Ka cika wannan magana: An haifi Mawson a Ingila kuma ya zo Ostareliya sa'ad da yake jariri. Ya kammala digiri a aikin injiniya da ilimin ƙasa a Jami'ar Sydney. A cikin 1905 an sanya shi mai koyarwa a cikin ilimin kimiyyar ma'adinai da ma'adinai a Jami'ar Adelaide. Mawson na farko kwarewa a Antarctic zo a matsayin memba na Shackleton ta
"Nimrod" Expedition (1907<unk>1909), tare da mai koyar da shi Edgeworth David. Sun kasance wani ɓangare na ƙungiyar masu bincike na arewacin, wanda ya zama na farko da ya kai Kudancin Magnetic Pole kuma ya hau Dutsen Erebus.