Belgrave Ninnis Inspector - General Belgrave Ninnis ( 1 September 1837 – 18 June 1922 ) was a Royal Navy surgeon , surveyor , Arctic explorer , and leading Freemason , from London . He graduated as a Doctor of Medicine from the University of St Andrews in 1861 , and the same year entered the navy as an Assistant Surgeon . From 1864 to 1866 , Ninnis served as part of a surveying expedition to the Northern Territory of South Australia , helping to chart the area to the west of the Adelaide River and returning biological specimens to Adelaide for study . In 1867 Ninnis was appointed to Greenwich Hospital ( later the Royal Naval College , Greenwich ) , and in 1875 he joined the British Arctic Expedition under Captain Sir George Nares , serving as Staff - Surgeon on HMS " Discovery " . When disease spread among the expedition ' s dogs , Ninnis was charged with investigating the cause ; his findings later formed the basis of a published work . At the conclusion of the expedition in 1876 he received the Arctic Medal for his service , and was promoted to Fleet - Surgeon . In his later career Ninnis served both on ships and in hospitals . He received Sir Gilbert Blane ' s Gold Medal in 1879 , was promoted to Deputy Inspector - General in 1883 , was appointed Principal Medical Officer at Melville Naval Hospital in 1892 , and was selected as a Knight of Grace of the Venerable Order of Saint John in 1895 . Upon his retirement in 1897 he was promoted to Inspector - General , and in 1900 and 1902 served as President of the Section of the Navy , Army , and Ambulance of the British Medical Association . He was made a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order ( CVO ) in 1912 . Ninnis was initiated into the Freemasons 1872 , was a founder of several Lodges , and in 1901 became a Past Grand Deacon of England . He was the father of Belgrave Edward Sutton Ninnis , an explorer who was lost down a crevasse during the 1911 – 14 Australasian Antarctic Expedition . Career . Early career . Ninnis graduated from the University of St Andrews as a Doctor of Medicine on 2 January 1861 , and became a Member of the Royal College of Surgeons — MCRS ; a professional qualification — in April of the same year . On 1 August , he entered the Royal Navy Medical Service , as an Assistant Surgeon , and was appointed to HMS " Pantaloon " . In October 1862 Ninnis was transferred to the navy ' s flagship HMS " Victory " , then moored in Portsmouth . He was posted aboard HMS " Curacoa " , assigned to the Australian Station , in 1863 . In 1864 , he was selected to serve as naturalist on a survey expedition to the Northern Territory of South Australia , aboard HMS " Beatrice " . The expedition , under Boyle Travers Finniss , was charged with surveying the coast in the area of the Adelaide River , with the aim of selecting a site for a future territory capital . Together with W . P . Auld , Ninnis was the first to survey the area to the west of the river , around what is now Darwin . In his role as naturalist , Ninnis collected specimens of reptiles and birds , which he presented to the South Australian Institute ( later the South Australian Museum ) , and timber , which was donated to the Adelaide Botanic Garden . Ninnis later reported to the Adelaide Philosophical Society on geological findings ; " the coast at the Northern Territory , " he said , " was generally composed of red and grey sandstone , with small quantities of quartz . " Writing in the " South Australian Register " , George William Francis , director of the Botanic Garden , said that the 32 species of timber Ninnis had collected settled " that important question , is there timber around [ the proposed capital ] or not ? " Noting that the member of the expedition originally intended to return biological specimens to Adelaide had failed to do so , Francis wrote that " we are very much indebted to this gentleman [ Ninnis ] who has thus supplied us at a time when we have failed in obtaining information through the appointed channel . " Upon the conclusion of the expedition in 1866 , Ninnis received the thanks of the Parliament of South Australia for his work . His research on the expedition later formed the basis of a published work , " Remarks on the Natural History , Meteorology , and Native Population of Northern Australia " . British Arctic Expedition . Upon his return to Britain , Ninnis qualified in January 1867 for the title of Surgeon in the Royal Navy by passing examinations at the Royal College of Surgeons ; the following month he was appointed to the Royal Hospital in Greenwich , where he remained until 1869 . On 21 December 1874 he was promoted to Staff - Surgeon Second Class . In May 1875 he was appointed to HMS " Discovery " , one of two ships — the other HMS " Alert " — which comprised the British Arctic Expedition , led by Captain Sir George Nares . The expedition aimed to be the first to reach the North Pole , pushing north through Smith Sound , between Ellesmere Island and Greenland . The two ships made slow progress up the sound , repeatedly halted by dense pack ice . During August of the first year , the expedition ' s Greenland Dog s began to show signs of disease ; the dogs experienced fits and " madness " , owing , it was assumed , " to close confinement , wet decks , and want of natural exercise . " Ninnis and Fleet - Surgeon Thomas Colon of the " Alert " were charged with investigating the disease . Ninnis ' report to Nares noted the disease ' s similarity to rabies , " but there is no instance recorded in Greenland of human beings who have been bitten having suffered from hydrophobia [ a symptom of advanced rabies ] , and the recovery of the animals in some instances is entirely opposed to the recorded experience of true rabies . " On 26 August the two ships parted ; " Alert " continued to push north while " Discovery " waited in reserve . Ninnis ' biological work then extended to horticulture . He collected wheat seeds left in the area by the Polaris expedition four years previously , and planted them — together with mustard , cress and pea seeds — between the decks of the " Discovery " . In May of the second year they were transplanted to the shore , under glass . According to Robert Johnston , in his 1877 summary of the expedition , " This experiment succeeded