122-551: Sir Douglas Mawson OBE FRS FAA (5 May 1882 – 14 October 1958) was a British-born Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer, and academic. Along with Roald Amundsen , Robert Falcon Scott , and Sir Ernest Shackleton , he was a key expedition leader during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration . Mawson was born in England and was brought to Australia as an infant. He completed degrees in mining engineering and geology at
244-410: A dame if female. There is also the related British Empire Medal , whose recipients are affiliated with, but not members of, the order. The order was established on 4 June 1917 by King George V , who created the order to recognise 'such persons, male or female, as may have rendered or shall hereafter render important services to Our Empire'. Equal recognition was to be given for services rendered in
366-808: A Coral Island . David's reputation was growing in Europe, and in 1899 he was awarded the Bigsby Medal by the Geological Society of London , and in 1900 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society . From 1900 to 1907 he conducted field studies of glaciation in the Kosciusko plateau and Precambrian glaciation in South Australia. In 1904, David was elected president of the Australasian Association for
488-527: A GBE (in recognition of his role as chairman of the Scottish War Savings Committee) and the award of medal of the order to Lizzie Robinson, a munitions worker. The order had been established primarily as a civilian award; in August 1918, however, not long after its foundation, a number of awards were made to serving naval and military personnel. Four months later, a 'Military Division' was added to
610-404: A broad riband or sash, passing from the right shoulder to the left hip. Knights Commander and male Commanders wear the badge from a ribbon around the neck; male Officers and Members wear the badge from a ribbon on the left chest; female recipients other than Dames Grand Cross (unless in military uniform) normally wear it from a bow on the left shoulder. An oval eight-pointed star is worn, pinned to
732-538: A burning building containing explosives. In December 1922 the statutes of the order were amended; there having been a large number of awards for war work prior to this date, these amended statutes placed the order on more of a peacetime footing. For the first time numbers of appointments were limited, with the stipulation that senior awards in the Civil Division were to outnumber those in the Military Division by
854-449: A circlet bearing the motto of the Order; the reverse bears George V's Royal and Imperial Cypher. (Prior to 1937 Britannia was shown within the circlet.) The size of the badges varies according to rank: the higher classes have slightly larger badges. The badges of Knights and Dames Grand Cross, Knights and Dames Commander, and Commanders are enamelled, with pale blue crosses, crimson circlets and
976-466: A citizen of a Commonwealth realm can convert their appointment from honorary to substantive, and they then enjoy all privileges of membership of the order, including use of the title of Sir and Dame for the senior two ranks of the Order. (An example of the latter is Irish broadcaster Terry Wogan , who was appointed an honorary Knight Commander of the Order in 2005, and on successful application for British citizenship, held alongside his Irish citizenship,
1098-453: A coma and dying on 8 January 1913. It was unknown at the time that high levels of vitamin A are toxic to humans, causing liver damage, and that husky liver contains extremely high levels of the vitamin. With six dogs between them (with a liver on average weighing one kilogram or 2.2 pounds), it is thought that the pair ingested enough liver to cause the toxicity syndrome hypervitaminosis A , which can be fatal. Mertz may have eaten more of
1220-638: A diet of seals and penguins. They then crossed the Drygalski Ice Tongue and turned inland. They still faced a 700-kilometre (430 mi) return journey and established a depot to enable them to transfer their load to one overladen sled and to remove the need to relay. On 16 January 1909, they finally arrived at the South Magnetic Pole and took possession of the region for the British Crown. David had been appointed leader by Shackleton, but by
1342-443: A gold central medallion. Officers' badges are plain silver-gilt, while those of Members are plain silver. From 1917 until 1937, the badge of the order was suspended on a purple ribbon, with a red central stripe being added for the military division in 1918. Since 1937, the ribbon has been rose-pink with pearl-grey edges (with the addition of a pearl-grey central stripe for the military division). Knights and Dames Grand Cross wear it on
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#17328548903301464-474: A ledge 165 feet (50 m) below them, but Ninnis was never seen again. After a brief service, Mawson and Mertz turned back immediately. They had one week's provisions for two men and no dog food but plenty of fuel and a Primus stove . They sledged for 27 hours continuously to obtain a spare tent cover they had left behind, for which they improvised a frame from skis and a theodolite . Their lack of provisions forced them to use their remaining sled dogs to feed
1586-676: A month to return to the expedition's main base . Mawson was knighted in 1914, and during the second half of World War I worked as a non-combatant with the British and Russian militaries. He returned to the University of Adelaide in 1919 and became a full professor in 1921, contributing much to Australian geology. He returned to the Antarctic as the leader of the British Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (1929–1931), which led to
1708-488: A proportion of six to one. Furthermore appointments in the civil division were to be divided equally between UK and overseas awards. With regard to the Medal of the Order (but not the order itself), a distinction was made in 1922 between awards 'for gallantry' and awards 'for meritorious service' (each being appropriately inscribed, and the former having laurel leaves decorating the clasp, the latter oak leaves). In 1933 holders of
1830-593: A territorial claim in the form of the Australian Antarctic Territory . Mawson is commemorated by numerous landmarks and from 1984 to 1996 appeared on the Australian $ 100 note . Mawson was born on 5 May 1882 to Robert Ellis Mawson and Margaret Ann Moore. He was born in Shipley , West Riding of Yorkshire , but was less than two years old when his family emigrated to Australia and settled at Rooty Hill , now in
