Cecil Madigan

Cecil Thomas Madigan (15 October, 1889 - 14 January, 1947) was an Australian explorer and geologist born in Renmark, South Australia.

After attending Prince Alfred College in Adelaide and the University of Adelaide, he won a Rhodes scholarship in 1911 to study geology at Magdalen College, Oxford. In 1911 he was invited to go as meteorologist on the Australasian Antarctic Expedition by Sir Douglas Mawson. He was awarded the King's Polar Medal upon their return, and later served with the Royal Engineers in France during the First World War. In 1939 he led the first major expedition across the Simpson Desert, naming it after the president of the Royal Geographical Society of South Australia. Although he was not the first to cross the desert, he has become known as the last of the "classic" explorers of central Australia. [ [http://www.adelaide.edu.au/library/news/exhibits/beyond/ Beyond the Cloisters: Exploration and Discovery at the University of Adelaide] ] For many years he worked as a lecturer in geology at the University of Adelaide.

Publications

* 1944 - "Central Australia". Oxford University Press: Melbourne.
* 1946 - "Crossing the Dead Heart". Georgian House: Melbourne.

References