Australian Geographic
FrequencyBimonthly
FounderDick Smith
Founded1986
CompanyNorthern Pictures
CountryAustralia
Websitewww.australiangeographic.com.au
Australian Geographic store in Emporium Melbourne

Australian Geographic is a media business that produces the Australian Geographic magazine, DMag magazine, specialist book titles, travel guides, diaries and calendars and online media. It published editions of the Australian Encyclopaedia. It previously operated the Australian Geographic retail chain stores and Australian Geographic Travel and Australian Geographic Adventures.

Australian Geographic magazine, originally titled Dick Smith's Australian Geographic, is a bi-monthly geographical journal created by Dick Smith in 1986.[1] The magazine focuses mainly on stories about Australia, or about Australian people in other countries. The six editions published each year are available by subscription and on newsstands. They include posters or sheet maps in each edition, as well as photographs and detailed technical illustrations.

Australian Geographic also has a website that includes the entire magazine digital archive.[2]

Each year, a portion of the profits is provided to the Australian Geographic Society.[3]

History

The Australian Geographic magazine, originally titled Dick Smith's Australian Geographic, was initially published by Australian Geographic Pty Ltd, a private company controlled by Dick Smith, the founder of Dick Smith Electronics and Dick Smith Foods. His name was removed from the title two years later. Australian Geographic Pty Ltd also operated the Australian Geographic chain of retail stores.[4] The publication's offices were originally based in Terrey Hills north of Sydney. Smith wanted the publication to focus on accuracy by exclusively including articles that were peer-reviewed.[citation needed] Australian Geographic acquired rights to the Australian Encyclopaedia and published editions in 1988 and 1996. In 1995, when subscriptions totalled more than 200,000, Smith sold the business to Fairfax Media for A$41 million.[5]

In December 1998, the business was bought out by its management.[6]

From September 2000 to December 2001, Australian Geographic published a bimonthly science and technology magazine known as Newton Graphic Science. There were, however, only eight issues published before the magazine went permanently out of print.

In November 2006, PBL Media's ACP Magazines (now Bauer Media Group) purchased the Australian Geographic publishing division.[6] The Australian Geographic magazine was then based at Park Street, Sydney. The editor-in-chief of Australian Geographic was Chrissie Goldrick, while the editor was John Pickrell.

In September 2007, Australian Geographic Retail, which operates an online store and retail stores selling products including Australiana, weather stations, telescopes, books and toys, was sold separate to the publication business. From 2007 to 2016 Australian Geographic Retail was owned by Myer Family Investments[6] but after large operating losses it was sold in August 2016 to The Co-op, a retail supplier to universities.[7] The license ended in 2019.[8]

In 2018, the publication was sold to Sydney-based Northern Pictures, a television production company owned by Blue Ant Media.[9]

Awards

The Australian Geographic Society Adventure Award has been awarded since 1987 and is Australia's longest-running award for adventure.[10] It is judged on merit and therefore not all of the categories are awarded annually. The award ceremony, attended in 2018 by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex,[11] is a celebration of achievement and is not a competition.[12] The award is given in two categories – Adventurer of the Year, and Young Adventurer of the Year.

