Sir Douglas Mawson

Explorer and geologist, born in Shipley, West Yorkshire, N England, UK. He studied at Sydney, was appointed to the scientific staff of Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic expedition (1907), and with T W E David discovered the South Magnetic Pole. From 1911 to 1914 he was leader of the Australasian Antarctic expedition, which charted 2000 mi of coast; he was knighted on his return. He also led the joint British–Australian–New Zealand expedition to the Antarctic (1929–31).

Sir Douglas Mawson OBE F.R.S. (May 5, 1882 – 14 October 1958) was an Australian Antarctic explorer and geologist. After working as a junior demonstrator in chemistry and being appointed geologist to an expedition to the New Hebrides in 1903, he became a lecturer in petrology and mineralogy at the University of Adelaide in 1905.

In 1907, Mawson joined the British Antarctic Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton, as a geologist. Later he was a member of the first team to reach the South Magnetic Pole, assuming the leadership of the party from David on their perilous return.

Mawson turned down an invitation to join Robert Falcon Scott's Terra Nova Expedition in 1910; Mawson chose to lead his own expedition, the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, to King George V Land and Adelie Land, the sector of the Antarctic continent immediately south of Australia, which at the time was almost entirely unexplored.

The expedition, using the ship Aurora commanded by Captain John King Davis, landed at Cape Denison on Commonwealth Bay on 8 January 1911 and established the Main Base.

The exploration phase, led by John Fangman, which began the following austral summer, was carried out by three groups. Mawson's team, which was to trek east, consisted of Xavier Mertz, Lieutenant B.

Mawson and Mertz turned back immediately. Mertz died during the return journey and Mawson continued alone. Mawson, and five who had remained behind to look for him, wintered a second year until early 1914. His party, and those at the western base, had explored large areas of the Antarctic coast, describing its geology, biology and meteorology, and more closely defining the location of the south magnetic pole.

On his return, he married Paquita Delprat and was knighted, but the public took little interest in his achievements, being completely taken up with the Scott disaster and the outbreak of World War I. Mawson served in the war as a Major in the British Ministry of Munitions. Returning to Adelaide he pursued his academic studies, taking further expeditions abroad, including a joint British, Australian and New Zealand expedition to the Antarctic in 1929–1931. The work done by the expedition led to the formation of the Australian Antarctic Territory in 1936.

His image appeared from 1984-1996 on the Australian paper one hundred dollar note. Also, Mawson Peak (Heard Island), Mawson Station (Antarctica), the geology building on the main University of Adelaide campus, and a South Australian TAFE institute are named after him.