Who was Douglas Mawson?

Who was Douglas Mawson?

In 1909, Douglas Mawson was 27 years old and already an Antarctic veteran. A trained geologist, he had effectively reached the area of the South Magnetic Pole as part of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s British Antarctic ‘Nimrod’ expedition.

What did Sir Douglas Mawson discover in Antarctica?

After his participation in Shackleton’s expedition, Mawson became the principal instigator of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (1911–1914). The expedition explored thousands of kilometres of previously unexplored regions, collected geological and botanical samples, and made important scientific observations.

What happened to Douglas Mawson’s Far Eastern Party?

The last photo of Mawson’s Far Eastern Party, taken when they left the Australasian Antarctic Party’s base camp on November 10, 1912. By January 10, 1913, two of the three men would be dead, and expedition leader Douglas Mawson would find himself exhausted, ill and still more than 160 miles from the nearest human being.

What was it like to welcome Douglas Mawson in Adelaide?

At the end of February 1914, Douglas Mawson sailed into the port of Adelaide to a hero’s welcome. His final sentence in The Home of the Blizzard, his own account of his adventures, conveys a feeling of overwhelming emotion at his reception: «The voices of innumerable strangers – the handgrips of many friends – It chokes one…»

Douglas Mawson is one of the less celebrated figures of the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration. Yet his story is as gripping as the exploits of Scott, Shackleton and Amundsen, even though he didn’t seek the glory of being the first to reach the Geographic South Pole.

What does Douglas Mawson mean by claim and declare?

I, sir Douglas Mawson, do hereby so claim and declare to all men that from and after the date of the present, the full sovereignty of the territory that we have discovered and explored south of latitude sixty-four degrees and as far as the south pole, this in his majesty King George the fifth, his heirs and successors, forever.

What did Sir Douglas Mawson do in Antarctica?

As part of the BAE, Mawson was among six men who made the first ascent of Mount Erebus in March 1908. The following year he trekked 2028 kilometres to claim the South Magnetic Pole for ‘the British nation’. It was during this gruelling march that he conceived of his own Antarctic expedition.

What happened to Douglas Mawson’s ship?

Mawson’s ship, the Aurora One hundred years ago this week, Australia’s foremost polar explorer, Douglas Mawson, returned home after two years of triumph and terror in East Antarctica. At the end of February 1914, Douglas Mawson sailed into the port of Adelaide to a hero’s welcome.