George Anthony Morgan Taylor, GC (30 October 1917 – 19 August 1972) was an Australian

Volcanologist A volcanologist, or volcano scientist, is a geologist who focuses on understanding the formation and eruptive activity of volcanoes. Volcanologists frequently visit volcanoes, sometimes active ones, to observe and monitor volcanic eruptions, col ...

awarded the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has been ...

in 1952 for "conspicuous courage in the face of great danger" during the eruption of

Mount Lamington Mount Lamington is an andesitic stratovolcano in the Oro Province of Papua New Guinea. The forested peak of the volcano had not been recognised as such until its devastating eruption in 1951 that caused about 3,000 deaths. The volcano rises to 1 ...

in Papua from January to March 1951. Taylor was one of only five Australian civilians directly

awarded An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award ...

the George Cross between its institution in 1941 and 1972 when it was replaced in the

Australian honours system The Australian honours and awards system refers to all Order (distinction), orders, decorations, and medals, as instituted by letters patent from the Monarchy of Australia, Monarch of Australia and countersigned by the Australian prime minister a ...

by the Cross of Valour.

Early life and career

Taylor was born in Moree, New South Wales, the son of George Taylor, a businessman, and Eileen May Taylor (née Morgan). He was educated at

Maitland High School , motto_translation = Go Forward , region = , location = East Maitland, Hunter Region, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia New ...

and Sydney Boys High School. He began his career as a staff trainee analytical chemist at

BHP BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...

. On 29 April 1942 he enlisted in 2/4 Ordnance Stores Company, Australian Imperial Force. His service number was NX95673. Taylor was based in

North Queensland North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its tropical northern part has been ...

until May 1945 when his company was deployed to

New Britain New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the Dam ...

, initially to

Jacquinot Bay Jacquinot Bay is a bay in East New Britain Province, south-eastern New Britain, Papua New Guinea, at . It is near the mountain where twenty-eight people died when a Royal Australian Air Force plane crashed in November 1945. To its west is the Gasm ...

and then, after the Japanese surrender, to

Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about 600 kilometres to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in ...

until October 1946. Taylor was demobbed on 8 January 1947 finishing his military service as a

WO1 Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the most ...

. He then enrolled at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

in March 1947 graduating with a

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in 1950. After graduation Taylor joined the

Bureau of Mineral Resources Geoscience Australia is an agency of the Australian Government. It carries out geoscientific research. The agency is the government's technical adviser on all aspects of geoscience, and custodian of the geographic and geological data and knowl ...

as a Geologist Grade I on 20 March 1950. His first posting was in April 1950 as a vulcanologist, based at Rabaul, overseeing all volcanoes in Papua New Guinea.

George Cross

Mount Lamington, south-west of Popondetta is in the

Oro Province Oro Province, formerly (and officially still) Northern Province, is a coastal province of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital is Popondetta. The province covers 22,800 km2, and has 176,206 inhabitants (2011 census). The province shares la ...

, north of the

Owen Stanley Range Owen Stanley Range is the south-eastern part of the central mountain-chain in Papua New Guinea. Its highest point is Mount Victoria at , while its most prominent peak is Mount Suckling. History Owen Stanley Range was seen in 1849 by Captain Owe ...

in eastern

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

. Five thousand feet high, it was not even recognised as a volcano until it began erupting on 18 January 1951. The main and catastrophic eruption took place on 21 January 1951. Over the next three months Taylor visited the volcano almost daily, sometimes staying overnight, collecting vital data to aid the rescue efforts. The full citation was published on 22 April 1952 in a supplement to ''

The London Gazette ''The London Gazette'' is one of the official journals of record or government gazettes of the Government of the United Kingdom, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are ...

'' of 18 April 1952: Taylor's investiture was performed by Donald Cleland, Acting Administrator of Papua and New Guinea, on 24 November 1952 in the Memorial Cemetery in Popondetta.

Later life and career

After the eruption, Taylor returned to Canberra to study the seismographical data he had collected. He married Lindsay Grace Barrow (née Hudson) on 4 April 1956. They had two sons and a daughter. In 1957 he was awarded 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 ...

from the University of Sydney. In February 1961 Taylor was appointed Senior Resident Geologist in

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...

. Taylor died on the island of

Manam Manam, known locally as Manam Motu, is an island located in the Bismarck Sea across the Stephan Strait from Yawar on the northeast coast of mainland Papua New Guinea's Bogia District. The island is 10 kilometers wide, and was created by t ...

in Papua New Guinea on 19 August 1972 at the age of 54. He was acting head of the Australian Geological Survey Division at the time of his death. His ashes were buried at St John the Baptist Church, Reid in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. A plaque in his honour appears on the George Cross Memorial in George Cross Park in Canberra.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Tony Australian recipients of the George Cross 1917 births 1972 deaths Australian volcanologists Australian chemists 20th-century Australian scientists People from Moree, New South Wales University of Sydney alumni