1952-399: A third expedition in 1898 which, under the leadership of Dr. Alfred Edmund Finckh, was successful in carrying the bore to 1114 feet (340 m). The results provided support for Charles Darwin 's theory of subsidence , and the expeditions made David's name as a geologist. Cara accompanied him on the second expedition and published a well-received account called Funafuti, or Three Months on
2074-476: A very close personal relationship with Kathleen Scott , the widow of polar explorer Robert Falcon Scott . Returning to the University of Adelaide in 1919, he was promoted to the professorship of geology and mineralogy in 1921, and made a major contribution to Australian geology. He organised and led the joint British Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE) in 1929–31, which resulted in
2196-551: Is Antarctic exploration. In 2011, Ranulph Fiennes included Mawson in his book My Heroes: Extraordinary Courage, Exceptional People . In 2013 the "Australian Mawson Centenary Expedition", led by Chris Turney and Chris Fogwill, undertook a voyage to investigate Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic oceanography, climate and biology. Their ship, the MV Akademik Shokalskiy , became trapped in ice. The expedition later visited Mawson's huts at Cape Denison on Commonwealth Bay. After
2318-512: Is an image of Britannia surrounded by the motto, with the words "For Meritorious Service" at the bottom; on the reverse is George V's Imperial and Royal Cypher, with the words "Instituted by King George V" at the bottom. The name of the recipient is engraved on the rim. This medal is nicknamed "the Gong", and comes in both full-sized and miniature versions – the latter for formal white-tie and semi-formal black-tie occasions. A lapel pin for everyday wear
2440-628: Is named after David, who discovered varve shale there in 1914. The boreholes on Funafuti , Tuvalu are known as David's Drill . In 1968 he was honoured on a postage stamp issued by Australia Post . Edgeworth David's daughter Margaret McIntyre was the first woman elected to the Parliament of Tasmania and was awarded the Order of the British Empire . In 1999, the David wooded family estate Coringah , in
2562-884: Is not a member of the College of Arms , as are many other heraldic officers; and the Lady Usher of the Purple Rod does not – unlike the Order of the Garter equivalent, the Lady Usher of the Black Rod – perform any duties related to the House of Lords . Since the Second World War, several Commonwealth realms have established their own national system of honours and awards and have created their own unique orders, decorations and medals. A number, though, continue to make recommendations for appointments to
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#17328548903302684-630: The Gallipoli Campaign , along with Professor Ernest Skeats, a professor at the University of Melbourne, David wrote a proposal to Senator George Pearce , the Australian Defence Minister, suggesting that the government raise a military force to undertake mining and tunnelling . After the proposal was accepted, David used his advocacy and organisational abilities to set up the Australian Mining Corps , and on 25 October 1915 he
2806-484: The Order of Canada . On the other hand, the Australian Honours System unilaterally created in 1975 did not achieve bi-partisan support until 1992, which was when Australian federal and state governments agreed to cease Australian recommendations for British honours; the last Australian recommended Order of the British Empire appointments were in the 1989 Queen's Birthday Honours . New Zealand continued to use
2928-581: The University of Sydney . In 1905 he was made a lecturer in petrology and mineralogy at the University of Adelaide . Mawson's first experience in the Antarctic came as a member of Shackleton's Nimrod Expedition (1907–1909), alongside his mentor Edgeworth David . They were part of the expedition's northern party, which became the first to attain the South magnetic pole and to climb Mount Erebus . After his participation in Shackleton's expedition, Mawson became
3050-785: The 'house in the trees' (often mistranslated as 'the shack in the bush': 'ty' is a proper house in Welsh, not a mere hut). In 1915 the Davids offered their home to the Red Cross convalescent home for the rehabilitation of injured servicemen and the Woodford Academy boys erected a flagstaff for the Union Jack and Red Cross flags for the soldiers in residence. When the Cooee marchers trooped past in November 1915 some of
3172-464: The 21st century quotas were introduced to ensure consistent representation among recipients across nine categories of eligibility: with the largest proportion of awards being reserved for community, voluntary and local service. Non-military awards of the British Empire Medal resumed in 2012, starting with 293 BEMs awarded for Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee . In 2017 the centenary of
3294-983: The Advancement of Science which met in Dunedin , and in 1910 re-elected to presidency of the Royal Society of New South Wales. He attended the International Geological Congress held in Mexico in 1906; on his way back to Australia visiting the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, and studying the effect of the San Francisco earthquake. In mid-1907, David was invited to join Ernest Shackleton 's Antarctic Nimrod Expedition , and, in December, won Australian government funding for
3416-532: The Antarctic . In 1910, David became a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George , and visiting England in connection with the scientific results of the Antarctic expedition, Oxford University awarded him the honorary degree of Doctor of Science . From 1911 to 1912, he provided public and practical support for the Japanese Antarctic Expedition , which was wintering in Sydney. In 1913, David
3538-411: The Antarctic continent immediately south of Australia, which at the time was almost entirely unexplored. The objectives were to carry out geographical exploration and scientific studies, including a visit to the South magnetic pole . Mawson raised the necessary funds in a year, from British and Australian governments, and from commercial backers interested in mining and whaling . The expedition, using
3660-425: The Antarctic, originally intending to stay for the duration of the ship's presence in the first summer. Instead both he and his mentor, Edgeworth David , stayed an extra year. In doing so they became, in the company of Alistair Mackay , the first to climb the summit of Mount Erebus and to trek to the South magnetic pole , which at that time was over land. During their stay, they also wrote, illustrated and printed
