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_Phil Law Tributes
Phil Law Tribute His final wishes
Personal Stories ANARE Club Tribute AAD Tribute Talking about Phil Law... Other Member Tributes Antarctic Science Symposium The Phillip Law Medal |
Phillip Garth Law AC, CBE, 1912 –2010
|
THE Melbourne explorer who first laid eyes on two million sq/km of Antarctica and set up Australia's three bases there, has died aged 97.
Dr Phillip Law helped map nearly 5000km of the Antarctic coastline and established the Mawson, Davey and Casey stations.
In a career spanning four decades, “Mr Antarctica” led 28 separate trips to sites never visited before, and was a tireless promoter of Australia-Antarctic interests.
While Sir Douglas Mawson set up the Australian Antarctic Territory, it was Dr Law that forged Australia's presence in Antarctica, Environment Minister Peter Garrett said today.
“Dr Law is among the true Antarctic pioneers and explorers,'' Mr Garrett said.
Dr Law was appointed the first director of the Antarctic Division in 1949 - a position he held for 17 years.
He led the expedition party that founded Australia's first Antarctic station in 1954 and then its second, the Davis station, three years later.
In 1959, he negotiated the transfer of the United States-owned Wilkes station into Australian hands before initiating construction of a replacement station, Casey.
In 28 trips - the last at age 91 - Dr Law once estimated he had stared death in the face 25 times out of the 28.
His most terrifying brush with death in Antarctic came while being trapped on a ship in a hurricane for 26 hours.
At the time, the crew of the ship wrote final messages to families, and assumed they would die as the ship listed dangerously in the icy winds and high seas.
Dr Law retired from the Antarctic Division in 1966 and worked as an academic until 1977.
He was made a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1995 for his contribution to Australian achievement in the Antarctic.
He died on Sunday.
Dr Phillip Law helped map nearly 5000km of the Antarctic coastline and established the Mawson, Davey and Casey stations.
In a career spanning four decades, “Mr Antarctica” led 28 separate trips to sites never visited before, and was a tireless promoter of Australia-Antarctic interests.
While Sir Douglas Mawson set up the Australian Antarctic Territory, it was Dr Law that forged Australia's presence in Antarctica, Environment Minister Peter Garrett said today.
“Dr Law is among the true Antarctic pioneers and explorers,'' Mr Garrett said.
Dr Law was appointed the first director of the Antarctic Division in 1949 - a position he held for 17 years.
He led the expedition party that founded Australia's first Antarctic station in 1954 and then its second, the Davis station, three years later.
In 1959, he negotiated the transfer of the United States-owned Wilkes station into Australian hands before initiating construction of a replacement station, Casey.
In 28 trips - the last at age 91 - Dr Law once estimated he had stared death in the face 25 times out of the 28.
His most terrifying brush with death in Antarctic came while being trapped on a ship in a hurricane for 26 hours.
At the time, the crew of the ship wrote final messages to families, and assumed they would die as the ship listed dangerously in the icy winds and high seas.
Dr Law retired from the Antarctic Division in 1966 and worked as an academic until 1977.
He was made a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1995 for his contribution to Australian achievement in the Antarctic.
He died on Sunday.
Pioneer who opened up Antarctica dies at 97
by Andrew Darby, The AGE newspaper, Melbourne.
March 2, 2010
THE man who did more than anyone to build Australian interests in Antarctica, Phillip Law, has died at the age of 97.
Dr Law led the first thorough exploration of the Australian Antarctic Territory's coast, directed an occupation unbroken now for 56 years, and fostered a global reputation for Australian science on the ice.
His family described his death as marking the end of the heroic era of 20th-century Antarctic exploration, and Environment Minister Peter Garrett said Dr Law was among the continent's true pioneers.
''Phil Law might have been a small man in stature, but he bestrode Australia's Antarctic Division like a colossus,'' said Antarctic historian Tim Bowden.
He also had a strong sense of his own place in history. ''Scott, Shackleton, Mawson, and these men,'' Dr Law told The Age in 2008. ''I explored about 10 times as much as them all put together.''
Dr Law said he was able to ride the wave of post-World War II international Antarctic endeavour, making 23 voyages to the region and 28 first landings along the 5000-kilometre coastline of the Australian Antarctic Territory. He said his early exploration was not spurred by science: ''The motivation in the early days was territorial expansion.''
In the depths of the Cold War, he described racing the Soviet Union to be the first to erect cairns and take possession of pieces of rocky coastline exposed from the ice.
Using war surplus ships and supplies, he led the construction of the longest-established Antarctic continental base, Mawson, in 1954, when his group were the only people in eastern Antarctica.
''It was an extremely hazardous operation,'' he said. ''If anything had gone wrong, there was no one in the world who could have come down to rescue us.''
Now Australia has three year-round continental bases, a $114 million federal Antarctic budget and shipping and air links. There are also 46 Antarctic Treaty member nations, half with permanent bases, and up to 40,000 tourists a year.
Mr Bowden said one of Dr Law's great contributions was not only to lead exploration but to devise scientific programs that endured. Today's glaciology yields valuable data on global warming through ice cores and observations of collapsing ice shelves.
Dr Law said that conservation in Antarctica was ''completely overdone'' and a reasonable balance would have resulted in the approval of a 1980s attempt to establish a system of controls over mining. Instead, he said, mining was banned and the rules were thrown out.
He made his last visit to Antarctica in 1998 at the age of 85, and strongly believed more tourists should go there.
He claimed in his book You Have to Be Lucky to have escaped mortal danger 20 times. ''I wrote the book because I got annoyed at always being considered not to have taken any risks because I'm not dead,'' he said.
