A profound life of icy wonder
THE 2018 AUSTRALIAN GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY GALA AWARDS
FOR MUCH OF HIS CAREER, toppling off the edge of the known world into vast, uncharted landscapes was all in a day’s work for Antarctic surveyor Sydney ‘Syd’ Kirkby. Recipient of the 2018 AGS Lifetime of Adventure Award, the spirited 86 year old has arguably surveyed more of the Australian Antarctic Territory than anyone. His first expedition to the icy continent was in 1956 – much of it traversing the landscape by dog sledge using a theodolite to survey the uncharted territory. But there’s no boasting by Syd about his extraordinary achievements, or the number of Antarctic geographical features that bear his name – including Mount Kirkby, Kirkby Glacier, Kirkby Head and
