HONOUR OF STATE FUNERAL

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 51, 29 August 1934, Page 9

HONOUR OF STATE FUNERAL

(Beccived August 29, 10 a.m.)

SYDNEY, This Day

The State Government has decided to give Sir Edgeworth David a State funeral. He will be tho first person.in New South AVales other than a politician to.receive the honour. Tho Commonwealth Government will co-operate in this mark of respect.

Sir- Tannatt William Edgeworth David,' K.8.E., C.M.G., D.5.0., D.S.C., was born near Cardiff in 1858, and educated at Magdalen School and New College, Oxford. Prom 1882 to 1891 he was Government Geological Surveyor in New South Wales, and from 1891 to 1924 Professor of Geology at Sydney University, since when ho had been Professor Emeritus. He accompanied the first Shackleton Antarctic Expedition in 1908-9, and was awarded the C.M.G. in 1910. From 1915 to 1919 he served with the A.1.F., being awarded the D.S.O. in 1918. Two years later he was made a K.B.E. He was awarded the Bigsby Medal in 1899, the Muller Medal by the Australian Association for the Advancement of Science in 1908, the Conrad Malte-Brun Prize by the Geographical Society of France in 1915, the Wollaston Medal by the Boyal Geographical Society of London in 1915, and the Clarke Memorial Medal by the Royal Society of New South Wales in 1919. Ho published several works and made many contributions to scientific journals. Sir Edgeworth, then Professor, David was leader of the party of tho Shackleton expedition which reached the south magnetic polo over twenty-five years ago. Also in the party were Dr., now Sir, Douglas Mawson and Mr. Alistair Maekay. They started on October 5, 1908, and located, the south magnetic pole on January 16, 1909, its position being latitude 72 degrees 25 miniM.es south and longitude 155 degrees 16 minutes east. Thoy hoisted a ilag and annexed the region in the name of Britain. The party then returned to tho coast, where it was picked up on February 5, 1909. Some of Sir Edgeworth David's best work was done in relation to Australian mines. Ho discovered a seam of coal 13ft thick on Crown lands south-west of Maitland, and began a survey which revealed great wealth of coal in what is known as the South Maitland field. In 1003 tho production from this field was 571,000 tons, and in 1926 just on 5,000,000 tons, or 46 per cent, of the whole coal production of New South AVales. The actual cash value of the coal mined since the discovery is over £40,000,000.

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