Adventurer of the Year

Year Awardee Achievement
2018 Steve Plain Climbed the world's seven continent summits – Vernon, Aconcagua, Kilimanjaro, Carstensz, Elbrus, Denali and Everest – in just four months following a near-fatal injury.[13]
2017 Sandy Robson Kayaker who successfully traveled from Germany to Australia, drawing attention to the state of our oceans along the way.[14]
2016 Michael Smith The first person to solo circumnavigate the world in a single-engine flying boat.[15]
2015 John Jacoby, Chris Porter, Andrew Maffett and Jim Bucirde Sea Kayak circumnavigators of the subantarctic island of South Georgia.[16]
2014 Jason Beachcroft The first person to kayak around Australia, incorporating Tasmania into the route.[17]
2013 Tim Jarvis Leading the re-enactment expedition of Shackleton's epic 1916 journey.[18]
2012 Pat Farmer Marathon running from the North to the South poles.[19]
2010 Linda Beilharz First Australian woman to walk to the North and South poles.[20][21]
2009 Andrew Lock Mountaineer who successfully climbed all fourteen of the tallest +8000m peaks in the world.[22]
2008 Jozef Truban Trekked 3100 km across the Carpathian Mountains in 2007.[23]
2007 Lloyd Godson Survived in a self-contained underwater habitat "the BioSUB" for 12 days.[24][25]
2006 Tim Cope Travelled by horse from Mongolia to Hungary on the trail of nomads during 2004–2007.[26][27][28][29]
2005 Andrew McAuley Paddled across the Gulf of Carpentaria in 2004 in a kayak.[30][31][32]
2004 Jon Johanson First solo flight over the South Pole in a single-engine home-built aircraft.[33]
2003 Sue Fear First Australian-born woman to climb Mount Everest.
2002 Jon Muir First ever unassisted crossing of Australia in 128 days, from Port Augusta to Burketown.[34] Muir has also summitted Mount Everest in 1988, and has walked to both the south (1999) and north (2002) poles.[34][35]
2001 Tammy van Wisse First person to swim the entire length of the Murray River in Australia.[36]
2000 Dick Smith Flew a balloon across the Tasman Sea from New Zealand to Australia.[37]
1999 David Mason Walked solo across Australia from Byron Bay to Steep Point in 1998.[38]
1998 David Lewis Completed the world's first circumnavigation of the planet in multi-hull vessel.[39][40]
1997 Syd Kirkby First man to venture into the Prince Charles Mountains in Antarctica with sled dogs during 1956–57.[41]
1996 Don & Margie McIntyre Married couple who spent a year living in a tent in Antarctica.[42][43]
1995 Denis Bartell Walked across Australia in 1984, and became the first person to walk solo across the width of the Simpson Desert.[44][45]
1994 Len Beadell Completed the Woomera town survey, and supervised the construction of +6500 km of roads in outback Australia.[46][47]
1993 Warwick Deacock Organised the first Australian climbing expedition of Annapurna III in the Himalayas during 1980.[48][49][50]
1992 Ron and Valerie Taylor Became the first people to film Great White Sharks underwater in 1992 without the protection of a cage.[51][52]
1991 Warren Bonython Walked across the Simpson Desert in 1973, and largely contributed to the formation of the Heysen Trail.[53][54][55]
1990 Hans Tholstrup First maritime circumnavigation of Australia in an open boat, and first to cross Australia in a solar powered car.
1989 Dot Butler Conservationist, mountaineer, explorer, and long-distance cyclist.[56]
1988 Philip Law Scientist and Antarctic explorer.
1987 Colin Putt Antarctic explorer and mountaineer. Amongst the first to summit Big Ben on Heard Island (Australia's Tallest Mountain).[57]

Young Adventurer of the Year

Year Awardee Achievement
2017 Sam Mitchell First traverse of the Canning Stock Route unsupported and using an electric fat bike. The bicycle was powered by a trailer carrying solar panels.[58]
2016 Jade Hameister Became the youngest person in history to ski to the north pole.[59]
2015 Danielle Murdoch Completed a 4-year motorcycle journey.[60]
2014 Belinda Ritchie Completed a 12-month trek on horseback along the Bicentennial National Trail.[61]
2013 Ryan Campbell Broke the World record for the youngest pilot to circumnavigate the globe solo in a single engine aircraft.[62]
2012 Lachie Carracher Whitewater kayaked in some of Australia's mightiest rivers, as well as those snaking through Canada, China, Laos, Nepal, Uganda, Switzerland, Sumatra, United States, the United Kingdom and Mexico.[63]
2010 Jessica Watson The youngest person ever to sail around the world solo and unassisted.[64]
2009 Angus Paradice Paradice completed two challenging horse races in Mongolia at the age of 13.[65][66]
2008 James Castrission Completed the world's first Trans-Tasman kayak expedition from Australia to New Zealand.[67][68]
Justin Jones
2007 Rex Pemberton Third youngest person in the world to climb the seven summits.[69][70][71]
2006 Stephen Fordyce Completed a mid-winter traverse of the Western Arthurs range in Southwest Tasmania.[72]
Roger Chao
2005 Rex Pemberton Youngest Australian to ever climb Mount Everest at the age of 21.[69]
2004 Chris Bray Walked from Port Davey to Strahan around 300 km of coastline.
Jasper Timm
2003 Christopher Harris Youngest person to attempt Mount Everest.
2002 Tim Cope Cycled across Russia, Siberia, Mongolia, and China in 1999; and paddled the length of the Yenisey River in 2001.
2001 Jeremy Richardson First Australian team to attempt a winter ascent of Denali, US
Jarlath Weingott
Angus Weingott
2000 Krista Bernard Cycled solo from Indonesia to England in 2000.
1999 not conferred not conferred
1998 Chris Hatherly Hatherly rode a bike around Australia in 11.5 months during 1996.
1997 David Dicks unknown
1996 Mark Shearer 2000 km kayaking journey in Chile[73]
Eric Croker 2000 km kayaking journey in Chile[73]
1995 not conferred unknown
1994 Damon Howes Spent a year near the Wanderer River on the South West coast of Tasmania.
Deanne Howes
1993 not conferred not conferred
1992 James Woodford unknown
Adam Kerezsy unknown
1991 Jeremy Durbin unknown
1990 John Weir unknown
1989 Richard Wood Paddled the entirety of the Murray River in a kayak.

See also

References

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External links

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