Alf Howard (30 April 1906 – 4 July 2010) was an Australian

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...

, educator and

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

. He was most prominently known for being the last remaining member of the expedition to

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

, which was led by

Sir Douglas Mawson Sir Douglas Mawson OBE FRS FAA (5 May 1882 – 14 October 1958) was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer, and academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Sir Ernest Shackleton, he was a key expedition leader during ...

on board the

RRS Discovery The RRS ''Discovery'' is a barque-rigged auxiliary steamship built in Dundee, Scotland for Antarctic research. Launched in 1901, she was the last traditional wooden three-masted ship to be built in the United Kingdom. Her first mission was th ...

in 1929–1931. Howard served in the capacity of a chemist and the

hydrologist Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...

aboard the vessel, which included being the individual who was responsible for monitoring the sea-water temperatures and the collection and chemical analysis of sea-water samples.

Biography

Howard was born and raised in

Camberwell, Victoria Camberwell is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 9 km east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Boroondara local government area. Camberwell recorded a population of 21,965 at the 2021 census. The ...

. He completed a

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

, his first of five degrees at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

in 1927; Howard also received an honorary doctorate in statistics and a PhD in linguistics from the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

. He worked with the Department of Human Movement as a programmer and a statics consultant and an honorary researcher working full-time without pay for over 20 years. He stopped in 2003 at age 97. He was doing work on organic chemistry when he was approached by Sir

David Orme Masson Sir David Orme Masson KBE FRS FRSE LLD (13 January 1858 – 10 August 1937)L. W. Weickhardt,Masson, Sir David Orme (1858–1937), ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 10, MUP, 1986, pp 432–435. Retrieved 6 October 2009 was a scie ...

for the

BANZARE The British Australian (and) New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE) was a research expedition into Antarctica between 1929 and 1931, involving two voyages over consecutive Austral summers. It was a British Commonwealth initiative, dr ...

. Within 48 hours Howard took the train to Perch and sailed to England on Orient Steam Navigation's Orvieto. Howard was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AO) in the 1998 Australia Day Honours for "service to science through Antarctic exploration as a member of the British Australian New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (1929–1931), for his work on food technology and preservation, and for his contribution to statistical design". Just before his 100th birthday, Howard, through pre-recorded film, opened the new Discovery's Ocean Odyssey wing at the Discovery Point museum in

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

, which stands beside the old restored ship Discovery. He was profiled in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery's new exhibition Islands to Ice: The Great Southern Ocean and Antarctica in late 2010. In 2005 he donated 80,000 (AU$) for a computer laboratory for undergraduate students. Four years earlier in 2001 he was presented with the

Australian Geographic Society Australian Geographic is a media business that produces the ''Australian Geographic'' magazine, ''DMag'' magazine, specialist book titles, travel guides, diaries and calendars and online media. It published editions of the Australian Encyclopa ...

award.

Death

Howard was the only surviving member of Mawson's expedition when he died in 2010 aged 104 . Alf died of natural causes.

References

External links

Australian Antarctic explorer diesAlf Howard reflects on life lived at edge of world
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Alf 1906 births 2010 deaths Australian explorers Australian scientists Australian centenarians Hydrologists Members of the Order of Australia Men centenarians University of Melbourne alumni University of Queensland alumni People from Camberwell, Victoria Scientists from Melbourne