Syd Kirkby was first appointed Surveyor at Mawson Station for 1956, the third year of ANARE operations in Antarctica.
Kirkby's many accomplishments in Antarctica include establishment of the easternmost, westernmost, and southernmost astrofixes in Australian Antarctic Territory.
In the autumn of 1960, he and his team journeyed 400 kilometres through Enderby Land from the Napier Mountains to Mawson station.
His contributions have made a significant impact on the fields of regional geochronology, petrology, tectonics geology, orogeny, glaciology, geomagnetism, and paleomagnetism.
In 1966 Kirby became Senior Surveyor in charge of National Mapping's airborne distance measuring (Aerodist) program.