational Portrait Gallery in Canberra by the Mawson family in 2010.[181] Other portraits of him were painted by W. Seppelt (1922);Jack Carington Smith (1955); andIvor Hele (1956), which are (or were) held in the University of Adelaide. Another by Hele, created in 1959, is held by theRoyal Geographical Society in London.[3]
Adelaide sculptorJohn Dowie created twobronze busts of Mawson in 1982, one of which is onNorth Terrace, Adelaide, and another at Mawson Station in Antarctica.[3][182][183] The bust on North Terrace, which had been suggested by Fred Jacka of the Mawson Institute, was endorsed by Adelaide city council, and partly funded by a public fund-raising effort. Lord Mayor of AdelaideArthur John Watson made the presentation, andSir Mark Oliphant unveiled the bust, which coincided with the Fourth International Symposium on Antarctic Earth Sciences, brought forward two years to celebrate the centenary of Mawson's birth. The bust is mounted on a marble base, and has a boulder of igneous rock situated on either side. The eastern boulder is ofpegmatite fromMawson Valley in Arkaroola, while the western boulder is ofcharnockite, from Mawson, Antarctica.[114] Another bronze bust, created by Jean Perrier in 1980, is held inCanterbury Museum inChristchurch, New Zealand.[3] In 2023 theCity of Holdfast Bay resolved to commission of a memorial bronze bust of Mawson for placement somewhere in Brighton, where the Mawson family lived.[92]
In 1991, Irish folk musicianAndy Irvine recorded the song "Douglas Mawson" for his albumRude Awakening. The song recounts the events of theFar Eastern Party of the Antarctic expedition.[184]
In 2008,ABC Television screened a feature-length documentary film, titledMawson: Life and Death in Antarctica, about Tim Jarvis's recreation of Mawson's journey. Jarvis also released a book of the same name that year.[123] The film is available via theNational Film and Sound Archive website[185] and the library streaming serviceKanopy.[186]
David Roberts' 2013 account of Mawson's AAE expedition,Alone on the Ice,[187] and the deadly effect of dog liver, are referenced in the plot ofS3 E3 of British television seriesNew Tricks in 2014, where it is used to commit the almost-perfect murder.[188][189]
In December 2013, the firstopera to be based on Mawson's 1911–1914 expedition to Antarctica,The Call of Aurora (by Tasmanian composer Joe Bugden)[190] was performed at the Peacock Theatre in theSalamanca Arts Centre in Hobart.[191] The opera was again performed at the Peacock in August 2022.[192]
In 2019,Australian Dance Theatre presented the premiere ofSouth by artistic directorGarry Stewart in Adelaide. The dance work reflected upon the treacherous journey undertaken by Mawson and his team in the summer of 1912–1913.[193] The work, which toured regional South Australia,[194][195] was intended to convey a message about theclimate change crisis.[195] Stewart won Outstanding Achievement in Choreography forSouth in 2019 at theAustralian Dance Awards.[193]
Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 6 February 2024
The heritage survey was undertaken by Donovan & Associates, in association with Austral Archaeology, between 1993 and 1995.
Information from Ray Wood, "Nuclear Flinders Ranges".
Mawson couldn't identify them, but he'd just visited Madame Curie in Paris. She'd pleaded with him to look for radium in Australia. And she'd also recently made two gold-leaf electroscopes to identify radium, and gave him one.
The observations are the outcome of fieldwork conducted since Jan. 1906.
Reprinted fromOil Shale and Cannel Coal, 1938, by Professor Sir Douglas Mawson
Audio source:The Home of the Blizzard: being the story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914; voiced by Christopher Baldock.
Created: 16 March 2000, Last modified: 30 July 2024
Adapted from an interview first aired on The World Today, May 7.
Roberts's book, Alone on the Ice, tells Mawson's remarkable story, including his joining the first expedition to ascend Mount Erebus..."This is the archive ofThe Observer up until 21/04/2025.The Observer is now owned and operated by Tortoise Media."
[Per Part 2 of the essay]: An earlier version of this essay was published inJournal of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, Vol. 2, No. 4, 2007.
An earlier version of this essay was published inJournal of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, Vol. 2, No. 4, 2007.
These images were on display at the NFSA in Canberra in 2012 as part of theExtreme Film and Sound exhibition. Prime Possum visited the exhibition and met NFSA curator Morgyn Phillips.
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