Tim Jarvis

Biography and Awards

Born in May 1966, he is best known for his numerous Antarctic expeditions, particularly the period recreations of historical treks by Sir Douglas Mawson and Sir Ernest Shackleton, as well as the record-breaking Antarctic crossing in 1999, undertaken with fellow Australian explorer Peter Treseder. As a result, he is the joint record holder for the fastest unsupported journey to the Geographic South Pole from the true edge of Antarctica (where the ice of the continent meets the sea).

He holds dual Australian/UK citizenships and spends his time primarily in Australia, with visits to the UK, the Americas, and Africa, for business and exploration-based activities and public engagements.

He is the author of The Unforgiving Minute which recounts his expeditions to the North and South Pole as well as the crossing of several Australian deserts. He is also involved in various philanthropic ventures including as a Board Member of Zoos SA (comprising Adelaide Zoo and Monarto Zoo), fundraising work with Helping Rhinos (a UK charity aiming to save rhinoceros species from extinction) and his former role as councillor of the Australian Conservation Foundation. He is also co-writer of a course for the Open University in environmental management. The course was linked with the BBC's Frozen Planet series that aired in 2011.

Jarvis was accepted into the Yale World Fellows Program for 2009. The program aims to broaden and strengthen the leadership skills of emerging leaders from across the world as they work on progressing thinking on global issues and challenges.

He received a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2010 for 'service to conservation and the environment, particularly through advisory roles to developing countries regarding land sustainability and resource management, as an explorer, and to the community'.

Jarvis was awarded Adventurer of the Year 2013 by the Australian Geographic Society and was voted Person of the Year 2014 by Classic Boat Magazine for his successful re-enactment of Shackleton's 1916 Journey, the so-called 'double' comprising both sea and land legs. For his work on the 25zero project, Jarvis was awarded Conservationist of the Year in 2016 by the Australian Geographic Society. He is subsequently the only person to ever have been awarded both Adventurer and Conservationist medallions by the Society. Jarvis was also recognised with the Society's 'Spirit of Adventure' medal for his kayak journey across Lake Eyre, Australia's largest salt lake, in 2004.

He received the Sydney Institute of Marine Science’s Emerald award (their highest) in 2013 for services to the environment.

In 2015, global education foundation Round Square inducted Jarvis as the first Idealist for Environmental Understanding.

Tim Jarvis is currently Patron of NaturePlaySA (South Australia), an organisation established to increase the time children spend in unstructured play outdoors and in nature to improve their fitness, problem solving ability, emotional resilience and mental wellbeing. He was also the joint recipient of the prestigious Jim Bettison and Helen James Award in 2016, administered by the Adelaide Film Festival.

Recreation of Douglas Mawson's expedition

In April 2007 Tim Jarvis completed an expedition in Antarctica where he attempted to recreate the amazing expedition and human feat of Sir Douglas Mawson. Jarvis walked close to 500 km pulling a sleigh full of supplies, and living on almost the same rations as Mawson himself. Jarvis wanted to find out if the story of Mawson was physically possible. At the end of the expedition Jarvis said, "I haven't really done what Mawson did because I have doctors checking my situation, a film crew following me and a number of other safety precautions. Mawson had none of that."

The 2008 film of the expedition is available on DVD, Mawson – Life and Death In Antarctica. The summary reads, "Combining the drama of Jarvis' contemporary adventure with chilling dramatic reconstructions, expert commentary and footage from the original expedition photographed by Frank Hurley, this is an extraordinary story of human survival." Tim is also author of a book of the same name (Melbourne University Press, 2008 (ISBN 978-0-522-85486-2).

Shackleton Epic

In February 2013 Jarvis and five others successfully recreated Sir Ernest Shackleton's epic crossing of the Southern Ocean in the Alexandra Shackleton, a replica of the James Caird. Using the same materials, clothing, food and a Thomas Mercer chronometer as in the original voyage, Jarvis and the team sailed their replica James Caird from Elephant Island, in the Southern Ocean, to South Georgia, just as Shackleton did in 1916. The sea voyage was followed by a trek across the mountainous interior of South Georgia to the historic whaling station of Stromness. The construction of the replica James Caird was started in June 2008 and was finished in 2010, and was officially launched on 18 March 2012 in Dorset, England. The Hon. Alexandra Shackleton is patron of the expedition. The project, led by Jarvis, was the first to successfully recreate the 'double' voyage using only period gear.

Members of the Shackleton's Epic crew were Nick Bubb, Barry 'Baz' Gray, Paul Larson, Seb Coulthard, and Ed Wardle. The expedition's patron was the Hon. Alexandra Shackleton, granddaughter of Sir Ernest Shackleton.

Jarvis was awarded the Royal Institute of Navigation’s Certificate of Achievement, in recognition of his leadership of the Shackleton Epic Expedition Team.

A documentary of the epic crossing has been made and Shackleton: Death or Glory went to air in the UK in September 2013 on Discovery UK and Australia in November 2013 on Special Broadcasting Service Australia; titled Chasing Shackleton for the USA market, it went to air in that region in January 2014 on the Public Broadcasting Service.

A book authored by Tim titled Shackleton's Epic, Recreating the World's Greatest Journey of Survival, published by Harper Collins, went on sale in the UK and Australia in November 2013; titled Chasing Shackleton, Recreating the World's Greatest Journey of Survival for the USA market, it went on sale in January 2014 in the USA. ISBN 978-0-00-754952-8.