In the Public Eye

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 81, 5 April 1930, Page 28

In the Public Eye

Sir Douglas Mawson. After chartering hundreds of miles of now coastline, and making a complete investigation into whaling and scientific work generally, Sir Douglas Mawson and his wonder ship tho Discovery arrived back in Adelaide this week. This last expedition was the third undertaken by this famous explorer to the great ice-wrapped Antarctic continent, and it is safe to assume that every man who has love of adventure, romance, and high endeavour in his make-up would like to have been included in his party. Sir 'Douglas has had a remarkable life, aud it was only a little thing that brought about a dramatic change, and which altered ■the whole course of his scientific and academic career. It was the meeting with Leutenant (afterwards Sir) Ernest Shackletou that swayed Mawson from his life's path, and culminated in his going to the far south as a member of the British' National Antarctic Expedition of 1907-9 under the leadership of Shackletou. Sir Edgcworth David was also of the party, and Sir Douglas and Sir Edgeworth, two brilliant scientists, were associated in the location for, the first time in history of the South Magnetic Pole. Sir Douglas, accompanied by an Australian expedition, in December, 1911, set out in the ship Aurora on a voyage to the Antarctic. The ship first went to Adelie Land, where tho main base was established. Here Mawson built a hut, while tho ship, under thq command of Captain Davis, proceeded to Queen Mary Land, where Captain AVild set up a hut to, form tho western base. Adelie Land was found to be a most inhospitable country, and a region where there was an almost continuous blizzard, the wind force averaging almost 50' miles an hour, for the whole year. In November, 1912, sledge parties set out to explore inland towards the Magnetic Pole and eastward and westward near the coast. Three hundred miles of heavilye.revassed glacier and ice and snow were traversed, and all got back safely except the leader, whose two companions perished, leaving him with scant stores about 100 miles from, Commonwealth Bay. However, he reached the hut in February, 1913, and waited till the following December before the ship returned and picked him up. Sir Douglas Mawson was bom at Bradford, Yorkshire, in 1882. He graduated at Sydney University at the age of 10 years "and took his B.Se. in 1904. In the next year he was appointed Lecturer in, Mineralogy and Petrology at Adelaide University, where ho obtained his D.Sc. degree in 1909. Sir Douglas holds tho special medal of the Royal Geographical Society, 1915, King s Polar Medal (two bars), gold medals of the America and Chicago geographical societies, Bigsby gold.medal of the Geographical Society of London, and is also Officer of the Order of St. Maurice and St, Lazarus, and Commander of tho Order of the Crown or Italy. Sir Hubert Wilkins. Thrills in plenty have- been crowded into the 42-odd years of Sir Hubert Wilkins, who was entertained at dinner in New' York at the end of last mouth by Mr. H. E. Brooke, CommissionerGeneral for Australia in America. Wilkins's first step in a career probably unparalleled in variety and . incident gave promise of a determination that time and adventure have proved to be his most outstanding characteristic. Sir Hubert was born in South Australia in 1888. By profession he was an electrician, and when a youth of IS, with small capital but large ambition, he'determined to see the world. For two years he roamed the world as a Press photographer. From tho deck of _ a launch Wilkins secured the last pictures ever taken of the liner Titanic as she steamed down the Mersey on her maiden voyage to New York. Then came the Tureo-Baikan War of 1912-13. As a correspondent and photographer, AVilkins proceeded to the war area, and with his usual enthusiasm was soon right up in the firing-lino. It is interesting to note that during that period .he secured the first moving pictures of troops in action. In 1913 he returned from Turkey, and was selected to accompany Stefansson on the Canadian Arctic expedition. Of those four years with AVilkins, Stefansson wrote: "AVilkins is the bravest man I have ever met," he said, and in those words there is an undoubted reason for AVilkins's quick rise from a subordinate position to second in command of, the expedition. Buried in a world.of their own through the loss of their schooner, it was not until 1910 that AA'ilkins and his companions, learned of the Great AVar that was raging. Further work was abandoned, and AVilkins returned to. Australia to enlist in the Flying Corps. His work in connection with the war earned him the Military Cross and bar. From 1917 to the close of the war he acted as official photographer, and his fame in that direction rested as much upon his cool daring as upon his skill .with the camera. Flying had a fascination for the explorer, and in 1919, with Lieutenant Rendle, he essayed to fly from London to Australia in a Kangaroo aeroplane, but misfortuno dogged the aviators, and after

