2012 Sir Douglas Mawson 1882-1958 PNC. A mining engineer br training, Douglas Mawson first journeyed to the Antarctic as a member of Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1907-09 British Antarctic Expedition. On this expedition, Mawson, fellow Australian scientist Tannatt William Edgeworth David, and English doctor Alister Mackay were the first men to reach the South Magnetic Pole after sledging a record 2000 kilometres in 122 days. Sir Douglas Mawson led the 1929-31 British, Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition which laid the basis for Australia's claim to almost 42 percent of the Antartic. Regarded as a national hero, Mawson continued to be an inspirational influence in Antarctic exploration and research until his death in 1958. PNC features commemorative $1 coin, a $1.20 stamp and a 60 cent stamp.