Andrew Gibb Maitland (30 November 1864 – 27 January 1951) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

-born

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

. Maitland was born in Birkby,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and studied

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

at Yorkshire College of Science, Leeds where he was influenced by the professor of geology

Alexander Henry Green Alexander Henry Green Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (10 October 183219 August 1896) was an England, English geologist. Life Green was born at Maidstone on 10 October 1832, was the eldest son of Thomas Sheldon Green, head-master of the Ashby Gr ...

. In 1888 he was assigned Second Assistant Geologist to the Geological Survey of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. Maitland reported to

Robert Logan Jack Robert Logan Jack (16 September 1845 – 6 November 1921) was government geologist in Queensland, Australia, for twenty years. There is a minor waterway on Cape York; Logan Jack Creek, whose outflow is located some 7 kilometres from Ussher Poin ...

who assigned him to survey the land in the

Mackay Mackay may refer to: *Clan Mackay, the Scottish clan from which the surname "MacKay" derives Mackay may also refer to: Places Australia * Mackay Region, a local government area ** Mackay, Queensland, a city in the above region *** Mackay Airpor ...

region. In 1891 he was seconded by

Sir William MacGregor Sir William MacGregor, (20 October 1846 – 3 July 1919)R. B. Joyce,', '' Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 5, Melbourne University Press, 1974, pp 158–160. Retrieved 29 September 2009 was a Lieutenant-Governor of British New Guin ...

on the Geological examination of

British New Guinea The Territory of Papua comprised the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea from 1883 to 1975. In 1883, the Government of Queensland annexed this territory for the British Empire. The United Kingdom Government refused to ratify the a ...

. From 1896 to 1926 he was the Government Geologist in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, in 1898 he published ''Bibliography of the Geology of Western Australia''. In 1901 he served as geologist on Drake-Brockman's expedition to the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

. In 1915 he became President of the

Royal Society of Western Australia The Royal Society of Western Australia (RSWA) promotes science in Western Australia. The RSWA was founded in 1914. It publishes the ''Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia'', and has awarded the Medal of the Royal Society of Western ...

. In 1924 he was awarded the ANZAAS Mueller Medal, in 1927 he was awarded the

Clarke Medal The Clarke Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of New South Wales, the oldest learned society in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere, for distinguished work in the Natural sciences. The medal is named in honour of the Reverend William Bran ...

by the

Royal Society of New South Wales The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. The Governor of New South Wales is the vice-regal patron of the Society. The Society was established as the Philosophical Society of Australasia on 27 June ...

. He died in

Subiaco, Western Australia Subiaco (known colloquially as Subi) is an inner-Western suburbs (Perth), western suburb of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. It is approximately west of Perth's central business district, in the City of Subiaco local government area. H ...

and was buried in the Anglican section of

Karrakatta Cemetery Karrakatta Cemetery is a metropolitan cemetery in the suburb of Karrakatta in Perth, Western Australia. Karrakatta Cemetery first opened for burials in 1899, the first being that of wheelwright Robert Creighton. Managed by the Metropolitan Ce ...

Gibb River The Gibb River is a river in the Kimberley (Western Australia), Kimberley region of northern Western Australia. The headwaters of the river rise between the Caroline and Gibb Ranges. The river flows in a northerly direction until merging with ...

and Maitland Range, in the Kimberley region, commemorate Maitland and recall that he was generally known as Gibb Maitland. Gibb Maitland's contributions to the study of geology in Western Australia is commemorated by the Gibb Maitland Medal, usually awarded annually by the Western Australian Division of the

Geological Society of Australia The Geological Society of Australia (GSA) was established as a non-profit organisation in 1952 to promote, advance and support earth sciences in Australia. The founding Chairperson was Edwin Sherbon Hills. William Rowan Browne was a founder of th ...

for substantial contributions to geoscience in Western Australia, with particular consideration given to contributions that relate to the occurrence or discovery of mineral resources.

References

Maitland, Andrew Gibb (1864 - 1951)
at Bright Sparcs, Melbourne University *T. G. Vallance,

,

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

, Volume 10, MUP, 1986, pp 386–387.
The Gibb Maitland Medal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maitland, Andrew Gibb 1864 births 1951 deaths Australian geologists Australian people of English descent Scientists from Western Australia Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery 19th-century Australian scientists 20th-century Australian scientists British emigrants to Australia