3782-788: The British Empire . Rather than using this chapel, the Order now holds its great services upstairs in the nave of the cathedral. In addition to the Chapel of the Order of the British Empire, St Paul's Cathedral also houses the Chapel of the Order of St Michael and St George . Religious services for the whole Order are held every four years; new Knights and Dames Grand Cross are installed at these services. Knights Grand Cross and Knights Commander prefix Sir , and Dames Grand Cross and Dames Commander prefix Dame , to their forenames. Wives of Knights may prefix Lady to their surnames, but no equivalent privilege exists for husbands of Knights or spouses of Dames. Such forms are not used by peers and princes, except when
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3904-490: The British Empire for Gallantry. Any individual made a member of the order for gallantry after 14 January 1958 wears an emblem of two crossed silver oak leaves on the same ribbon as the badge, with a miniature version on the ribbon bar when worn alone. When the ribbon only is worn the emblem is worn in miniature. It could not be awarded posthumously , and was replaced in 1974 with the Queen's Gallantry Medal (QGM). If recipients of
4026-527: The Commonwealth of Australia . He died in 1934 without being able to complete this work and was given a state funeral. David's The Geology of the Commonwealth of Australia was finally completed by his chosen collaborator, Associate Professor William R. Browne in 1950. Of his many papers, over 100 will be found listed in the Geological Magazine for January 1922. A travelling scholarship in his memory
4148-626: The Ice , and the deadly effect of dog liver are referenced in the plot of an episode of British television series New Tricks , where it is used to commit the almost-perfect murder. The Mawson Trail in South Australia is also named after him. Minor planet 4456 Mawson is named in his honour. Sir Douglas was buried at the historic cemetery of St Jude's Church , 444 Brighton Road, Brighton, South Australia , in 1958. 35°1′1.99″S 138°31′26.89″E / 35.0172194°S 138.5241361°E / -35.0172194; 138.5241361 Officer of
4270-805: The Ice: The Greatest Survival Story in the History of Exploration . In his book The Home of the Blizzard , Mawson talked of "Herculean gusts" on 24 May 1912 which he learned afterwards "approached two hundred miles per hour". Mawson reported that the average wind speed for March was 68 miles per hour (109 km/h); for April, 52.5 miles per hour (84.5 km/h); and for May, 67.799 miles per hour (109.112 km/h). These katabatic winds can reach around 300 km/h (190 mph) and led Mawson to dub Cape Denison "the windiest place on Earth". Mawson married Francisca Adriana (Paquita) Delprat (daughter of
4392-785: The Military Division of the order from the UK and across the Empire. Recommendations for all appointments to the Order of the British Empire were originally made on the nomination of the King's United Kingdom ministers (recommendations for overseas awards were made by the Foreign Office , the Colonial Office , the India Office and the Dominions Office ); but in the early 1940s the system was changed to enable
4514-588: The Mueller medal by the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science at a rapturous official welcome. At Shackleton's request, David then went on a lecture tour and earned enough money to pay the expenses of publication of the two volumes on the geology of the expedition. He also wrote his Narrative of the Magnetic Pole Journey , which appeared in the second volume of Shackleton's Heart of
4636-684: The Neighbourhood of Cardiff before the Cardiff Naturalists' Society. In the following year he briefly studied at the Royal School of Mines , London, under Professor J.W. Judd before accepting the position of Assistant Geological Surveyor to the Government of New South Wales, Australia. David took up his post in November 1882. In 1884, his report on the tin deposits in the New England district
4758-794: The New South Wales Hunter Valley is named in his honour. David Island , lying off Davis Peninsula in the Shackleton Ice Shelf in Antarctica , is named for him. Edgeworth David Base is the name of a summer station in the Bunger Hills area of Antarctica. It has been maintained by Australia since 1986. The suburb of Edgeworth in the New South Wales, is named after him. The Edgeworth David quarry in Seaham , New South Wales
4880-500: The Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry , rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service . It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two of which make the recipient either a knight if male or
5002-436: The Order of the British Empire for Gallantry received promotion within the order, whether for gallantry or otherwise, they continued to wear also the insignia of the lower grade with the oak leaves; however, they used only the post-nominal letters of the higher grade. When the order was founded in 1917, badges, ribands and stars were appointed for wear by recipients. In 1929 mantles, hats and collars were added for recipients of
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5124-513: The Order of the British Empire. In 2024 appointments to the order were made by the governments of: Most members of the order are citizens of the United Kingdom or Commonwealth realms that use the UK system of honours and awards. In addition, honorary awards may be made to citizens of nations where the monarch is not head of state ; these permit use of post-nominal letters, but not the title of Sir or Dame . Honorary appointees who later become
5246-404: The Order, however, are not assigned any special precedence. As a general rule, only wives and children of male recipients are afforded privileges. Knights and Dames Grand Cross are also entitled to be granted heraldic supporters . They may, furthermore, encircle their arms with a depiction of the circlet (a circle bearing the motto) and the collar; the former is shown either outside or on top of
5368-485: The UK and overseas. Today the majority of recipients are UK citizens, though a number of Commonwealth realms outside the UK continue to make appointments to the order. Honorary awards may be made to citizens of other nations of which the order's sovereign is not the head of state. The five classes of appointment to the Order are, from highest grade to lowest grade: The senior two ranks of Knight or Dame Grand Cross and Knight or Dame Commander entitle their members to use
5490-460: The United Kingdom; those who would formerly have met the criteria for the medal were instead made eligible for the MBE. In 2004, a report entitled A Matter of Honour: Reforming Our Honours System by a Commons select committee recommended phasing out the Order of the British Empire, as its title was "now considered to be unacceptable, being thought to embody values that are no longer shared by many of
