John Rymill - Polar Explorer

Hear from his grandson how John Rymill left Australia bound for England, on a journey that would culminate in him becoming one of Australia’s foremost polar pioneers.

The British Graham Land Expedition (BGLE) of 1934-1937 was a successful geophysical expedition led by prominent South Australian John Riddoch Rymill. Revealing secrets from one of Earth's only remaining frontiers, the Polar regions, this expedition resulted in the largest and most accurately detailed survey of the Antarctic continent confirming the existence of a peninsula rather than an archipelago.

About 100 years ago, Penola-born John Rymill left Australia bound for England, on a journey that would culminate in him becoming one of Australia’s foremost polar pioneers.  From earning his stripes in Greenland after unexpected tragedy, to garnering the confidence of the UK supporters for one of the last private Antarctic ventures, to how he selected his crew, John Rymill had a remarkable history.