Eric Philips OAM

From the time he was a boy, Eric Philips was drawn to the unknown. He remembers sitting in his primary school gym, watching the moon landing on a tiny, grainy, black-and-white television. He didn’t fully understand the profoundness of that moment, but he knew one thing: he wanted to go where humans had never gone before.

Eric’s love for the wilderness was nurtured early by parents who took him camping and hiking. Open skies and the bush were his classroom, long before he stepped onto the grounds of the Salisbury College of Advanced Education, a UniSA antecedent institution. Here, Eric studied outdoor education and found a lifelong mentor and role model in his lecturer, Robert Easter. An adventurer himself, Robert took Eric on sailing voyages to the Nuyts Archipelago and Tasmania, hikes through the Flinders, and skiing in the Victorian Alps. The pair even ended up working together at Davis Station, one of Australia’s research outposts in Antarctica. Robert was instrumental in shaping Eric’s path and encouraged him to embrace adventure not just as a personal pursuit, but as a way to teach, lead, and inspire.

This foundation propelled Eric into a life of exploration and to the furthest reaches of our planet. As a polar guide, he has led countless treks to both the North and South Poles – journeys filled with danger, from thin ice and blizzards to the looming threat of polar bears. For Eric, these risks were not deterrents but part of the allure. He calls it “frontier adventure”, the electrifying edge between safety and the unknown and a stimulus like no other.

But the sheer thrill is only half the motivation, teaching has always been a driving force in his work. He has devoted decades to leading others into extreme environments, helping them safely step beyond their comfort zones. Imparting his knowledge is all part of the excitement and the love for educating runs deep. His daughter, Mardi, inspired by his example, is a polar guide herself, continuing the family institution.

And then came space. A cryptocurrency billionaire joining one of his polar expeditions led Eric to a new challenge, training for 18 months before launching into orbit. For three and a half days, he and the Fram2 crew circled the Earth, completing the first ever human orbits over the North and South Poles. A full-circle moment which gave Eric a newfound perspective and affinity for the universe itself. Looking back on a lifetime of incredible journeys, Eric says the secret is to make the start – the size of the leap doesn’t matter, the first small step of beginning is what truly counts.

< 2025 Alumni Awards