5612-408: The University of Adelaide. He died at his Brighton home in South Australia on 14 October 1958 from a cerebral haemorrhage . He was 76 years old. At the time of his death he had still not completed editorial work on all the papers resulting from his expedition, and this was completed by his eldest daughter, Patricia, only in 1975. In 1948, Carroll William Dodge published a genus of fungi within
5734-593: The University of Sydney, the chair passing to his student Leo Cotton, a neighbour in Hornsby, New South Wales , whose brother Max Cotton created Lisgar Gardens in Hornsby. In 1928 he discovered what he believed were Precambrian fossils, creating controversy which remained until his death. In 1931 he published the Geological Map of the Commonwealth and the accompanying Explanatory Notes , designed to be part of his Geology of
5856-706: 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 . In 1915, the Royal Geographical Society awarded him their Founder's Medal and in 1916 the American Geographical Society awarded him the David Livingstone Centenary Medal . The expedition was the subject of David Roberts ' book Alone on
5978-450: The addition of a vertical pearl grey stripe in the centre for awards in the military division). From time to time the order was expanded: there was an increase in the maximum permitted number of recipients in 1933, and a further increase in 1937. During the Second World War, as had been the case during and after World War I, the number of military awards was greatly increased; between 1939 and 1946 there were more than 33,000 appointments to
6100-417: The average wind speed for the entire year was about 50 mph (80 km/h), with some winds approaching 200 mph (320 km/h). They built a hut on the rocky cape and wintered through nearly constant blizzards . Mawson wanted to do aerial exploration and brought the first aeroplane to Antarctica. The aircraft, a Vickers R.E.P. Type Monoplane , was to be flown by Francis Howard Bickerton . When it
6222-399: The book Aurora Australis . Mawson contributed with the science fiction short-story Bathybia. Mawson turned down an invitation to join Robert Falcon Scott's Terra Nova Expedition in 1910; Australian geologist Thomas Griffith Taylor went with Scott instead. Mawson chose to lead his own expedition, the Australasian Antarctic Expedition , to George V Land and Adélie Land , the sector of
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#17328548903306344-447: The bottom of a well he was examining, breaking two ribs and rupturing his urethra . He was invalided to London but returned to the Front in November, assuming the role of geological technical advisor to the British Expeditionary Force . On 7 June 1917 his wartime contribution culminated in the mining of German positions in the Battle of Messines . In January 1918, David was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and in November he
6466-413: The cathedral. That year, Commonwealth awards made up 40% of all OBEs and MBEs awarded (and 35% of all living recipients of the higher awards). Gradually that proportion reduced as independent states within the Commonwealth established their own systems of honours . The last Canadian recommendation for the Order of the British Empire was an MBE for gallantry gazetted in 1966, a year before the creation of
6588-418: The circlet. In 1929, to bring the order into line with the other orders of chivalry, members of the first class of the order (GBE) were provided with mantles, hats and collars. Only Knights/Dames Grand Cross wear these elaborate vestments; the hat is now rarely, if ever, worn. Use of the mantle is limited to important occasions (such as quadrennial services and coronations ). The mantle is always worn with
6710-444: The collar. Although the mantle was introduced in 1929, very few mantles would have been produced prior to the 1937 design changes, as there were few occasions for wearing them in the intervening years. On certain days designated by the sovereign, known as " collar days ", members attending formal events may wear the order's collar over their military uniform, formal day dress, evening wear or robes of office. Collars are returned upon
6832-479: The country's population". The committee further suggested changing the name of the award to the Order of British Excellence, and changing the rank of Commander to Companion (as the former was said to have a "militaristic ring"), as well as advocating for the abolition of knighthoods and damehoods; the government, however, was not of the opinion that a case for change had been made, and the aforementioned suggestions and recommendations were not, therefore, pursued. In
6954-403: The death of their owners, but other insignia may be retained. The six office-holders of the order wear pearl-grey mantles lined with rose-pink, having on the right side a purple shield charged with the roundel from the badge. Each of these office-holders wears a unique badge of office, suspended from a gold chain worn around the neck. The British Empire Medal is made of silver. On the obverse
7076-445: The distinction between ranks in military operational gallantry awards will cease'. The reforms affected the order at various levels: for example the automatic award each year of a GBE to the Lord Mayor of London ceased; the OBE replaced the Imperial Service Order as an award for civil servants and the number of MBEs awarded each year was significantly increased. As part of these reforms the British Empire Medal stopped being awarded by
7198-451: The eldest son of the Rev. William David, a fellow of Jesus College, Oxford , a classical scholar and naturalist and his wife Margaret Harriette (née Thomson). His mother's cousin, William A. E. Ussher of the Geological Survey , first interested David in what was to be his life work. At the age of 12, David went to Magdalen College School, Oxford in 1870. In 1876, he gained a classical scholarship to New College, Oxford . While there he
7320-429: The end of January, with all three of the party experiencing severe physical deterioration, David was increasingly unable to contribute. On 31 January, Mackay exerted his authority as the party's doctor and threatened to declare the Professor insane unless he gave written authority of leadership to Mawson. Mawson took command, writing in his diary on 3 February: "the Prof was now certainly partly demented". That day
7442-427: The expedition. The same month he left for New Zealand with Leo Cotton and Douglas Mawson , two of his former students. David was nearly 50 years of age and it was intended that he would stay only until April 1908, but en route to Antarctica on the Nimrod he altered his plans and decided to stay for the entire duration of the expedition. From 5 to 11 March 1908, David led the first ascent of Mount Erebus ,
