Person
Playford, Phillip Elliott (Phil) (1931 - 2017)
AM FTSE
- Born
- 27 December 1931
Guildford, Western Australia, Australia - Died
- 12 July 2017
Perth, Western Australia, Australia - Occupation
- Geologist
Summary
Phillip Playford was a geologist known as an international authority on Devonian reefs. During a 30-year career with the Geological Survey of Western Australia, of which he was Director at the time of retirement, he made landmark studies of the Canning Basin and Shark Bay areas, the Kimberley and Rottnest Island, and was instrumental in the discovery of commercial quantities of oil in Western Australia. He was the co-discoverer with Daryl Johnstone of stromatolites at Hamelin Pool, and identified evidence of huge tsunamis along the Western Australian coast. Playford's interest in the search for Dutch wrecks stemmed from his location in 1954 of the Zuytdorp, the first of four wrecks so far identified. His book Carpet of Silver: the wreck of the Zuytdorp was awarded the Western Australia Premier's Book Award for History in 1997.
Details
Chronology
- 1952 - 2017
- Career position - Founding Member (later Fellow), Geological Society of Australia
- 1953
- Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc(Hons)), University of Western Australia
- 1953 - 1954
- Career position - Field Geologist, Bureau of Mineral Resources
- 1954 - 1959
- Career position - Staff Stratigrapher (later Field Geologist),WA Petroleum Pty Ltd
- 1959
- Award - Fulbright Scholarship
- 1962
- Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Stanford University, California, USA
- 1962 - 1970
- Career position - Supervising Geologist, Sedimentary (Oil) Division, Geological Survey of Western Australia
- 1963 - 2017
- Career position - Honorary Associate, Western Australian Museum
- 1969 - 1971
- Career position - President, Royal Society of Western Australia
- 1970 - 1971
- Career position - Exploration Manager (later General Manager), Abrolhos Oil NL
- 1971 - 1978
- Career position - Supervising Geologist, Geological Survey of Western Australia
- 1978 - 1980
- Career position - Assistant Director, Geological Survey of Western Australia
- 1980 - 1984
- Career position - Deputy Director, Geological Survey of Western Australia
- 1984 - 1986
- Career position - Assistant Director General of Mines, Geological Survey of Western Australia
- 1986 - 1992
- Career position - Director, Geological Survey of Western Australia
- 1990
- Award - Gibb Maitland Medal, Western Australian Division, Geological Society of Australia
- 1992
- Life event - Retired
- 1992
- Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE)
- 1992
- Award - Special Commendation Award, American Association of Petroleum Geologists
- 1995
- Award - Lewis G. Weeks Gold Medal, Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA)
- 1998
- Award - Member of the Order of Australia (AM) - for service to geology, and to historical research on early Dutch exploration and shipwrecks in Australia
- 1999 - 2017
- Award - Honorary Associate, Geological Survey of Western Australia
- 1999 - 2017
- Award - Honorary Life Member, Royal Society of Western Australia
- 2001
- Award - Medal of the Royal Society of Western Australia
- 2001
- Award - Centenary Medal - for service to geology and historical research
- 2001
- Award - Distinguished Service Award, Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia
Related entries
Published resources
Journal Articles
- Anon, 'Earth scientist, author and shipwreck discoverer: Dr Phillip Playford AM FTSE', ATSE focus, 204 (2017), 52, https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-537141812. Details
- Cockbain, Tony, Hocking, Roger and Reid, Pam, 'Vale Phillip Elliot Playford, a life of geology, exploration and history, 27 December 1931 - 12 July 2017', Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 100 (2) (2017), 46-8. Details
- Cockbain, Tony; Hocking, Roger; and Reid, Pam, 'Phillip Elliott Playford 27 December 1931 - 12 July 2017', TAG: the Australian geologist, 184 (2017), 39-41. Details
- Cooper, Barry, 'Phillip Elliott Playford (1931 - 2017)', INHIGEO annual record, 50 (2018), 50-1. https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/pdfplus/10.3366/anh.2018.0521. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 4 December 2018