Eric Norman Webb was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1889. Soon after graduating in civil engineering from Canterbury University and with four-month's training in magnetometry at Melbourne Observatory, he joined the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914 (leader Douglas Mawson), as Chief Magnetician. He was based at Cape Denison and was a member of the party of three that sledged to near the South Magnetic Pole in 1912.
During the First World, he served with distinction in the Army and by the end of the war had attained the rank of Major. After the war, he commenced work as an engineer with British General Electric, working on hydroelectric schemes throughout the world. On his retirement in 1959, he was a senior engineer on the huge Hamilton Falls Hydro-Electric project in Newfoundland, Canada. He died on 23 January 1984, the last survivor of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914.
From the guide to the Eric Norman Webb collection, 1912-1965, (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)
