Richards, Henry Caselli (1884 - 1947)

Summary

Henry Richards was a geologist who after some industry experience became Lecturer in geology at the University of Queensland and its first Professor of Geology from 1919 to 1947. He made a considerable impact on the University, both within his Department, and as Dean of Science, Member of the University's Senate and Deputy Chancellor. For the Queensland Government he made significant contributions to agencies such as the Royal Commission into Mining and the Artesian Water Commission. Richards was heavily involved in a wide range of other scientific organisations. As Chairman of the Great Barrier Reef Committee he was closely involved with early boring activities, the Great Barrier Reef Expedition 1928 - 1929, and the establishment of the Heron Island Research Station. He was a strong advocate for the establishment of a federal geological body, was for ten years a member of the Australian National Research Council, and served two terms as President of the Royal Society of Queensland.

Details

Chronology

1906

Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc), University of Melbourne

1906 - 1907

Career position - Geologist, Geological Survey of Victoria

1907 - 1908

Career position - Metallurgical Superintendent, De Bavay's Treatment Co, Broken Hill

1908 - 1910

Career position - Demonstrator, University of Melbourne

1909

Education - Master of Science (MSc), University of Melbourne

1910 - 1911

Career position - Teacher, Chemistry, Geology and Mining Department, Central Technical College, Brisbane

1911 - 1919

Career position - Lecturer in geology, University of Queensland

1913

Career position - President, Royal Society of Queensland

1917

Career position - Honorary Petrologist and Mineralogist, Queensland Museum

1919 - 1947

Career position - Inaugural Professor of Geology, University of Queensland

1921 - 1932

Career position - Foundation Councillor (Geology), Australian National Research Council

1924

Career position - President, Section C (Geology and Mineralogy), Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science

1925 - 1947

Career position - Chairman, Great Barrier Reef Committee

1926 - 1932

Career position - Member of the Senate, University of Queensland

1927

Career position - Member, Oil Advisory Board, Queensland Mines Department

1929

Career position - Member, Royal Commission into Mining in Queensland

1932 - 1933

Career position - Member, Survey of Australian and New Zealand Museums and Art Galleries for the Carnegie Corporation, New York

1933

Career position - Member, Queensland Bureau of Industry

1935 - 1938

Career position - Chairman, Mining Commission, Queensland Bureau of Industry

1937

Career event - Fellow, Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS)

1937

Award - Clarke Memorial Lecturer, Royal Society of New South Wales

1938 - ?

Career position - Member, Queensland Artesian Water Commission

1938

Award - Clarke Medal, Royal Society of New South Wales

1938

Career position - President, Royal Society of Queensland

1938 - 1945

Career position - Member, Board of Trustees, Queensland Art Gallery

1941

Award - Honorary Member (HonMIEAust), Institution of Engineers, Australia. - Long record of association with scientific progress including engineering geology

1943 - 1947

Career position - Member of the Senate, University of Queensland

1944 - 1946

Career position - Deputy Chancellor, University of Queensland

1945 - 1947

Career position - President, Board of Trustees, Queensland Art Gallery

Related entries

Archival resources

John Oxley Library, Manuscripts and Business Records Collection, State Library of Queensland

• Henry Caselli Richards - Records, 1922 - 1927; John Oxley Library, Manuscripts and Business Records Collection, State Library of Queensland. Details

The University of Queensland Archives

• Henry Caselli Richards - Records, 1911 - 1947; The University of Queensland Archives. Details

University of Queensland, Geology Department Library

• Henry Caselli Richards - Records, 1933 - 1936; University of Queensland, Geology Department Library. Details

Published resources

Books

• Gregory, Helen, Vivant Professores: Distinguished Members of the University of Queensland, 1910-1940 (St Lucia: University of Queensland Library, 1987), 180 pp. Details

Book Sections

• Hill, Dorothy, 'Richards, Henry Caselli (1884-1947), Professor of Geology' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 11: 1891 - 1939 Nes-Smi, Geoffrey Serle, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1988), pp. 373-374. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A110383b.htm. Details

Journal Articles

• Bryan, W. H., 'Obituary: Professor H. C. Richards', Australian Journal of Science, 10 (1) (1947), 13-14. Details
• Bryan, W. H., 'H. C. Richards Memorial Address', Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland, lix (5) (1947), 141-150. Details
• Hill, Dorothy, 'The First Fifty Years of the Department of Geology of the University of Queensland', University of Queensland, Department of Geology, 10 (1) (1981), 1-68. Details
• Institution of Engineers Australia, 'Twenty-second Annual Report [1941]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 14 (1942), 35-41. 'Honorary Membership of The Institution, awarded to Professor H C Richards, DSc, Professor of Geology and Mineralogy, University of Queensland', p.39. Details
• Richards, H. C. and Hill, D., 'Great Barrier Reef bores, 1926 and 1937: description, analyses, interpretations', Report of the Great Barrier Reef Committee, 5 (1942), 1-111. Details
• Richards, Henry C, 'The Development of Petrology During the Present Century. Presidential Address.', Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland, xxvi (1914), 1-11. Details
• Richards, Henry C., 'The building stones of Queensland', Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland, 30 (8) (1918), 97-157. Details

Resources

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q5719224. Details
• VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/94877336. Details
• 'Richards, H C (1884-1947)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-636236. Details

See also

• Currie, George; Graham, John, The Origins of CSIRO: Science and the Commonwealth Government, 1901-1926 (Melbourne: CSIRO, 1966), 203 pp, https://ebooks.publish.csiro.au/content/origins-csiro. pages 152. Details
• Thomis, Malcolm Ian, A Place of Light and Learning: the University of Queensland's First Seventy-Five Years (St Lucia (Qld): University of Queensland Press, 1985), 429 pp. Details