Pamela Young

Pamela Margaret Young (née Rawlinson) is a New Zealand Antarctic scientist. She was the first New Zealand woman to live and work in Antarctica. In 1969–70, she worked at Cape Bird as field assistant to her husband Euan, a biologist, and was among the first six women to fly to the South Pole. She wrote a book about her trip (Penguin summer or a rare bird in Antarctica). The Young Peaks in Antarctica are named after her.

Early life and education The daughter of Caren Cecilia Rawlinson (née Lyders) and Arthur Field Rawlinson, Pamela Young studied at the University of Otago and graduated BA in 1958. In 1959, she married Euan Cameron Young, a zoology lecturer at the University of Canterbury. but attitudes were slowly changing. Euan told Pamela that “the Americans are keen to take girls down this year.… so it would be fair enough for us to send one New Zealander.” ), but she was the first to live and work there as a member of a research team, although not trained as a scientist. She was described as the "First Lady for Scott Base" when her selection was announced in June 1969.

The presence of even one woman involved extra planning for equipment, accommodation and bathroom facilities. Lane Walker Rudkin, a local clothing manufacturer, gave her woollen jerseys and ski pants, as well as “two pairs of special long-johns in the finest of creamy white wool”, so she didn't have to wear men's ones. Pamela Young was a teacher at Epsom Girls' Grammar School.

In 2017, Young was selected as one of the Royal Society Te Apārangi's "150 women in 150 words", celebrating the contributions of women to knowledge in New Zealand.