Cecil Thomas Madigan (15 October 1889 – 14 January 1947) was an Australian explorer and geologist, academic, aerial surveyor, meteorologist, author and officer of the British army. He was born in

Renmark, South Australia Renmark is a town in South Australia's rural Riverland area, and is located northeast of Adelaide, on the banks of the River Murray. The Sturt Highway between Adelaide and Sydney runs through the town; Renmark is the last major town encountered ...

. His family had associations with William Benjamin Chaffey.

Biography

Born to contractor and fruitgrower Thomas Madigan and Mary Dixie (née Finey) a teacher, Cecil Madigan was the oldest of two sons and two daughters. He was raised by his mother as his father had died in the

Kalgoorlie, Western Australia Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

n Goldfields. He attended

Prince Alfred College , motto_translation = Do Brave Deeds and Endure , established = 1869 , type = Independent, single-sex, day & boarding , headmaster = David Roberts , chaplain = Reverend M ...

in Adelaide, the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

, and the South Australian School of Mining and Industry. He won a

Rhodes scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

in 1911 to study geology at

Magdalen College Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the st ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, but deferred the appointment as he was invited 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 ...

to go as meteorologist on the

Australasian Antarctic Expedition The Australasian Antarctic Expedition was a 1911–1914 expedition headed by Douglas Mawson that explored the largely uncharted Antarctic coast due south of Australia. Mawson had been inspired to lead his own venture by his experiences on Ernes ...

. In December 1911 the party left

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-smalle ...

on board the

SY Aurora Sy is a given name, nickname/hypocorism (often of Seymour) and surname which may refer to: Surname In arts and entertainment * Brigitte Sy (born 1956), French actress and filmmaker * Latyr Sy (born 1972), Senegalese singer and percussionis ...

. In January 1912 they reached Commonwealth Bay in

Adelie Land Adelie or Adélie may refer to: * Adélie Land, a claimed territory on the continent of Antarctica * Adelie Land meteorite, a meteorite discovered on December 5, 1912, in Antarctica by Francis Howard Bickerton * Adélie penguin The Adélie peng ...

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 ...

, where they set up a collection of buildings subsequently known as Mawson's Huts. From there he led several expeditions into uncharted regions of Adelie Land and

King George V Land George V Land is a segment of Antarctica part of the land claimed as part of the Australian Antarctic Territory, inland from the George V Coast. As with other segments of Antarctica, it is defined by two lines of longitude, 142°02' E and 153° ...

. These expeditions gathered vital information about the presence of coal in Antarctica. He was awarded the

Polar Medal The Polar Medal is a medal awarded by the Sovereign of the United Kingdom to individuals who have outstanding achievements in the field of polar research, and particularly for those who have worked over extended periods in harsh climates. It ...

upon their return. Madigan later served with the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the '' Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is head ...

in France during the First World War. He saw action at the

Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used poison gas and the first mass engagement of New Army units. Th ...

where he was wounded, and the Battle of the Somme. Throughout the 1930s, Madigan participated in numerous aerial surveys of the "trackless areas" of Central Australia, during which time he named the

Simpson Desert The Simpson Desert is a large area of dry, red sandy plain and dunes in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland in central Australia. It is the fourth-largest Australian desert, with an area of . The desert is underlain by the ...

after the president of the South Australian branch of the

Royal Geographical Society of Australasia On 22 June 1883, the Geographical Society of Australasia started at a meeting in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. A branch was formed in Victoria in the same year. In July 1885, both the Queensland and the South Australian branches started. I ...

Alfred Allen Simpson Alfred Allen Simpson (15 April 1875 – 27 November 1939) was an industrialist in South Australia and a partner in the firm A. Simpson & Son, founded by his grandfather Alfred Simpson. He was the mayor of Adelaide from 1913 to 1915. History ...

. In 1937 he confirmed that the

Boxhole Crater Boxhole is a young impact crater located approximately 180 km (265 km by road) north-east of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, Australia. It is 170 metres in diameter and its age is estimated to be 5,400 ± 1,500 years based on the ...

is a meteoric impact crater. In 1939 he led the first major expedition across the Simpson Desert. Although he was not the first to cross the desert, he has become known as the last of the "classic" explorers of central Australia. For many years he worked as a lecturer in geology at the University of Adelaide.

Family

He married Wynnis Knight Wollaston, a native of

Adelaide, Australia Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The demo ...

, whilst he was in London in 1915. The daughter of Cecil Madigan is renowned Australian sculptor

Rosemary Madigan Rosemary Wynnis Madigan (5 December 1926 – 12 February 2019) was an Australian sculptor, stonecarver and woodcarver who focused on the human figure. Born in Glenelg to the geologist Cecil Madigan, she decided on a career as a sculptor at the ...

, and her daughter is leading harpist

Alice Giles Alice Rosemary Giles (born c. 1961) is an Australian classical harpist. Early life and education She was born in Adelaide,Alice and Rosemary
// Stateline Canberra, Friday, 5 November 2010 Descendants include David Madigan (deceased) and his two children, Sir Russell Madigan (deceased) and his five children, Neith Madigan (deceased) and her four children, Robourne Madigan (deceased), Rosemary Madigan (deceased) and her three children. He died of Coronary Vascular disease in Adelaide, on 14 January 1947.

Publications

* 1944 - ''Central Australia''. Oxford University Press: Melbourne. * 1946 - ''Crossing the Dead Heart''. Georgian House: Melbourne. * 2012 - ''Madigan's Account: The Mawson Expedition : the Antarctic Diaries of C.T. Madigan, 1911-1914'' Wellington Bridge Press.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Madigan, Cecil 1889 births 1947 deaths Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Australasian Antarctic Expedition Australian explorers 20th-century Australian geologists 20th-century Australian non-fiction writers Australian Rhodes Scholars Explorers of Australia People educated at Prince Alfred College People from Renmark, South Australia University of Adelaide alumni

Biography

Family

See also

Publications

References