The subtitle of this book says: Follow four remarkable scientists to the edge of the world.
In this book we meet four scientists. The year is 1959 and that is very significant because only men are considered able to do research in Antartica. The four women we meet here are Mary Gillham from the UK; and Isobel Bennett, Hope Macpherson and Susan Ingham from Australia. Hope and Isobel are marine biologists who plan to study the animals in the rock pools on the shores of Macquarie Island. Mary has been studying birds, animals and plants in a variety of environments from the arid desert to rocky islands. She has a plan to study the seabirds and unique plants and to report on the damage caused by introduced rabbits. Susan wants to check on the seals to make sure their populations are recovering now that hunting is banned. And all four scientists are fascinated by the variety of penguins - Royal, King, Gentoo and the Southern Rockhopper.
The whole expedition was just 15 days. You can read more and this expedition and about Mary Gillham (1921-2013) and see photos and newspaper articles here. The end papers in South with the Seabirds show four places on Macquarie Island that celebrate the achievements of these women scientists. This book also has a useful timeline and a brief biography of each of the four women. I was thrilled to read that Mary Gillham achieved her PhD.
Some facts about Macquarie Island:
- Macquarie Island is located halfway between Tasmania and Antarctica and a station was established on the “green sponge” in 1948. The Island was used as a half way point to establish the first radio link between Australia and Antarctica during Sir Douglas Mawson’s 1911 expedition.
- Throughout the year, the Macquarie Island teems with vast congregations of wildlife. Where the nutrient rich waters of the Southern Ocean meet warmer northern waters, rich feeding grounds are created and make the island an ideal haven for penguins, seals and seabirds to live and breed.
- Macquarie Island was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1933. In 1997, World Heritage status was granted due to its outstanding geological and natural significance.
- Rabbits, rats and mice, brought to the island over nearly 200 years of visitation and occupation were finally eradicated in 2014, after a 7-year, eradication program. With grazing pressures removed, the island is returning to its former lush, green glory.
When you introduce the topic of women in science you could also talk about Beatrix Potter. The children are sure to be familiar with her characters like Peter Rabbit and other animals characters who appear in her small books, but Beatrix Potter was also an amazing scientist especially in the area of mycoloy. I think your students will be amazed to learn that as a woman in 1897 she was not permitted to present her research to London’s Linnaean Society, the bastion of Victorian botany, which was exclusively male and barred women from membership, denied them access to the research library, and wouldn’t even allow them to attend the presentations of scientific papers.
We are so lucky to have a talent like Jess McGeachin producing books here in Australia.
South with the Seabirds is a CBCA 2025 Eve Pownall (Non Fiction) Notable title. I am very hopeful it will be one of the six short listed titles which will be announced at the end of March.
- All About the Brain by Gabriel Dabscheck (Berbay)
- Always Was, Always Will Be by Aunty Fay Muir & Sue Lawson (Magabala Books)
- Anti-Racism Kit by Sabina Patawaran & Jinyoung Kim, illustrated by Emma Ismawi (Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing)
- Australia’s Baby Animals by Jess Racklyeft (Affirm Press)
- Before the Mountain had a Name by Fiona Levings (Forty South Publishing)
- Come Together Again by Isaiah Firebrace, illustrated by Jaelyn Biumaiwai (Hardie Grant Explore)
- Design & Building on Country by Alison Page & Paul Memmott, illustrated by Blak Douglas (Thames & Hudson Australia)
- Extreme Animal Facts by Jennifer Cossins (Lothian Children’s Books)
- Flora: Australia’s Most Curious Plants by Tania McCartney (NLA Publishing)
- Follow Your Gut by Ailsa Wild & Lisa Stinson, with Briony Barr & Gregory Crocetti, illustrated by Ben Hutchings (Scribe Publications)
- I am a Magpie, I am a Currawong by Bridget Farmer (Black Cockatoo Books)
- The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Extinct Animals by Sami Bayly, illustrated by Sami Bayly (Lothian Children’s Books)
- Into the Ice: Reflections on Antarctica by Alison Lester & Coral Tulloch (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults)
- Making the Shrine: Stories From Victoria’s War Memorial by Laura J Carroll (The Crossley Press)
- Now for the Good News by Planet Ark Environmental Foundation, illustrated by Sarah Wiecek (Penguin Random House Australia)
- Plantabulous! More A to Z of Australian Plants by Catherine Clowes, illustrated by Rachel Gyan (CSIRO Publishing)
- Seed to Sky: Life in the Daintree by Pamela Freeman, illustrated by Liz Anelli (Walker Books Australia)
- Sensational Australian Animals by Stephanie Owen Reeder, illustrated by Cher Hart (CSIRO Publishing)
- South With the Seabirds by Jess McGeachin (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults)
- Sunny Finds His Song by Catherine Storey & Penny Watson, illustrated by Sarah Matsuda (Wet Season Books)
- Too Many Tigers by Monica Reeve (Forty South Publishing, Tasmania)
- Unreal by Kate Simpson, illustrated by Leila Rudge (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults)
- Walking the Rock Country in Kakadu by Diane Lucas & Ben Tyler, illustrated by Emma Long (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults)
- Wedge-tailed Eagle by Claire Saxby, illustrated by Christina Booth (Walker Books Australia)
- When the World Was Soft by Juluwarlu Group Aboriginal Corporation, illustrated by Alex Mankiewicz (A&U Books for Children and Young Adults)
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