With sadness we announce the death of a colleague who played an eminently supporting role in the development of the MIMMP, especially in the early days. Harry Roy Burton (borne 06 August 1940 in Victoria, Australia) passed away on Saturday 21 September 2024 in Hobart, Tasmania, after a series of illnesses. Harry spent approximately three and a half years in Antarctica, comprising two winters (1974 and 1978) and five summers at Davis station, conducting research on Antarctic biology and geochemical limnology. He also spent three months as leader of a summer party on Heard Island in 1985, and nine months (August 1993 to May 1994) during the first branding season of southern elephant seal (SES) weaners at Macquarie Island. His major projects included the limnology of the lakes of the Vestfold Hills and the population ecology/biology of the SES on Macquarie Island and elsewhere. Burton Lake in the Vestfold Hills, Antarctica is named after him, and he was awarded the Australian Antarctic Medal in 1987. Naturally, as within the MIMMP, a lot of his work was conducted from remote field camps in difficult conditions.

*The 1993 Macquarie Island sealers (left – right: Paul (Tussock) Davis,* ***Harry Burton,*** *John (Snake) van den Hoff and Clive McMahon*

In the past, both Frans Jonker (Sealer #39 in the MIMMP chronological hierarchy) of M51 (1994/95) and Clive McMahon (Cat Hunter #45) of M45 (1988/89) enjoyed Harry’s hospitality who created opportunity for them to work with SES in Australia at Macquarie Island, after they had travelled beyond South African shores for adventure. Frans subsequently moved to New Zealand, but Clive stayed on to, in his own words, ‘live, work, learn, and laugh together with Harry while catching and weighing elephant seals, writing papers and breaking new ground’. Clive acknowledged that he was indeed extremely privileged and honoured to have had such a wise and knowledgeable mentor and close friend right to the very end.

Marthan joined Harry on a 1985 scientific expedition to Heard Island

In fact, all of us who rubbed shoulders with Harry were much better off for doing so. I joined Harry on the 1985 expedition to Heard Island, a dream come true. But more than that, Harry supported the SES censusing, marking and resighting programme on Marion Island from its re-launch in 1983. He voiced this support at the SCAR (Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research) seal specialist group meetings and conferences which helped us secure funding within SANAP for this long-term project. He was instrumental in arranging a Southern Ocean wide census of SES and encouraged the weighing of SES weaners! His love for weighing SES pups was rewarded with the scientific papers emanating from this predilection (e.g., Burton et al. 1997; McMahon et al. 2000) being cited extensively in the marine mammal scientific literature. While at the Australian Antarctic Division he also invested his time (he spent six months in 1992 on a sabbatical with me at the MRI), funding (ARGOS satellite tracking costs) and data loggers (satellite transmitters and geolocators) in the MIMMP.

Harry will be sorely missed. Our sincere condolences go to his family and friends. May he rest in peace.

Compiled by: Marthan N. Bester

Burton HR, Arnbom T, Boyd IL, Bester M, Vergani D, Wilkinson I (1997) Significant differences in weaning mass of southern elephant seals from five sub‑Antarctic islands in relation to population declines. In: Antarctic Communities: Species, Structure and Survival. Pp 335‑338. Battaglia, B., Valencia, J. & Walton, D.W.H. (eds), Springer, Berlin.

McMahon CR, Burton HR, Bester MN (2000) Weaning mass and the future survival of juvenile southern elephant seals, Mirounga leonina, at Macquarie Island. Antarctic Science 12:149-153.