1888-1958

Australian Explorer, Pilot, and Photographer

Sir George Hubert Wilkins was an Australian explorer of the Arctic and a pilot who is regarded as a pioneer in air exploration. He also contributed to the exploration of the Arctic by submarine.

Wilkins was born in Mount Bryan East, in southern Australia on October 31, 1888. He attended the School of Mines and Industry in Adelaide, where he studied electrical engineering; he also pursued his interest in photography and took up flying in 1910. He married Suzanne Bennett in 1929. Wilkins utilized his skills in photography and flight during the Balkan War, where he served as a newsreel photographer. His work was used in newspapers as well as in movies. Following the end of the Balkan War in 1913, Wilkins began his career in Arctic exploration after he was selected by Vihjalmur Stefansson (1879-1962) to be the official photographer...