His family said he died peacefully in a Melbourne nursing home on Sunday. A memorial gathering will be held, probably on April 21, his birthday. Flags were at half-mast at Australia's Antarctic stations yesterday.
Source: Andrew Darby, The AGE newspaper, Melbourne
March 2, 2010
THE man who did more than anyone to build Australian interests in Antarctica, Phillip Law, has died at the age of 97.
Dr Law led the first thorough exploration of the Australian Antarctic Territory's coast, directed an occupation unbroken now for 56 years, and fostered a global reputation for Australian science on the ice.
His family described his death as marking the end of the heroic era of 20th-century Antarctic exploration, and Environment Minister Peter Garrett said Dr Law was among the continent's true pioneers.
''Phil Law might have been a small man in stature, but he bestrode Australia's Antarctic Division like a colossus,'' said Antarctic historian Tim Bowden.
He also had a strong sense of his own place in history. ''Scott, Shackleton, Mawson, and these men,'' Dr Law told The Age in 2008. ''I explored about 10 times as much as them all put together.''
Dr Law said he was able to ride the wave of post-World War II international Antarctic endeavour, making 23 voyages to the region and 28 first landings along the 5000-kilometre coastline of the Australian Antarctic Territory. He said his early exploration was not spurred by science: ''The motivation in the early days was territorial expansion.''
In the depths of the Cold War, he described racing the Soviet Union to be the first to erect cairns and take possession of pieces of rocky coastline exposed from the ice.
Using war surplus ships and supplies, he led the construction of the longest-established Antarctic continental base, Mawson, in 1954, when his group were the only people in eastern Antarctica.
''It was an extremely hazardous operation,'' he said. ''If anything had gone wrong, there was no one in the world who could have come down to rescue us.''
Now Australia has three year-round continental bases, a $114 million federal Antarctic budget and shipping and air links. There are also 46 Antarctic Treaty member nations, half with permanent bases, and up to 40,000 tourists a year.
Mr Bowden said one of Dr Law's great contributions was not only to lead exploration but to devise scientific programs that endured. Today's glaciology yields valuable data on global warming through ice cores and observations of collapsing ice shelves.
Dr Law said that conservation in Antarctica was ''completely overdone'' and a reasonable balance would have resulted in the approval of a 1980s attempt to establish a system of controls over mining. Instead, he said, mining was banned and the rules were thrown out.
He made his last visit to Antarctica in 1998 at the age of 85, and strongly believed more tourists should go there.
He claimed in his book You Have to Be Lucky to have escaped mortal danger 20 times. ''I wrote the book because I got annoyed at always being considered not to have taken any risks because I'm not dead,'' he said.
His family said he died peacefully in a Melbourne nursing home on Sunday. A memorial gathering will be held, probably on April 21, his birthday. Flags were at half-mast at Australia's Antarctic stations yesterday.
Source: Andrew Darby, The AGE newspaper, Melbourne
Phil Law 'Mr Antarctica' dies
RENOWNED Antarctic explorer Phillip Law, fondly referred to as Mr Antarctica, has died in Melbourne aged 97.
In a career spanning four decades, Dr Law helped map more than 5000km of Antarctic coastline and established each of Australia's three bases on the great white continent.
An avid explorer, he made 28 separate trips there and was a tireless promoter of Australia-Antarctic interests.
While Sir Douglas Mawson set up the Australian Antarctic Territory, it was Dr Law that forged Australia's presence in Antarctica, Environment Minister Peter Garrett said.
"Often referred to affectionately as Mr Antarctica, Dr Law is among the true Antarctic pioneers and explorers,'' Mr Garrett said.
Dr Law was appointed the first director of the Antarctic Division in 1949 - a position he held for 17 years.
He led the expedition party that founded Australia's first Antarctic station in 1954 and then its second, the Davis station, three years later.
In 1959, he negotiated the transfer of the United States-owned Wilkes station into Australian hands before initiating construction of a replacement station, Casey.
In 28 trips - the last at age 91 - Dr Law once estimated he had stared death in the face 25 times out of the 28.
His most terrifying brush with death in Antarctic came while being trapped on a ship in a hurricane for 26 hours.
Dr Law retired from the Antarctic Division in 1966 and worked as an academic until 1977.
He was made a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1995 for his contribution to Australian achievement in the Antarctic. He died in Melbourne on Sunday. Source: The Mercury, Tasmania.
In a career spanning four decades, Dr Law helped map more than 5000km of Antarctic coastline and established each of Australia's three bases on the great white continent.
An avid explorer, he made 28 separate trips there and was a tireless promoter of Australia-Antarctic interests.
While Sir Douglas Mawson set up the Australian Antarctic Territory, it was Dr Law that forged Australia's presence in Antarctica, Environment Minister Peter Garrett said.
"Often referred to affectionately as Mr Antarctica, Dr Law is among the true Antarctic pioneers and explorers,'' Mr Garrett said.
Dr Law was appointed the first director of the Antarctic Division in 1949 - a position he held for 17 years.
He led the expedition party that founded Australia's first Antarctic station in 1954 and then its second, the Davis station, three years later.
In 1959, he negotiated the transfer of the United States-owned Wilkes station into Australian hands before initiating construction of a replacement station, Casey.
In 28 trips - the last at age 91 - Dr Law once estimated he had stared death in the face 25 times out of the 28.
His most terrifying brush with death in Antarctic came while being trapped on a ship in a hurricane for 26 hours.
Dr Law retired from the Antarctic Division in 1966 and worked as an academic until 1977.
He was made a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1995 for his contribution to Australian achievement in the Antarctic. He died in Melbourne on Sunday. Source: The Mercury, Tasmania.