The people: Alexander Lorimer Kennedy
AAE position: Magnetician
Born in 1889, Kennedy was still a science student at the University of Adelaide when he was selected by Mawson to join AAE. He received special tuition to enable him to serve as the Western Party’s magnetician. He took part in several sledging excursions and was cartographer for Wild’s main eastern journey.
In 1914, a year after his return to Australia, Kennedy was appointed a magnetic observer for the Carnegie Institute, Washington. After completing a Bachelor of Engineering degree at the University of Adelaide in 1915, he served with the AIF (tunnelling corps) in World War I, from 1916 to 1918.
For four years from 1921 Kennedy was ‘chief assistant’ at Adelaide Observatory, followed by a two-year stint at the newly-established Mt Stromlo Observatory, Australian Capital Territory. From 1928 he was a mining engineer working in Western Australia. Kennedy died in 1972.
