1875 Arctic Expedition

Belgrave, one of 10 children, was the 4th son of Paul Ninnis and Julia Pratt. He was born in South London in 1837, and while it is not known where he was educated he joined the Royal Navy in 1861, rising to become Inspector Surgeon General.

He was naturalist to the Northern Territory of the Southern Australian Surveying Expedition of 1864-6 and also a member of Captain Sir George Nares Arctic Expedition 1875-6

He was awarded the Sir Gilbert Blane Gold Medal, was a CVO (1912), MD, MRCS, LLM, FSA, was a Knight of Justice, and held the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. He married Ada Jane Sutton in 1883, and they had five children, one of whom (Belgrave Edward Sutton Ninnis) was later to join Mawson's Australasian Expedition in 1911, and lose his life in a crevasse in December 1912. His nephew, Aubrey Ninnis, was a member of Shackleton's Ross Sea Party in 1914. His published work included: Remarks on the Ethnology, Natural History, and Meteorology of the Northern Territory of South Australia.
He died in South London in 1922, aged 85.