Sydney Lorrimar Kirkby (13 June 1933 – 7 July 2024) was an Australian surveyor and

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 ...

explorer.

Life and career

Syd Kirkby was first appointed Surveyor at

Mawson Station Mawson Station, commonly called Mawson, is one of three permanent bases and research outposts in Antarctica managed by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). Mawson lies in Holme Bay in Mac. Robertson Land, East Antarctica in the Australian ...

for 1956, the third year of

ANARE The Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE ) is the historical name for the Australia: Antarctic Program#Australian Antarctic program, Australian Antarctic Program (AAP) administered for Australia by the Australian Antarctic D ...

operations in

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. ...

. Syd Kirkby was Surveyor and/or Station Leader of the ANARE 16-month wintering party at Mawson Station for three years: 1956–57, 1960–61, 1980-81. Additionally, he was a member of the summer operations team for four years: 1961–62, 1962–63, 1964–65 and 1979-80. Kirkby's many accomplishments in Antarctica include establishment of the easternmost, westernmost, and southernmost astrofixes in

Australian Antarctic Territory The Australian Antarctic Territory (AAT) is a part of East Antarctica claimed by Australia as an external territory. It is administered by the Australian Antarctic Division, an agency of the federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the E ...

. During his first expedition (1956–57), he was the first man to venture into the

Prince Charles Mountains The Prince Charles Mountains are a major group of mountains in Mac. Robertson Land in Antarctica, including the Athos Range, the Porthos Range, and the Aramis Range. The highest peak is Mount Menzies, with a height of . Other prominent peaks ...

with sled dogs. In the autumn of 1960, he and his team journeyed 400 kilometres through

Enderby Land Enderby Land is a projecting landmass of Antarctica. Its shore extends from Shinnan Glacier at about to William Scoresby Bay at , approximately of the earth's longitude (planets), longitude. It was first documented in western and eastern liter ...

from the

Napier Mountains The Napier Mountains are a group of close set peaks, the highest being Mount Elkins, at about 2,300 meters above sea level. This mountain range is located in Enderby Land, in the claimed Australian Antarctic Territory, East Antarctica. Location T ...

to Mawson station. Between 1961 and 1965, he surveyed more Antarctic territory than any other explorer. His contributions have made a significant impact on the fields of regional

geochronology Geochronology is the science of Chronological dating, determining the age of rock (geology), rocks, fossils, and sediments using signatures inherent in the rocks themselves. Absolute geochronology can be accomplished through radioactive isotopes, ...

petrology Petrology () is the branch of geology that studies rocks, their mineralogy, composition, texture, structure and the conditions under which they form. Petrology has three subdivisions: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary petrology. Igneous ...

tectonics Tectonics ( via Latin ) are the processes that result in the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. The field of ''planetary tectonics'' extends the concept to other planets and moons. These processes ...

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

orogeny Orogeny () is a mountain-mountain formation, building process that takes place at a convergent boundary, convergent plate margin when plate motion compresses the margin. An or develops as the compressed plate crumples and is tectonic uplift, u ...

glaciology Glaciology (; ) is the scientific study of glaciers, or, more generally, ice and natural phenomena that involve ice. Glaciology is an interdisciplinary Earth science that integrates geophysics, geology, physical geography, geomorphology, clim ...

, geomagnetism, and

paleomagnetism Paleomagnetism (occasionally palaeomagnetism) is the study of prehistoric Earth's magnetic fields recorded in rocks, sediment, or archeological materials. Geophysicists who specialize in paleomagnetism are called ''paleomagnetists.'' Certain ...

. In 1959, Kirkby joined the Commonwealth Government Division of National Mapping based in Melbourne. From 1961 he undertook extensive mapping control surveys in remote areas of Australia. In 1966 Kirby became Senior Surveyor in charge of National Mapping's airborne distance measuring (Aerodist) program. Later he became a Supervising Surveyor. Between 1976 and 1984 Kirkby was the Assistant Director in charge of National Mapping's Melbourne office. Kirkby died in

Nambour, Queensland Nambour is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Nambour had a population of 12,145 people. Geography Nambour is north of the state capital ...

on 7 July 2024, at the age of 91.

Awards and recognition

Many geographical features in and around Australian Antarctic Territory have been named for Syd Kirkby. Some of these are: * Mount Kirkby in the Porthos Range of the

Kirkby Head Kirkby Head is a sheer coastal outcrop on Tange Promontory in Enderby Land, Antarctica, which is claimed by Australia as part of the Australian Antarctic Territory. Continental ice reaches almost to the top on its southern side. It is located at t ...

Tange Promontory Tange Promontory is an ice-covered peninsula just west of Casey Bay on the coast of Enderby Land in Antarctica. Kirkby Head is a sheer coastal outcrop on Tange Promontory, at the east side of the entrance to Alasheyev Bight. Tange Promontory w ...

, near the Russian Molodezhnaya Station * Kirkby Shoal in

Newcomb Bay Newcomb Bay is a sheltered bay about 1 mile (1.6 km) in extent, between Clark Peninsula and Bailey Peninsula in the Windmill Islands area. First mapped from U.S. Navy Operation Highjump aerial photographs taken in February 1947. In Februa ...

, near

Casey Station Casey Station, commonly called Casey, is one of three permanent stations and research outposts in Antarctica managed by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). Casey lies on the northern side of the Bailey Peninsula (Antarctica), Bailey Peninsu ...

Shirley Island Shirley Island is a rocky island lying north-west of the western end of the Bailey Peninsula, in the Windmill Islands of the Budd Coast, Wilkes Land, Antarctica. It is mostly ice-free with undulating, rocky terrain. It was first mapped from ...

Windmill Islands The Windmill Islands are an Antarctic group of rocky islands and rocks about wide, paralleling the coast of Wilkes Land for immediately north of Vanderford Glacier along the east side of Vincennes Bay. Kirkby Shoal is a small shoal area w ...

Kirkby Glacier Kirkby Glacier () is a glacier, in length, that drains the central Anare Mountains of Antarctica and flows northwest to the sea just north of Arthurson Bluff, northern Victoria Land. Name Kirkby Glacier was named by the Australian National Anta ...

on the eastern boundary of Australian Antarctic Territory in the Trans Antarctic Mountains,

Oates Land Oates Land is a region of Antarctica. It is variously defined as a portion of the East Antarctica near the coast stretching along and inland from the Oates Coast (see map) and as an officially delineated wedge-shaped segment of the Australian A ...

Other awards and recognition include: * the

Polar Medal The Polar Medal is a medal awarded by the Sovereign of the United Kingdom to individuals who have outstanding achievements in the field of polar research, and particularly for those who have worked over extended periods in harsh climates. It w ...

(1958) * Member of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(1966) * the Gold Medal of the Australian Geographic Society as Adventurer of the Year (1997) * nominated by the newspaper

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...

as one of the ten greatest Australian adventurers of the 20th century (1999) * John Park Thomson (Founder’s) Medal, the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia, Queensland Branch (2002) * Officer of the Order of Australia (2018) * Phillip Law Medal (ANARE Club) (2020)

References

External links

Australian Antarctic Names and Medals Committee (AANMC)
*
United States Geological Survey, Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)

Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR)

PDF Map of the Australian Antarctic Territory

Mawson Station
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirkby, Sydney L. 1933 births 2024 deaths Australian explorers of Antarctica Australian Antarctic scientists Australian scientists 20th-century Australian explorers Officers of the Order of Australia Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Polar Medal People from Perth, Western Australia

Life and career

Awards and recognition

References

Further reading

External links