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#17328548903307564-539: The family Lichinaceae , named Mawsonia in his honour. His image appeared on several postage stamps of the Australian Antarctic Territory: 5 pence (1961), 5 pence (1961), 27 cents and 75 cents (1982), 10 cents (2011), 45 cents (1999). His image appeared from 1984 to 1996 on the Australian paper one hundred dollar note and in 2012 on a $ 1 coin issued within the Inspirational Australians series. Mawson Peak ( Heard Island ), Mount Mawson ( Tasmania ), Mawson Station (Antarctica), Dorsa Mawson ( Mare Fecunditatis ),
7686-435: The final dash. David and four others reached the summit and the whole party returned to the base. During the winter of 1908, he would submit a chapter to Aurora Australis , the first book written and published in Antartica, with his account of the ascent. On 5 October, David led Mawson and Mackay on an attempt to reach the Magnetic South Pole . For 10 weeks the men followed the coast north supplementing their stores with
7808-429: The formation of the Australian Antarctic Territory in 1936. He also spent much of his time researching the geology of the northern Flinders Ranges in South Australia. Mawson was Honorary Curator of Minerals for the South Australian Museum from 1907 to 1958, and also Chair of the South Australian Museum Board of Governors from 1951 to 1958. Upon his retirement from teaching in 1952 he was made an emeritus professor of
7930-403: The former was to be responsible for recording all proceedings connected with the order, issuing warrants under the seal of the order and making arrangements for investitures, while the latter (at that time the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury ) was responsible for collecting and tabulating the names of those who were to receive an award. The office of Dean was added in 1957. The King of Arms
8052-433: The geology building on the main University of Adelaide campus, suburbs in Canberra and Adelaide , a University of South Australian campus and the main street of Meadows , South Australia are named after him. At Oxley College in Burradoo , New South Wales, a sports house is called Mawson, as is at Clarence High School in Hobart , Tasmania, Forest Lodge Public School and Street High School , both in Sydney, where he
8174-401: The governments of overseas dominions to make their own nominations; Canada and South Africa began doing so in 1942, followed by Australia, New Zealand and other Commonwealth realms. In May 1957, forty years after the foundation of the order, it was announced that St Paul's Cathedral was to serve as the church of the order, and in 1960 a chapel was dedicated for its use within the crypt of
8296-438: The harness attaching him to the sled. When Mawson finally made it back to Cape Denison , the ship Aurora had left only a few hours before. It was recalled by wireless communication , only to have bad weather thwart the rescue effort. Mawson and six men who had remained behind to look for him wintered a second year until December 1913. In Mawson's book Home of the Blizzard , he describes his experiences. His party, and those at
8418-450: The highest class of the order (GBE). The designs of all these items underwent major changes in 1937. The badge is worn by all members of the order; the size, colour and design depends on the class of award. The badge for all classes is in the form of a cross patonce (having the arms growing broader and floriated toward the end) with a medallion in the centre, the obverse of which bears a crowned image of George V and Queen Mary within
8540-637: The honours system, calling it "a preposterous charade". The order has attracted some criticism for its naming having connection with the idea of the now-extinct British Empire . Benjamin Zephaniah , a British poet of Jamaican and Barbadian descent, publicly rejected appointment as an Officer in 2003 because, he asserted, it reminded him of "thousands of years of brutality". He also said that "it reminds me of how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers brutalised". Edgeworth David Sir Tannatt William Edgeworth David KBE CMG DSO FRS (28 January 1858 – 28 August 1934)
8662-446: The insignia to Buckingham Palace and by ceasing to make reference to their honour, but they still hold the honour unless and until annulled by the monarch. In 2003, The Sunday Times published a list of the people who had rejected the Order of the British Empire, including David Bowie , John Cleese , Nigella Lawson , Elgar Howarth , L. S. Lowry , George Melly , and J. G. Ballard . In addition, Ballard voiced his opposition to
8784-624: The junior post-nominal letters. The British sovereign is the sovereign of the order and appoints all other officers of the order (by convention, on the advice of the governments of the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth realms ). The second-most senior officer is the Grand Master (a 'Prince of the Blood Royal, or other exalted personage' appointed by the sovereign, who, by virtue of their appointment, becomes 'the First or Principal Knight Grand Cross of
8906-519: The latter. Knights and Dames Commander and Commanders may display the circlet, but not the collar, surrounding their arms. The badge is depicted suspended from the collar or circlet. See List of current honorary knights and dames of the Order of the British Empire Only the monarch can annul an honour. The Honours Forfeiture Committee considers cases and makes recommendations for forfeiture. An individual can renounce their honour by returning
9028-463: The left breast, by Knights and Dames Grand Cross; Knights and Dames Commander wear a smaller star composed of 'four equal points and four lesser'. The star is not worn by the more junior classes. Prior to 1937 each star had in the centre a gold medallion with a figure of Britannia, surrounded by a crimson circlet inscribed with the motto of the order ('For God and the Empire'); since 1937 the effigies of King George V and Queen Mary have been shown within
9150-470: The liver because he had been used to a vegetarian diet, and so may have found the tough muscle tissue difficult to eat, thus being exposed to greater toxicity than Mawson. Mawson continued the final 161 kilometres (100 mi) alone. During his return trip to the Main Base he fell through the lid of a crevasse, and was saved only by his sledge wedging itself into the ice above him. He managed to climb out using
9272-429: The main base. Mertz was skiing and Mawson was on his sled with his weight dispersed, but Ninnis was jogging beside the second sled. Ninnis fell through a crevasse , and his body weight is likely to have breached the snow bridge covering it. The six best dogs, most of the party's rations, their tent, and other essential supplies disappeared into the massive crevasse. Mertz and Mawson spotted one dead and one injured dog on
