Person
Whitehead, Sylvia Gladys (1921 - 2012)
- Born
- 1921
Kerang, Victoria, Australia - Died
- 12 November 2012
- Occupation
- Mineralogist and Petrologist
- Alternative Names
- Whincup, Sylvia (Subsequent name)
Summary
Silvia Whitehead was a petrologist with wide experience of mineral exploration, particularly in South Australia. For a few years to 1950 she was Curator of Minerals at the National Museum of Victoria, before moving to South Australia. In 1958 Whitehead re-entered the workforce as Petrologist for Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited in Whyalla, investigating banded iron formations from Iron Monarch, South Australia, and carbonate rocks. It was while employed by Anaconda Australia Inc. that she discovered the world's largest deposit of willemite, a rare zinc silicate lacking sulfides. From 1968 to 1981 Whitehead was petrologist at Australian Mineral Development Laboratories, where she concentrated on the microscopic identification of rocks and minerals.
Details
Chronology
- 1942
- Education - BSc, University of Melbourne
- 1943
- Education - MSc, University of Melbourne
- 1946? - 1950
- Career position - Curator of Minerals, National Museum of Victoria
- 1950 - 1958
- Life event - Home duties
- 1952 - 2012
- Career position - Foundation Member, Geological Society of Australia
- 1958 - 1965
- Career position - Petrologist, Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited (BHP), Whyalla
- 1965 - 1967
- Career position - Petrologist, Anaconda Australia Inc.
- 1968 - 1981
- Career position - Petrologist, Australian Mineral Development Laboratories (AMDEL)
- 1981
- Life event - Retired
Related entries
Published resources
Journal Articles
- Johns, R. K. and Dalgarno. C. R., 'Sylvia Whitehead 1921 - 2012', TAG: the Australian geologist, 166 (2013), 50. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 27 May 2022