very well ; but , evidently , such an attempt at fancy gardening , under difficulties , could not be relied on to supply the wants of an entire ship ' s crew . " The expedition returned to England in October 1876 , having failed to reach the pole . The gains it had made had not been without cost ; three men had died from scurvy alone . One of these deaths had occurred on a sledging party from " Alert " , the remaining two on " Discovery " , from which there had been no major sledging . A Committee of Inquiry investigating the expedition determined a lack of fresh lime juice had triggered the outbreak . Even so , fresh meat , of which there was a plentiful supply near " Discovery " , could have staved off the disease . Publicly , Nares defended his surgeons , Ninnis included : For his work on the expedition , Ninnis was awarded the Arctic Medal , and promoted to Fleet - Surgeon . He later published a report , " Diseases Incidental to the Eskimo Dogs of Smith ' s Sound : Diagnosis and Treatment " , on his findings during the expedition . Later career . Ninnis spent the remainder of his career working on ships and in hospitals . His surgical notes from at least part of this time survive ; in November 1880 , for example , while serving aboard aboard HMS " Garnet " , he recorded a failed attempt to revive a drowning victim , James Farley : " Brandy injected into the rectum and strychnine at the epigastrium [ the area immediately below the heart ] , brandy and ammonia to wet his mouth . " In 1879 he was awarded Sir Gilbert Blane ' s Gold Medal , an honour reserved for Royal Navy medical officers . In 1883 he received his final active promotion , to Deputy Inspector - General . He was appointed Principal Medical Officer at Melville Naval Hospital , Chatham in 1892 , and three years later was selected as a Knight of Grace to the Venerable Order of Saint John . He retired on 1 September 1897 , with an honorary promotion to Inspector - General . He continued to be active after his retirement from the Navy , twice serving — in 1900 and 1902 — as President of the Section of the Navy , Army , and Ambulance of the British Medical Association . In July 1900 , serving in this capacity , he delivered an introductory address at the annual meeting of the association . In the address , while arguing that light and fresh air were important for the treatment of wounded sailors , noted that they could " only be obtained in sufficient quantity above the water - line , and to place the sick quarters above the water - line , amidst the hurly - burly of a sea fight , traversed by projectiles and wrecked by exploding shells , is of course out of the question , even supposing that sufficient space could be spared . " Instead , he argued for dedicated hospital ship s , which " during an action . . . would keep out of range but sufficiently close to collect the wounded when the fight was over , and sailing under the regulations of the Geneva Convention would be free from molestation or capture . " A related article by Ninnis , " The Treatment of Wounded at Sea " , was published in the " Philadelphia Medical Journal " in August 1900 , and he expanded on the idea of hospital ships in a 1905 paper to the British Medical Association . Ninnis presented another paper at the 1908 annual meeting of the association , entitled " The Position of St . John Ambulance Brigade as Regards Mobilization " , in his capacity as Chief Commissioner St . John Ambulance Brigade . On 14 June 1912 , at St James ' s Palace , he was made a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order ( CVO ) by King George V . Ninnis died in Streatham on 18 June 1922 , aged 84 . He was a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the Society of Antiquaries , and a member of the Army and Navy Club , the Royal Navy Medical Club , and the Folklore Society . In addition to the works previously mentioned , he was the author of a published work entitled " Statistical and Nosological Report , with Remarks on the Sanitary Condition of the Welsh Colony of Chubut , South America " . Freemasons . Ninnis was initiated into the Freemasons in 1872 . In 1901 he became a Past Grand Deacon of England , having previously been a Grand Standard Bearer of England . He was a Founder of the Quadratic Lodge , Hampton Court ; the Æsculapius Lodge , London ; the Navy Lodge , London ; and the Belgrave Chapter , London . He was a Past Master ( a former Worshipful Master , the senior officer of a Masonic Lodge ) of the Quadratic Lodge ; the Æsculapius Lodge ; the Prince of Wales Lodge ; the Phoenix Lodge , Jamaica ; and the Pentangle Lodge , Kent . He was a member of the Orders of Knights Templar and the Knights of Malta . Ninnis was a Life Governor of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , a Vice President of the Royal Masonic School for Boys , and a Vice Patron of the Royal Masonic School for Girls . Family . Belgrave Ninnis was the fourth son of Paul Ninnis , originally of Cornwall . He was married to Ada Jane Sutton , with whom he had three sons and one daughter . One son , Walter Melville Ninnis , died , aged 17 months , of pneumonia , on 12 September 1886 . Ninnis was the father of Belgrave Edward Sutton Ninnis , a Lieutenant in the Royal Fusiliers and Antarctic explorer . B . E . S . Ninnis accompanied the 1911 – 14 Australasian Antarctic Expedition , under Douglas Mawson , as a dog handler . Along with Mawson and Xavier Mertz , he formed the Far Eastern Party , using sledge dog s to explore the area around the expedition ' s base in Adélie Land . On 14 December 1912 , B . E . S . Ninnis died when the sledge he was walking beside broke through the snow lid of a crevasse . When news of his death reached Australia in March 1913 , several Australian newspapers — including " $ 3 " , the " Western Argus " and " The Sydney Morning Herald " — ran biographies of Belgrave Ninnis , noting his surveying work in the Northern Territory and Arctic exploration . When Mawson returned to Australia a year later , a telegram was sent on behalf of the Australian people to Ninnis senior , condoling him on his " great loss , but congratulating you on your son ' s imperishable fame . " Ninnis replied the following day , " Grateful thanks to yourself and people of Australia for sympathetic message . "