DOUGLAS MAWSON AND THE NIMROD EXPEDITION An Australian geologist who became Australia’s greatest Antarctic explorer. Mawson’s plan called for several different sledging parties—31 men in all—to explore different regions and collect data along the way. Sir Douglas Mawson and expedition members cheering the raising of the Union Jack flag at Proclamation Harbour, Enderby Land, Antarctica, ca. We answered our questions and did a little (ok a lot) more. A granddaughter of Sir Douglas Mawson has died at her home in Berlin, Germany. Sir Douglas Mawson was a colossus of the heroic age of Antarctic exploration who carried the banner of scientific research to the great white continent and established Australia’s territorial claim. Embarking on the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (AAE) with Mawson, John King Davis captained the Aurora with a crew, 31 expeditioners and materials for living huts, and wireless masts to establish the first radio communications in Antarctica. Mawson heard the faint whine of a dog behind him. Dragging two sledges, one weighing 606 pounds and the other 250 pounds, they took four months to cover the 250 miles, averaging about two miles a day. He was a man of science, onset with the noble … This year the 76-year-old Sir Douglas easily passed his annual test for a driver's licence. 1930. Credit: Frank Hurley courtesy of NLA. Sir Douglas Mawson was an English geologist and the pioneer of Australian Antarctic exploration. Mawson and five men remained for another year. A member of the scientific staff of Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton’s Antarctic Expedition (1907), Mawson, together with T.W.E. His explorations enabled Australia to claim some 2,500,000 square miles (6,475,000 square km) of the Antarctic continent. If you really want to come to grips with how this happened – the trials, tribulations and sheer heroism that was required to bring it about – you need to visit Mawson’s Huts. Douglas Mawson's tragic Antarctic trek. Five men set up a base at Macquarie Island, while the remainder sailed on the Antarctic continent to establish two bases: the Main Base at Commonwealth Bay led by Mawson, and the Western Base at Queen Mary Land led by Frank Wild. Achievements. In 1907, he went to the Antarctic as a geologist with the Shackleton expedition, and with Sir William Edgeworth David found the south Magnetic Pole on January 16, 1909. C This article has been rated as C-Class on the project's quality scale. ... "I am unable to prevent their folly and so must die a martyr to their bloody mindedness." Sir Douglas Mawson, the unsung hero of Antarctica, gets his due at last This article is more than 7 years old A biography of Sir Douglas Mawson tells how he … In 1969 a medical analysis concluded that he died from eating too much dog liver with its high concentrations of Vitamin A, which can be toxic to humans. The clip shows the work of cinematographer and photographer Frank Hurley (1885–1962). Corrections? He is one of Australia's best known and most respected heroes in any field. A memorial service, arranged by the university, was held at St Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide. While there, he studied geology. On an Antarctic expedition 100 years ago, Mawson endured one of the most horrific journeys in the history of exploration. He later added that colitis (inflammation of the colon) may have been the cause. Mawson … Founded in 1850, it is Australia’s oldest university as well as its largest. Why did Mertz, and not Mawson, die? "He had courage, remarkable ability, great vision and great tenacity," Mr Menzies said. Omissions? He was accorded a Commonwealth state funeral and was buried at St Jude's Anglican Church, Brighton. Landmarks named after Douglas Mawson. "Future generations of Australians will look back on his life as a source of inspiration.". Sir Douglas was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, in 1882, and came to Australia, as a child. 1930 Credit:Frank Hurley courtesy of NLA. 0 0 1. Excerpt from Mawson the Survivor (1982). A scientist before all else, he sought information and knowledge rather than fame, fortune or ‘firsts’. He attended this school until he graduated in 1899. Mawson and one of other companion fought the elements, starvation and frostbite for the entire winter of 1912 (almost two whole months) while trying to return back to base at Cape Denison. High This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale. Ninnis died when he fell down a crevasse, together with the sledge carrying most of their food supplies, and later Mertz became ill and died. Sir Douglas was the author of many scientific papers and the famous book The Home of the Blizzard (1915). Douglas Mawson . -Douglas Mawson Unlike many of Mawson’s historic counterparts in the Heroic age of Antarctic Exploration, Mawson was known for his drive to explore without the claim to glory other men of the era strived for. 1930.Credit:Frank Hurley courtesy of NLA. Mawson died in 1958. © Australian Antarctic Division and the ABC A year later a ship arrived to get the 6 men and Mawson. ", Sir Douglas Mawson ca. He was created a Knight Bachelor in 