Person
Hodgeman, Alfred (1888 - 1964)
- Born
- 8 August 1888
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia - Died
- 22 January 1964
Dartford, Kent, United Kingdom - Occupation
- Antarctic explorer, Architect and Cartographer
Summary
Alfred Hodgeman worked as a draftsman and architect in Adelaide before joining the Australasian Antarctic Expedition in 1911. He was asked by Douglas Mawson to design and construct, from two prefabricated huts, the buildings at the main base, Cape Denison. These buildings, which have withstood over 100 years of Antarctic weather, are now known as Mawson's Huts. Hodgeman's other roles with the Expedition included that of draftsman. He produced meticulous reports with details of coastlines and topography, and the routes of the sledging parties. His participation in such parties included that searching for the overdue Mawson, Ninnis and Mertz. Hodgeman was one of the five men who volunteered to remain at Cape Denison for a second winter in the hope that Mawson's overdue sledging party would return. He took the opportunity to work on his charts and assisted Cecil Madigan with meteorological observations. After the conclusion of the Expedition, Hodgeman was invited to London by the Royal Geographical Society to assist Mawson in the preparation of The home of the blizzard. During WWI Hodgeman served in the British army. After the armistice he established an architectural practice in London. The Hodgeman Islands in George V Land, Antarctica, were named in his honour.
Details
Chronology
- 1911 - February 1914
- Career position - Cartographer, artist and assistant meteorologist, Cape Denison, Australasian Antarctic Expedition
- 1914 - 1915
- Career position - Served with the British Army
- 1915
- Award - Polar Medal (Silver)
Related entries
Published resources
See also
- Chester, Jonathan, Going to extremes: Project Blizzard and Australia's Antarctic heritage (Sydney: Auckland: Doubleday Australia, 1986), 308 pp. Details
- 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
- Mawson, Douglas, The home of the blizzard: being the story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911 - 1914, 2 vols (London: J.B. Lippincott: Heinemann, 1915). Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 24 March 2022