9394-446: The major part was fed to the surviving dogs. They crunched the bones and ate the skin, until nothing remained. There was a quick deterioration in the men's physical condition during this journey. Both men suffered dizziness ; nausea ; abdominal pain ; irrationality ; mucosal fissuring; skin, hair, and nail loss; and the yellowing of eyes and skin. Later Mawson noticed a dramatic change in his travelling companion. Mertz seemed to lose
9516-569: The medal 'for gallantry', which had come to be known as the Empire Gallantry Medal , were given permission to use the postnominal letters EGM (and at the same time to add a laurel branch emblem to the ribbon of the medal); however, in 1940, awards of the EGM ceased and all holders of the medal were instructed to exchange it for a new and more prestigious gallantry award: the George Cross . In 1941,
9638-547: The medal of the order 'for meritorious service' was renamed the British Empire Medal , and the following year its recipients were granted the right to use the postnominal letters BEM. During the war, the BEM came to be used to recognise acts of bravery which did not merit the award of a George Cross or George Medal , a use which continued until the introduction of the Queen's Gallantry Medal in 1974. The designs of insignia of
9760-449: The medal. The colour of the riband was also changed: twenty years earlier, prior to the order's establishment, Queen Mary had made it known that pink would be her preferred colour for the riband of the proposed new order, but, in the event, purple was chosen. Following her appointment as Grand Master of the order in 1936 a change was duly made and since 9 March 1937 the riband of the order has been 'rose pink edged with pearl grey’ (with
9882-584: The metallurgist G. D. Delprat ) on 31 March 1914 at Holy Trinity Church of England, Balaclava, Victoria . They had two daughters, Patricia and Jessica. Also in 1914, he was knighted, and was preoccupied with news of the Scott disaster until the outbreak of World War I. Mawson served 1916-1919 as a Captain (later acting-Major) in the British Ministry of Munitions , based in Liverpool . During this period he established
10004-469: The names of the former are written out in their fullest forms. Male clergy of the Church of England or the Church of Scotland do not use the title Sir (unless they were knighted before being ordained) as they do not receive the accolade (they are not dubbed "knight" with a sword), although they do append the post-nominal letters ; dames do not receive the accolade, and therefore female clergy are free to use
10126-399: The numbers restricted to the order as full members do. Although the Order of the British Empire has by far the highest number of members of the British orders of chivalry, with more than 100,000 living members worldwide, there are fewer appointments to knighthoods than in other orders. From time to time, individuals may be promoted to a higher grade within the Order, thereby ceasing usage of
10248-479: The only active volcano in Antarctica. David led the summit party consisting of Mawson, Alistair Mackay and himself, and there was a supporting party of three which it was afterwards decided should also attempt to reach the summit. In this they were successful in spite of a blizzard which barred their progress for a day and night. One member of the party had his feet badly frostbitten, and had to be left in camp before
10370-605: The order alongside its own honours until the establishment of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 1996. Other Commonwealth realms have continued to use the Order of the British Empire alongside their own honours. In 1993 the Prime Minister, John Major , instituted a reform of the honours system with the aim 'that exceptional service or achievement will be more widely recognised; that greater importance will be given to voluntary service; that automatic honours will end; that
10492-408: The order and medal were altered in 1937, prior to the coronation of King George VI , 'in commemoration of the reign of King George V and Queen Mary, during which the Order was founded'. The figure of Britannia at the centre of the badge of the order was replaced with an image of the crowned heads of the late King and Queen Mary, and the words 'Instituted by King George V' were added to the reverse of
10614-409: The order was celebrated with a service at St Paul's Cathedral. The order is limited to 300 Knights and Dames Grand Cross, 845 Knights and Dames Commander, and 8,960 Commanders. There are no limits applied to the total number of members of the fourth and fifth classes, but no more than 858 officers and 1,464 members may be appointed per year. Foreign appointees, as honorary members, do not contribute to
10736-426: The order, to which serving personnel would in future be appointed. The classes were the same as for the Civil Division (as it was now termed), but military awards were distinguished by the addition of a central vertical red stripe to the purple riband of the civil awards. In 1920 appointment as an MBE 'for an act of gallantry' was granted for the first time, to Sydney Frank Blanck Esq, who had rescued an injured man from
10858-464: The other dogs and themselves: Their meat was tough, stringy and without a vestige of fat. For a change we sometimes chopped it up finely, mixed it with a little pemmican , and brought all to the boil in a large pot of water. We were exceedingly hungry, but there was nothing to satisfy our appetites. Only a few ounces were used of the stock of ordinary food, to which was added a portion of dog's meat, never large, for each animal yielded so very little, and
10980-448: The party reached the coast line with perfect timing; within 24 hours they were collected by the Nimrod for the return trip to Cape Royds . The trio had covered a distance of 1,260 miles (2,028 km), which stood as the longest unsupported sled journey until the mid-1980s. The expedition returned to New Zealand on 25 March 1909. When David returned to Sydney he was presented with
11102-680: The premiere of South by Artistic Director Garry Stewart in Adelaide. The acclaimed contemporary dance work reflects upon the treacherous journey across the wilds of eastern Antarctica undertaken by Mawson and his ill-fated team in the summer of 1912–1913. Garry Stewart won Outstanding Achievement in Choreography for South in 2019 at the Australian Dance Awards, presented by AusDance. The work has since toured regional South Australia. David Roberts' account of Mawson's AAE expedition, Alone on
11224-586: 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. Mawson was the sole survivor of the three-man Far Eastern Party , which travelled across the Mertz and Ninnis Glaciers named after his two deceased companions. Their deaths forced him to travel alone for over