many months of endeavour they were obliged to abandon tlicii project. In 1920 he set out for the South Pole as second in command of the Imperial Antarctic. Expedition, which returned in 1921. 'AVhen the Shacklcton Expedition was formed at tho end of that year, Sir George was chosen to sail on the Quest as naturalist. Adventure led him into many strange places, and 1923 found, him with an expedition to Central Australia and the Pacific Islands, organised by the Natural History section of the British Museum. It lasted for two years. In 192G-27 lie led the Detroit Expedition to the North Pole. .And now he is contemplating a submarine voyage to the Arctic! Sir William Morris. Sir William Morris, founder and governing director of Morris Motors, Ltd., who was mentioned in the cables this week as having at last received a dividend of 10 per cent, free of tax, amounting to £200,000, has for himself the title of "King of the British Motor Trade." His career is one of the most outstanding romances of industrial history. He himself has stated that lie began life with nothing—not even a £1 note. His first step into industry was when he took a little place at Oxford, where he built bicycles and' disposed of them to his various acquaintances. This did not gain for him a very comfortable living, but. it was enough to keep body and. soul together. In 1900 ho designed the first Morris motor-cycle, and during the.succeeding ten years he evolved an original design for a motor-car. Out of the capital he managed to secure for this venture, he was able to turn out 400 to 600 cars the first season. In 1927 his output of cars was 1400 per week, and now the mark is close on to 2000. Sir William has many benevolences to his credit. In August of 1926 he donated £10,000 towards the endowment of the new Chair of Spanish Studies in Oxford University, in 1927 ho gave £104,000 to the funds of St. Thomas's Hospital, London, and a few years previous £25,000 to the hospitals of Birmingham. During the war period, the Morris-works, like all other car factories, were"-turned over to ■ war work. AVith. peace came big problems—the boom and then'the slack years of 1921-22—but Sir AVilliam surprised all rivals by reducing his prices. From that day he never looked back. In 1926 this huge organisation, wholly British in labour and material, was turned into a limited liability company with a capital of £5,000,000. The assets of the companies he controls are estimated' to exceed £20,0011,000 annually, and all told his concerns employ about 15,000 persons. Sir Isaac Isaacs. Sir Isaac Isaacs, P.G., K.C.M.G., who last week was appointed Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia, has had a. very interesting and meteoric career. | He is the son of the late Mr. Alfred Isaacs, of Auburn, and received his early education in Victoria. Un- , assisted, he work- - ed his way up, aud before ho had reached his twentieth year he was earning a salary of £300 a year by coaching or tutoring. He became a medallist at the Beechworth Grammar School, and from there proceeded to the University of Melbourne. He had barely reached 25 before he took, his Master of Laws degree, with first-class honours. He was called to the Victorian Bar in the samo year, and rapidly rose in his profession. In 1892 he was elected to the. Legislative Assembly of Victoria, and the following year became Solicitor-General in the Patterson Government, and AttorneyGeneral in the Turner Government from 1900 until his resignation in 1901, upon his being elected to the Federal Legislature. He successfully hold the position of Attorney-General in the Federal Administration until the Prime Minister (Mr. Deakin) raised hini to the High. Court Bench in 1900. While a Minister of the Crown in both the State and Commonwealth, Sir Isaac was noted'for his tireless energy and persistency. In 1920 his services on the Bench, where he has occupied a seat for over 20 years, were recognised by His Majesty tho King, who conferred upon him the distinction of Privy Councillor. The new Chief Justice is the author of the Amending Companies Act of Victoria of 1890, which was designed for the protection of the investing public and was largely the outcome of the disastrous boom legislation of 1887-90. He is looked upon as the personification of a remarkable combination of ability and amazing industry, having made his way unassisted from the humbler beginnings to one of the highest places in tho services of Australia. The "Sydney Mail", of 10th October, 1912, said: "He has a capacity for work that seems to know no limit, and when he applies himself to a subject ho appears never to let it away from his mind awake or sleeping."