FIRST RHODES SCHOLAR

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1952, 8 January 1914, Page 5

FIRST RHODES SCHOLAR

DIRECTOR OF DOMINION MUSEUM.

MR. J, ALLAN THOMSON'S CAREER

Mr. J. Allan Thomson, M.A., D.Sc,

A.0.5.M., F.G.S., has boen appointed director of the Dominion Museum. Mr. Thomson is a son of .Mr. G. M. Thomson, M.1 , .' for Dunedin North, and he was the iirst Rhodes scholar to go to Oxford from A'cw Zealand. I3om in 1881, he was educated at tho Boys' High School, Dunedin, from which lie won tho Leo Smith scholarship to tho Otago School of Mines. Ho took tho degree of B.Sc. in 1903, and was senior scholar in geology. He took first-class honours in science in tho following year, was tho first Ulrieh medallist, tied with Mr. A. K. Andrew for the 1851 Exhibition research scholarship, passed the examination for tho diploma of Associate of tho Otago School of Mines, and was appointed. lirst Rhodes scholnr—nil in llflM. He remained at Oxford four years, residing at St. John's College. In 11)06 he took tho degroo of 8.A., with first-class honours in natural science, arid won the Burdott Coutts scholarship in biology, chemistry, and geology. During 1907-8 ho served as lecturer in geology at St John's. College, as demonstrator in mineralogy under Professor Miers, now principal of tho University of London, and as demonstrator t-j Professor Sollas, well known not only

as a geologist, but also as an ethnologist. Jn 1909-10 he acted as assistant to D. J. Malcolm Maclaren (also a Now Zoalan'der) in a geological survey of Kalgoorlie. At the conclusion of j thi3 work in Kalgoorlie ho was offercfl appointments both with the Geological surrey of Western Australia, and with mining companies, but accepted nomination along with Dr. Mawson as geologist to Captain Scott's Antarctic Expedition. He went to Sydney and spent six months with Professor David, studying Antarctic scientific problems, and returned to New Zealand on tho eve of tho Expedition's, departure, but was finally prevented from going by a temporary .breakdown. When ho recovered his health (in 1911) he was appointed palaeontologist to the New Zealand Geological Survey. In 1912 ho was awarded the degree of Doctor of Scienco by tho University of New Zealand for a thesis on the .goldfields of Western Australia, and in the same year ho proceeded to the degree of M.A. (Oxon). Ho has been a Fellow of tho Geological Society of London since 1906, and a ''Resident" of Toynbeo Hall, Whitechapel, London, since 1908. He is a member of the Council of the Wellington Philosophical Institute. Mr. Thomson has worked in the following museums:—Otago Museum, Canterbury Museum, Dominion Museum, Macleay Museum (Sydney), Oxford Museum, British Museum, Museum of Practical Geology (London), and Museod'ifistciro Naturelle (Paris). He has also visited tho ■ chief mUßOums ot the British Isles, Paris, Berlin, and Australia. He is also the author of numerous paper? in the Transactions of tho New Zealand Institute, tho Geological Magazine, the Quarterly Journal of tho Geological Society, tho Royal Society of New South Wales, tho Mining and Scientific Press, and the official publications of tho Western Australian end New Zealand Geological Surveys.