| Sydney Kirkby | |
| Birth Date: | 13/06/1933 |
| Birth Place: | Perth, Western Australia Australia |
| Death Date: | 07/07/2024, age 91 |
| Death Place: | Nambour, Queensland |
| Known For: | Exploration of Australian Antarctic Territory. Mapping surveys and senior management in Australia. |
| Occupation: | Surveyor, Supervising Surveyor, Assistant Director |
| Nationality: | Australian |
Sydney Lorrimar Kirkby, (born Perth, Western Australia 13 June 1933, died Nambour, Queensland 7 July 2024) was an Australian surveyor and Antarctic explorer.
Syd Kirkby was first appointed as Surveyor at Mawson Station for 1956, the third year of ANARE operations in Antarctica.[1]
Syd Kirkby was Surveyor and/or Station Leader of the ANARE 16-month wintering party at Mawson Station for three years: 1956-57, 1960–61, 1980-81. Additionally, he was a member of the summer operations team for four years: 1961-62, 1962–63, 1964–65 and 1979-80.
Kirkby's many accomplishments in Antarctica include establishment of the easternmost, westernmost, and southernmost astrofixes in Australian Antarctic Territory. During his first expedition (1956–57), he was the first man to venture into the Prince Charles Mountains with sled dogs. In the autumn of 1960, he and his team journeyed 400 kilometres through Enderby Land from the Napier Mountains to Mawson station. Between 1961 and 1965, he surveyed more Antarctic territory than any other explorer. His contributions have made a significant impact on the fields of regional geochronology, petrology, tectonics geology, orogeny, glaciology, geomagnetism, and paleomagnetism.
In 1959, Kirkby joined the Commonwealth Government Division of National Mapping based in Melbourne. From 1961 he undertook extensive mapping control surveys in remote areas of Australia. In 1966 Kirby became Senior Surveyor in charge of National Mapping's airborne distance measuring (Aerodist) program. Later he became a Supervising Surveyor. Between 1976 and 1984 Kirkby was the Assistant Director in charge of National Mapping's Melbourne office.
Many geographical features in and around Australian Antarctic Territory have been named for Syd Kirkby. Some of these are:
Other awards and recognition include:[1]