Margaret Ann Bradshaw (née Cresswell; born 31 December 1941) is a New Zealand geologist and a retired staff member at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

. She is considered a trailblazer and influential female role model in

Antarctic The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is antipodes, diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antar ...

research.

Early life and education

Born Margaret Ann Cresswell in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

, England, on 31 December 1941, she married John Dudley Bradshaw in Nottingham in 1963, and they moved to

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, New Zealand, in 1966. Bradshaw began her work there on

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a period (geology), geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era during the Phanerozoic eon (geology), eon, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian per ...

invertebrate palaeontology, gradually incorporating

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

into her research. She became a naturalised New Zealand citizen in 1980.

Career and impact

Bradshaw focused her research on the structure and

stratigraphy Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigraphy has three related subfields: lithost ...

of Devonian rocks, around 400 million years old, in New Zealand and Antarctica. Specifically she worked on the development and relationship of

Paleozoic The Paleozoic ( , , ; or Palaeozoic) Era is the first of three Era (geology), geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma a ...

terrains in New Zealand, as well as the

paleobiogeography Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities often vary in a regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, ...

of Devonian

Bivalves Bivalvia () or bivalves, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of aquatic molluscs (marine and freshwater) that have laterally compressed soft bodies enclosed by a calcified exoskeleton consis ...

and the Paleontology and environmental significance of Paleozoic

Trace fossil A trace fossil, also called an ichnofossil (; ), is a fossil record of biological activity by lifeforms, but not the preserved remains of the organism itself. Trace fossils contrast with body fossils, which are the fossilized remains of part ...

s in both New Zealand, Antarctica and Australia. Bradshaw was a curator at the Canterbury Museum and her initial trips to Antarctica were to collect fossils and rocks for the Antarctic display. Bradshaw was the curator of Geology at the Canterbury Museum for 17 years. Her first trip to Antarctica was from 1975 to 1976 to collect specimens for the museum's Antarctic Hall. Bradshaw was the first woman to lead an Antarctic deep field party in her 1979 to 1980 field season to the remote Ohio Range and she was the first to discover new fish fossils in the exposures of the Cook Mountains in her 1988 to 1989 field season. Bradshaw was the president of the

New Zealand Antarctic Society New Zealand Antarctic Society was formed in 1933 by New Zealand businessman Arthur Leigh Hunt and Antarctic explorers Rear admiral, Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd and Sir Douglas Mawson. Its aims are: * to bring together people interested in the ...

for 10 years until 2003. She is a member of the Association of Australian Paleontologists.

Awards and honours

Bradshaw is the second woman to win the Queen's Polar Medal, and the first New Zealand woman to be awarded this medal, in 1993. She received the

Royal Society of New Zealand Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal ...

Science & Technology Medal in 1994. Bradshaw is a New Zealand Antarctic Society Life Member, nominated in 2006. In 2017, Bradshaw was selected as one of the Royal Society Te Apārangi's "

150 women in 150 words The "150 women in 150 words" project was undertaken by the Royal Society Te Apārangi and published during their 150th anniversary celebrations in 2017. The aim of the project was "celebrating women's contributions to expanding knowledge in New Z ...

", celebrating the contributions of women to knowledge in New Zealand. Bradshaw Peak, situated on the south west side of the McLay Glacier in Antarctica, is named in her honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradshaw, Margaret 1941 births Living people Scientists from Nottingham English emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand recipients of the Polar Medal New Zealand Antarctic scientists Academic staff of the University of Canterbury Women Antarctic scientists 20th-century New Zealand women scientists 20th-century British women scientists 20th-century New Zealand geologists Women geologists Female recipients of the Polar Medal Naturalised citizens of New Zealand 21st-century New Zealand geologists