Marcel Aurousseau

Marcel Aurousseau MC C. de G. (19 April 1891 in Woollahra, Sydney – 22 August 1983 in Sydney) was an Australian geographer, geologist, war hero, historian and translator.

Aurousseau, who was of French and Irish descent, attended Sydney Boys High School alongside three students who were also later prominent in various fields: Arthur Wheen (an historian and translator), Raymond Kershaw (an economist), and Arthur McLaughlin (a medical practitioner).

He began his scientific career as an "office boy" at the Australian Museum in Sydney.

Following the outbreak of World War I, Aurousseau obtained leave from UWA, to join the Australian Imperial Force. He was assigned initially to the 28th Battalion (1915), before joining the 51st Battalion on the Western Front.

Aurousseau first saw action in France at the battles of Fleurbaix (Fromelles), the Pozières and the Mouquet Farm (14–15 August 1916), which resulted in his being wounded severely. a place name that is the common name only in countries or regions outside the place in question, usually for historical reasons. Usage of "exonym" has grown to include non-geographical proper names for things such as languages, cultures or populations. Some significant examples of exonyms therefore include: the English language "China" for Zhōngguó; the Spanish word estadounidenses (lit. "unitedstatesians") for "Americans", and; the English "German" for Deutsch.

In 1969, the Royal Geographical Society presented Aurousseau with the Victoria Medal, an annual award "for conspicuous merit in research in geography". He was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in 1972.

Authored works Aurousseau's published works include: Travel books Highway Into Spain, London, Peter Davies (1930), 1st ed., 686 pages. Highway Into Spain, London, Peter Davies (1931), 2nd ed., 294 pages. Beyond the Pyrenees, London, Peter Davies (1931), orig. publ. 1930 as part of Highway Into Spain. Geography/history The Rendering of Geographical Names, London, Hutchinson (1957). The Letters of F. W. Ludwig Leichhardt (transl. & ed.), London, Hakluyt Society/Cambridge University Press (1968). Sound recording Marcel Aurousseau interviewed by Hazel de Berg for the Hazel de Berg collection (1977), c. 36 minutes; held by the National Library of Australia.

Footnotes