Austin Burton Edwards

Austin Burton Edwards (15 August 1909 – 8 October 1960) was an Australian geologist, winner of the Clarke Medal in 1960.

Austin Burton Edwards
Born(1909-08-15)August 15, 1909
DiedOctober 8, 1960(1960-10-08) (aged 51)
Rome, Italy
CitizenshipAustralian
EducationCaulfield Grammar School
Alma materUniversity of Melbourne
SpouseEileen Mary McDonnell (m.1935)
AwardsClarke Medal (1960)
Scientific career
FieldsGeology,
Petrology,
Microscopy
InstitutionsUniversity of Melbourne,
CSIRO

Family

The son of William Burton Edwards (1856-1925), the Commissioner of the Federal Public Service,[1][2] and his second wife, Mabel Edwards (1871-1939), née Mueller,[3] Austin Burton Edwards was born in Caulfield on 15 August 1909.

He married Eileen Mary McDonnell (1913-1985), in Adelaide, on 22 April 1935.[4][5][6] They had four children.

Caulfield Grammar School

He was educated at Caulfield Grammar School from 1916 to 1927[7]—representing the school in both swimming[8] and athletics[9] over a number of years—where he was both School Captain and Dux of School in 1926.[10][11][4][12]

He was a member of the Caulfield Grammar School Council for 12 years, from 1949 until his death in 1960.[13]

Sportsman

Football

On 17 April 1931 he was awarded a "half-blue" for football by the University of Melbourne.[14]

In June 1931, while playing with Old Caulfield Grammarians in C-Section of the Metropolitan Amateur Football Association, he was chosen (as a back-pocket resting ruckman), to play for a Combined C-Section team, against a Combined B-Section tam as a curtain raiser to the inter-State amateur football match between Victoria and South Australia, on the MCG.[15] He was one of the best on the ground.[16]

Athletics

While studying at the Royal College of Science he was awarded "colours" in athletics.[17]

Tertiary education

Melbourne University

He studied at the University of Melbourne, graduating Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) with First-Class Honours in Geology on 12 April 1930.[18]

In 1942, with 12 years having elapsed since his graduation as B.Sc., he was awarded a Doctor of Science (D.Sc.),[19] on the basis of his submission of "42 published papers, covering work in petrology, economic geology and physiography".[20] He graduated on 21 December 1942.[21]

Royal College of Science

Having won a 1851 Royal Exhibition Scholarship for Science Research and free passage to England in 1932,[22][23][24][25] he studied at the Royal College of Science at Imperial College London, and graduated Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) and Diploma of Imperial College (D.I.C.) in 1934.[26][27]

C.S.I.R.O.

Soon after his return to Australia, he was appointed Research Officer in the mineragraphic section of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (C.S.I.R.) in 1935. In the process, he became the associate of Frank L. Stillwell (1888-1963);[28][29] and on Stllwell's retirement in 1953, Edwards became officer-in-charge of the mineragraphic section of what had become the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (C.S.I.R.O.).

From 1941 to 1955 Edwards, while still at C.S.I.R., lectured part-time in geology at the University of Melbourne, occasionally offering postgraduate lectures.[4]

Death

He collapsed and died in Rome on 8 October 1960 while on a working visit to Europe.[30]

Works

For details of his more than 100 journal articles, see Stillwell (1961), pp. 492–496.

See also

Notes

  1. Deaths: Edwards, The Argus, (Monday, 25 May 1925), p.1.
  2. Mr. W.B. Edwards, The (Sydney) Daily Telegraph, (Monday, 25 May 1925), p.8.
  3. Deaths: Edwards, The Age, (Thursday, 19 October 1939), p.1.
  4. Vallance, 1996.
  5. Engaged Abroad, The (Adelaide) Mail, (Saturday, 24 March 1934), p.16.
  6. Social Notes, The Argus, (Tuesday, 30 April 1935), p.10.
  7. Webber (1981), p.290.
  8. In 1925 he broke the Associated Grammar Schools of Victoria Open 100 Yards breaststroke record by two seconds (Wilkinson, 1997, p.88; Schools & Colleges: Associated Grammar Schools, Table Talk, (Thursday, 12 March 1925), p.31).
  9. Wilkinson (1997), p.91.
  10. Webber (1981), pp.271, 272.
  11. Caulfield Grammar School, The Herald, (Wednesday, 15 December 1926), p.18.
  12. University of Melbourne: Public Examinations: (School Leaving Certificate): Melbourne Candidates, The Age, (Tuesday, 22 February 1927), p.7.
  13. Webber (1981), p.277.
  14. Blues and Half Blues, The Herald, (Thursday, 16 April 1931), p.15.
  15. Metropolitan Amateurs: Inter-Section Match Sides: Interstate Game Curtain Raiser, The Age, (Wednesday, 27 May 1931), p.5.
  16. Inter-State Amateurs: Inter-Section Game, The Age, (Tuesday, 9 June 1931), p.11.
  17. Stillwell (1961), p.489.
  18. The University, The Age, (Monday, 14 April 1930), p.10.
  19. Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) is a "higher degree" that is "awarded based on a formally submitted portfolio of published research of an exceptionally high standard", and "in recognition of a substantial and sustained contribution to scientific knowledge beyond that required for a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)".
  20. About People, The Age, (Saturday, 29 November 1942), p.2.
  21. Days of War and Peace, The Age, (Tuesday, 22 December 1942), p.3.
  22. £500 Scholarship: Success for Science Graduate, The Herald, (Monday, 4 July 1932), p.5.
  23. Personal, Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs Gazette, (Friday, 8 July 1932), p.6.
  24. Seeking Knowledge: Graduates go Abroad, The Brisbane Courier, (Friday, 19 August 1932), p.3.
  25. Sailing by Orama, The Sydney Morning Herald, (Friday, 19 August 1932), p.10.
  26. Personal, The Herald, (Monday, 6 August 1934), p.7.
  27. Edwards, A.B., "The Tertiary Volcanic Rocks of Central Victoria", Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, Vol.94, Nos.1-4, (March 1938), pp.243-320. doi:10.1144/GSL.JGS.1938.094.01-04.09
  28. Wilcock, Arthur A. (1990). "Stillwell, Frank Leslie (1888–1963)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 12. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISSN 1833-7538. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  29. In Search of Gold: Valuable Experimental Work, The Mackay Daily Mercury, (Thursday, 23 January 1936), p.9.
  30. Deaths: Edwards, The Age, (Tuesday, 11 October 1960), p.16.

References

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