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Mawson event celebrates 100 years of Antarctic endeavour

A bust of Sir Douglas Mawson outside the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide's North Terrace Campus.
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The Tate Museum in the Mawson Laboratories is one of ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥'s most impressive geology museums.
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Tuesday, 21 April 2009

It is 100 years since one of the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide's most famous alumni - - returned from his first expedition to Antarctica.

The event was celebrated today at a ceremony organised by the , commemorating the 100th anniversary of Mawson's return from Shackleton's British Antarctic Expedition.

During that expedition, Mawson was among the first men to reach the South Magnetic Pole.

Associated with the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide for 50 years as a lecturer and Professor, Mawson was first appointed to the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ in 1905 and retired in 1952. His academic career was interrupted by three expeditions to the Antarctic as well as his service during the First World War.

In addition to the British Antarctic Expedition of 1907-09, Mawson carried out expeditions to the Antarctic in 1911 and 1929, becoming famous as the sole survivor of the three-man sledging trip during the 1911 expedition.

His academic achievements have also been celebrated. While he was a lecturer in mineralogy and petrology at the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide, Mawson identified the site for ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥'s first uranium mine. As a Professor of Geology and Mineralogy at the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ from 1921, he set up a highly effective teaching and research department.

The ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide boasts a great collection of artefacts from Mawson's expeditions in the Tate Museum, which is one of ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥'s most impressive geology museums. The museum was established in 1925 and can be found in the Mawson Laboratories on the North Terrace Campus.

"The Mawson labs are an extraordinary place. It is great that the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide honours the links that it has with Mawson," said Mark Pharaoh, the Mawson Senior Collection Manager from the South ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n Museum.

Professor Richard Russell, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research Operations) from the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥, Professor Robert Hill, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Sciences of the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ as well as members of the Mawson family attended today's ceremony.

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