11346-633: The release of Mawson's journals and other expedition records, some historians have questioned Mawson's navigation, risk-taking and leadership. In December 2013, the first opera to be based on Mawson's 1911–1914 expedition to Antarctica, The Call of Aurora (by Tasmanian composer Joe Bugden) was performed at The Peacock Theatre in Hobart. The Call of Aurora investigates the relationship between Douglas Mawson and his wireless operator, Sidney Jeffryes , who developed symptoms of paranoia and had to be relieved of his duties. In 2019, Australian Dance Theatre presented
11468-586: The same Order'). The position of Grand Master has been held by the following people: In addition to the sovereign and the grand master , the order has six further officers: At its foundation the order was served by three officers: the King of Arms, the Registrar & Secretary and the Gentleman Usher of the Purple Rod. In 1922 the Prelate was added, and the office of Registrar was separated from that of Secretary:
11590-518: The same vessel with him. In April 1886 he began surveying the Hunter Valley coalfields and in August discovered the Greta coal seam , which yielded over £50,000,000 worth of coal up to 1949. Much of his time during the next four years was spent near Maitland where he was still tracing and mapping the coal measures and reporting to the government on other matters of commercial value. David's assistant in 1890
11712-518: The ship SY Aurora commanded by Captain John King Davis , departed from Hobart on 2 December 1911, landed at Cape Denison (named after Hugh Denison , a major backer of the expedition) on Commonwealth Bay on 8 January 1912, and established the Main Base. A second camp was located to the west on the ice shelf in Queen Mary Land . Cape Denison proved to be unrelentingly windy;
11834-455: The standard of the George Medal (even though, as appointments to an order of chivalry, they were listed before it on the Order of Wear . In contrast to awards for meritorious service, which usually appear without a citation, there were often citations for gallantry awards, some detailed and graphic. From 14 January 1958, these awards were designated Commander, Officer or Member of the Order of
11956-506: The title Dame . Knights and Dames Grand Cross use the post-nominal GBE; Knights Commander, KBE; Dames Commander, DBE; Commanders, CBE; Officers, OBE; and Members, MBE. The post-nominal for the British Empire Medal is BEM. Members of all classes of the order are assigned positions in the order of precedence . Wives of male members of all classes also feature on the order of precedence, as do sons, daughters and daughters-in-law of Knights Grand Cross and Knights Commander; relatives of Ladies of
12078-473: The title 'Geological Adviser to the Controllers of Mines in the First, Second and Third Armies', David became relatively independent and spent his time in geological investigations, using his expertise to advise on the construction of dugouts, trenches, and tunnels, the siting of wells for provision of pure drinking water from underground supplies, giving lectures, and producing maps. In September 1916 he fell to
12200-577: The titles Sir for men and Dame for women before their forenames, except with honorary awards. King George V founded the order to fill gaps in the British honours system : In particular, George V wished to create an order to honour the many thousands of individuals from across the Empire who had served in a variety of non-combat roles during the First World War . From its foundation the order consisted of five classes (GBE, KBE/DBE, CBE, OBE and MBE) and
12322-521: The western suburbs of Sydney. Later he and his family moved to the inner-Sydney suburb of Glebe in 1893. He attended Forest Lodge Public School, Fort Street Model School and the University of Sydney , where he graduated in 1902 with a Bachelor of Engineering degree. He was appointed geologist to an expedition to the New Hebrides (now Vanuatu ) in 1903; his report, The Geology of the New Hebrides ,
12444-444: The will to move and wished only to remain in his sleeping bag. He began to deteriorate rapidly with diarrhoea and madness. On one occasion Mertz refused to believe he was suffering from frostbite and bit off the tip of his own little finger. This was soon followed by violent raging—Mawson had to sit on his companion's chest and hold down his arms to prevent him from damaging their tent. Mertz suffered further seizures before falling into
12566-537: The wounded soldiers were brought up to the main road to greet the marchers. Although they had work and commitments in Sydney, Woodford was the David's primary residence from 1899 until 1920. They retained the Woodford cottage as a favoured country retreat until Edgeworth's death in 1934. Tyn-y-Coed was destroyed by bushfire in 1944 with only a chimney stump remaining. Its grounds are now occupied by eight modern houses, their gardens and adjoining bush. In September 1920, David
12688-502: Was William Sutherland Dun . In 1891, David was appointed Professor of Geology at the University of Sydney , a position he held until 1924. David was not only a good scientist but very cultured, with a sense of humour, great enthusiasm, sympathy, and courtesy, and he quickly fitted into his new position. His department was housed in a small cottage, its equipment was poor, and he had no lecturers or demonstrators; but he gradually got better facilities and built up his department. In 1892 he
12810-620: Was a Welsh Australian geologist and Antarctic explorer . A household name in his lifetime, David's most significant achievements were discovering the major Hunter Valley coalfield in New South Wales and leading the first expedition to reach the South Magnetic Pole . He also served with distinction in World War I . David was born on 28 January 1858, in St Fagans near Cardiff , Wales,
12932-565: Was appointed as a major , at the age of 57. The first contingent of the corps consisted of 1,300 officers and men that were initially organised into two battalions before being reorganised into three tunnelling companies, as well as an electrical and mechanical mining company. After departing Australia for the United Kingdom in February 1916, the corps arrived on the Western Front in May 1916. Given
13054-553: Was carried out by five parties from the Main Base and two from the Western Base. Mawson himself was part of a three-man sledging team, the Far Eastern Party , with Xavier Mertz and Lieutenant Belgrave Ninnis , who headed east on 10 November 1912, to survey George V Land . After five weeks of excellent progress mapping the coastline and collecting geological samples, the party was crossing the Ninnis Glacier 480 km east of
