Person
Murphy, Herbert Dyce (1879 - 1971)
- Born
- 18 October 1879
South Yarra, Victoria, Australia - Died
- 20 July 1971
Mornington, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Antarctic explorer
- Alternative Names
- Dyce-Murphy, Herbert
Summary
Herbert Dyce Murphy was an Antarctic explorer on the Mawson Expedition of 1911 to 1914. During the expedition he was one of the team's dog handlers, in charge of stores and was in command of the southern supporting party during 1912 and of winter quarters during Mawson's absence. But this was not all Murphy did. He studied in England, sailed the Arctic on a Norwegian whaling vessel, spent a year with army intelligence during World War I posing as a woman, worked as an orchardist and sheep farmer, and spent for three months of each year from 1920 to1965 working as an ice-master to a Norwegian whaling fleet in Antarctica where he was responsible for handling the mother-ship in the ice. The book Lady Spy, Gentleman Explorer: The Life of Herbert Dyce Murphy gives a good insight into this man's extraordinary achievements and life. Murphy Bay, George V Land, Antarctica, was named in his honour.
Details
Chronology
- 1900
- Education - Matriculated from Brasenose College, Oxford
- 1911 - 1913
- Career position - In charge of Expedition stores, Cape Denison, Australasian Antarctic Expedition
- 1915
- Award - Polar Medal (Silver)
- 1920 - 1965
- Career position - Ice-Master to the Norwegian whaling fleet in Antarctica
- 1926 - 1936
- Career position - Mornington Shire councillor (Victoria)
- 1932 - 1933
- Career position - President, Mornington Shire Council
Related entries
Published resources
Books
- Rossiter, Heather, Lady Spy, Gentleman Explorer: the Life of Herbert Dyce Murphy (Melbourne: Random House Australia, 2001), 415 pp. Details
Book Sections
- Murray-Smith, S., 'Murphy, Herbert Dyce (1879-1971)' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 10: 1891 - 1939 Lat-Ner, Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle, eds (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1986), pp. 637-938. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A100622b.htm. Details
Resources
- 'Murphy, Herbert Dyce (1879-1971)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1468928. Details
See also
- Jensen, David, Mawson's remarkable men: the personal stories of the epic 1911-14 Australasian Antarctic Expediton (Sydeny: Allen and Unwin, 2015), 183 pp. Details
Rosanne Walker
Created: 30 June 1997, Last modified: 22 March 2022