1914. Mertz died on January 8, 1913, with Mawson attributing his death to ''weather exposure and want of food''. At 19 he graduated as a Bachelor of Mining Engineering, and at 22 as a Bachelor of Science. In spite of a tragedy which involved the death of his companions, and nearly cost him his own life, he achieved results which, for their scope and scientific importance, have never been executed in any similar endeavour. Douglas Mawson's colleague with schizophrenia remembered in sad footnote to epic Antarctic expedition. The Prime Minister, Mr Menzies, tonight said Sir Douglas had been one of the very great men of this century. Mertz died on the way and Mawson walked on alone. In 1909 he took his degree of Doctor of Science from Adelaide University, where he was a lecturer in mineralogy and petrology. From 1911 to 1914 Mawson led the Australasian Antarctic Expedition and from 1929 to 1931 directed the combined British, Australian, and New Zealand Antarctic Expedition. C This article has been rated as C-Class on the project's quality scale. Mawson went on to Main base 39 days alone. In 1911, he discovered a lode of uranium ore in South Australia and published, with Professor T. H. Laby, of Melbourne, the first results of radioactivity obtained in Australia. A glimpse, from within the cavern of the Mertz Glacier, Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914Credit:Frank Hurley courtesy of NLA. The funeral is expected to be held at 3 p.m. tomorrow. Mawson continued on alone. The explorer who saw his two colleagues DIE, while hundreds of miles from safety? Mawson was knighted in 1914 and one of the Antarctic bases, Mawson Station, was named after him. Stella Margaret Gräfin Vitzthum von Eckstaedt, nee McEwin, was one of seven grand children of Australia’s great Antarctic explorer and is the first of them to pass away. After Shackleton's heroic effort to attain the South Pole, the whole world stood by in anticipation as Scott and Amundsen announced their plans to conquer the extremes and grab the prize at 90°S. The two men made this landmark journey by sledge. High This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale. He was once described as "one of the greatest figures in all polar exploration, north or south." Though less prestigious, this was a wide ranging scientific and exploratory expedition to previously unknown and unvisited regions of the Antarctic continent. Battling the ice and snow and nearly falling into a crevasse himself. Brave Guardian Reporter Suffers As Douglas Mawson Did. 1882–1958, Australian Antarctic explorer, born … David, reached the south magnetic pole on the high ice plateau of Victoria Land on January 16, 1909. Mawson Peak (Heard Island), Mount Mawson (Tasmania), Dorsa Mawson (a wrinkle ridge system on moon), Mawson Station (Antarctica) and a suburb in Canberra have all been named after him Here, Mawson is pictured with his fellow students. He participated in Shackleton’s ‘Nimrod’ expedition and then went on to lead three further Antarctic expeditions. Mawson received a bachelor’s degree in mining engineering from Sydney University in 1902, and his field investigations in the Broken Hill mining area of west-central New South Wales earned him a doctorate in science from the university in 1909. Appointed by Mawson as the official photographer of the 1911–14 expedition, Hurley … The funeral is expected to be held at 3 p.m. tomorrow. He was only 16 when he entered Sydney University from Fort Street High School. 1930. Douglas Mawson: The Psychology of a Survivor "It's dead easy to die; it's the keeping on living that's hard." Douglas Mawson is within the scope of WikiProject Australia, which aims to improve Wikipedia's coverage of Australia and Australia-related topics.If you would like to participate, visit the project page. Douglas Mawson died of a cerebral haemorrhage at his home in Brighton, South Australia on 14 October 1958. Who doesn't love being #1? In 1921 he was appointed Professor of Geology at Adelaide University. This article was first published in The Sydney Morning Herald on October 15, 1958. After his two companions died, he completed the expedition alone, travelling 160km in 30 days. Answer. The famous Australian scientist and polar explorer, Sir Douglas Mawson, died tonight, aged 76. The dogs were all on Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition (AAE) of 1911-14, but the naming is a tribute to all the huskies that underpinned Australian exploration in the icy continent. In 1911, Sir Douglas discovered and mapped 1000 miles of new Antarctic coastline, examined the geology of the continent, discovered King George V land, and greatly enriched scientific knowledge of the Antarctic. He had been ill for some years. The face of a man who could not be broken. Born in England on 5 May 1882, Mawson migrated to … One of Australia’s greatest Antarctic explorers, Douglas Mawson was responsible for one of the most extreme survival stories of all time. Though less prestigious, this was a wide ranging scientific and exploratory expedition to previously unknown and unvisited regions of the Antarctic continent. 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