Person
Richardson, Lewis A. (1907 - 1971)
- Born
- 29 January 1907
Spring Farm, near Narellan, New South Wales, Australia - Died
- January 1971
- Occupation
- Geophysicist
Summary
Lew Richardson was a geophysicist who played a central role in the discovery and exploitation of major ore deposits in Australia. After initially training as a surveyor, Richardson was employed by the Imperial Geophysical Experimental Survey before joining the Aerial, Geological and Geophysical Survey of Northern Australia (AGGSNA). At Tennant Creek his testing of magnetic anomalies revealed the presence of gold and copper at deeper depths than previously found: this ultimately led to the establishment of Peko Mines Ltd. In 1950, having worked for the Bureau of Mineral Resources for five years, Richardson founded his own consulting firm. Clients included most of Australia's large mining companies. For Peko Mines Richardson was involved in the development of ore bodies at Tennant Creek, Ranger 1, North Parkes and Cowal. Richardson's consultancy was responsible for ground-breaking developments in areas of magnetics, gravity, electromagnetics, downhole and airborne geophysics.
Details
Chronology
- 1928 - 1930
- Career position - Field Assistant, Imperial Geophysical Experimental Survey
- 1935 - 1941
- Career position - Applied Geophysicist, Aerial, Geological and Geophysical Survey of Northern Australia (AGGSNA)
- 1937
- Career position - Associate, Institute of Physics, United Kingdom
- 1942 - 1946
- Career position - Transferred with other AGGSNA staff to Mineral Resources Survey
- 1946
- Career position - member, Australian Scientific Mission to Japan
- 1946 - 1950
- Career position - Geophysicist, Bureau of Mineral Resources
- 1950 - 1971
- Career position - Independent consultant
Related entries
Published resources
Books
- Ashford, Oliver M., Prophet or Professor? The Life and Work of Lewis Fry Richardson (Bristol: Adam Hilger, 1985), 314 pp. Details
Journal Articles
- Richardson, Bob, 'Lewis Albert Richardson: a pioneer of exploration geophysics in Australia', Preview, 181 (2016), 38-41. Details
Resources
- 'Richardson, Lewis A.', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1473784. Details
Resource Sections
- 'Richardson, Lewis A.', in Physics in Australia to 1945, R.W. Home, with the assistance of Paula J. Needham, Australian Science Archives Project, June 1995, http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/physics/P002237p.htm. Details
Rosanne Walker and Helen Cohn
Created: 29 June 1995, Last modified: 10 April 2018