13176-553: Was created a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services during the war. Returning to Australia, David purchased Coringah , a cottage in the Sydney suburb of Hornsby . He also took up a long-cherished project, the writing of a definitive work, The Geology of the Commonwealth of Australia . In 1921–22 David helped set up the Australian National Research Council and served as its first President. In 1924 he retired as Professor of Geology at
13298-542: Was damaged in Australia shortly before the expedition departed, plans were changed so it was to be used only as a tractor on skis. However, the engine did not operate well in the cold, and it was removed and returned to Vickers in England. The aircraft fuselage itself was abandoned. On 1 January 2009, fragments of it were rediscovered by the Mawson's Huts Foundation, which is restoring the original huts. Mawson's exploration program
13420-507: Was educated. The Mawson Collection of Antarctic exploration artefacts is on permanent display at the South Australian Museum , including a screening of a recreated version of his journey that was shown on ABC Television on 12 May 2008. Mawson (postcode 2607) is a suburb of Canberra, district of Woden Valley, Australian Capital Territory. The suburb was gazetted in 1966 and is named after him. The theme for street names in this area
13542-408: Was elected president of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science for the second time and in 1926, was presented with the Royal Geographical Society's Patron's Medal . When World War I broke out in 1914, David was a strenuous supporter of the war effort, supporting the campaign for conscription . In August 1915, after reading reports about mining operations and tunnelling during
13664-402: Was first announced at the end of December 2006, and is available to recipients of all levels of the order, as well as to holders of the British Empire Medal . The pin design is not unique to any level. The pin features the badge of the order, enclosed in a circle of ribbon of its colours of pink and grey. Lapel pins must be purchased separately by a member of the order. The creation of such a pin
13786-748: Was founded at the University of Sydney in 1936. The Edgeworth David Medal is named in his honour. It is awarded by the Royal Society of New South Wales for distinguished contributions by a young scientist under the age of thirty-five for work done mainly in Australia or its territories. The mineral davidite is named after him, as was the Edgeworth David Building (demolished 2006) at the University of Sydney and Edgeworth David Avenue in Hornsby, New South Wales where he spent his later years. He has been depicted on two Australian postage stamps. The Edgeworth David Building at Tighes Hill TAFE campus in
13908-433: Was hoped would settle the question of the formation of coral atolls . There were defects in the boring machinery and the bore penetrated only slightly more than 100 feet (approx. 31 m). In 1897, David led a second expedition (that included George Sweet as second-in-command, and Walter George Woolnough ) which succeeded in reaching a depth of 557 feet (170 m) after which he had to return to Sydney. He then organised
14030-491: Was lectured by the famous John Ruskin and William Spooner . In 1878 he suffered a health breakdown and travelled to Canada and Australia to recuperate. Returning to Oxford, he attended lectures on geology by Sir Joseph Prestwich which stimulated his interest in the subject. After graduating as a Bachelor of Arts without honours in 1880, he spent the following two years in field study of the geology of Wales. In November 1881 he read his first paper, Evidences of Glacial Action in
14152-469: Was made a substantive member and subsequently styled as Sir Terry Wogan). Although initially intended to recognise meritorious service, the order began to also be awarded for gallantry. There were an increased number of cases in the Second World War for service personnel and civilians including the merchant navy, police, emergency services and civil defence, mostly MBEs but with a small number of OBEs and CBEs. Such awards were for gallantry that did not reach
14274-496: Was one of the first major geological works of Melanesia . Also that year he published a geological paper on Mittagong, New South Wales . His major influences in his geological career were Professor Edgeworth David and Professor Archibald Liversidge . He then became a lecturer in petrology and mineralogy at the University of Adelaide in 1905. In 1906 he identified and first described the mineral davidite . Mawson joined Ernest Shackleton 's Nimrod Expedition (1907–1909) to
14396-508: Was open to both women and men; provision was also made for conferring honorary awards on foreign recipients. At the same time, alongside the order, the Medal of the Order of the British Empire was instituted, to serve as a lower award granting recipients affiliation but not membership. The first investiture took place at Ibrox Stadium , as part of a royal visit to the Glasgow shipyards, with the appointment of Alexander Ure, 1st Baron Strathclyde as
14518-518: Was president of the geological section of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science at the Hobart meeting, and held the same position at Brisbane in 1895. That year, David was elected president of the Royal Society of New South Wales . In 1896, David went to the Pacific atoll of Funafuti as part of an expedition under Professor William Sollas of Oxford in order to take borings which it
14640-516: Was promoted to lieutenant colonel . The war having concluded, he was demobilised in 1919. He was also Mentioned in Despatches twice. In 1896 the Davids bought 26 acres (10.5 hectares) at Woodford, in the Blue Mountains, with an existing weatherboard cottage, two-roomed with two skillion rooms at the back. To emphasise his Welsh origins, Edgeworth David named the Woodford cottage ‘ Tyn-y-Coed ’,
14762-632: Was published, and three years later it was expanded into the Geology of the Vegetable Creek Tin Mining Field, New England District . Apart from its scientific interest this was valuable in connection with the mining operations on this field, from which some £10,000,000 worth of tin was won. On 30 July 1885 he married Caroline (Cara) Mallett , principal of the Hurlstone Training College for Teachers, who had travelled to Australia in
14884-566: Was recommended in Sir Hayden Phillips ' review of the honours system in 2004. The Chapel of the Order of the British Empire is in St Paul's Cathedral . It occupies the far eastern end of the cathedral crypt and was dedicated in 1960. The only heraldic banners normally on display in the chapel are those of the Sovereign of the Order of the British Empire and of the Grand Master of the Order of
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