Robert Speight (2 October 1867 – 8 September 1949) was a notable New Zealand geologist, university professor and museum curator.
Early life
Speight was born in
Stockton-on-Tees,
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
* Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
, England in 1867. When he was about 12, his family emigrated to New Zealand. His father, a strong disciplinarian, was a teacher at the school at
Tai Tapu, which is a rural village some south of the
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...
suburb of
Halswell
Originally a separate village, Halswell is now a residential suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, located southwest of Cathedral Square on State Highway 75.
History
Halswell is named after Edmund Halswell QC (1790–1874), a government offi ...
. Robert Speight gained a scholarship at
Christchurch Boys' High School
, motto_translation = I Seek Higher Things
, type = State school, Day and Boarding school
, gender = Boys
, song = The School We Magnify
, colours = Blue and Black
, established =
, address = 71 Straven Ro ...
and it is said that his daily travels along the foot of the
Port Hills
The Port Hills are a range of hills in Canterbury Region, so named because they lie between the city of Christchurch and its port at Lyttelton. They are an eroded remnant of the Lyttelton volcano, which erupted millions of years ago.
The hi ...
, an extinct
shield volcano, raised his interest in
volcanology
Volcanology (also spelled vulcanology) is the study of volcanoes, lava, magma and related geological, geophysical and geochemical phenomena (volcanism). The term ''volcanology'' is derived from the Latin word '' vulcan''. Vulcan was the an ...
. His father transferred to St. Albans School and the family moved to Christchurch, and Speight continued his education at
Canterbury College Canterbury College may refer to:
* Canterbury College (Indiana), U.S.
* Canterbury College (Waterford), Queensland, Australia
* Canterbury College (Windsor, Ontario), Canada
* Canterbury College, Kent, England
* Canterbury College, Oxford, England ...
. He graduated in 1888 with a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
, and in 1889 with a
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...
with first class honours in mathematics.
Professional career
Speight took a teaching position at his secondary school and studied science part-time under
Frederick Hutton, graduating in 1891 with a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...
. When Hutton retired his teaching position from Canterbury College in 1903, Speight succeeded him as a lecturer, while retaining his teaching position at Boys' High for some more years.
Speight was appointed assistant curator of
Canterbury Museum in 1911, and was full director from March 1914 to November 1935.
During his career, Speight published 130 papers and reports, which span a wide area of earth science. Geographically, he mostly published
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...
topics, but also the
Kermadec Islands
The Kermadec Islands ( mi, Rangitāhua) are a subtropical island arc in the South Pacific Ocean northeast of New Zealand's North Island, and a similar distance southwest of Tonga. The islands are part of New Zealand. They are in total ar ...
and the
New Zealand Subantarctic Islands
The New Zealand Subantarctic Islands comprise the five southernmost groups of the New Zealand outlying islands. They are collectively designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Most of the islands lie near the southeast edge of the largel ...
(which he visited in 1907). His papers on past worldwide climate changes and their causes gained him international attention, and he was elected to fellowships of the
Geological Society of America
The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences.
History
The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitch ...
and the
Geological Society of London
The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe with more than 12,000 Fellows.
Fe ...
. He was also a fellow of the
New Zealand Institute, and was the organisation's president from 1933 for two years and during that time, the name was changed to Royal Society of New Zealand in reference to the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
based in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
.
The New Zealand Institute awarded Speight the
Hector Memorial Medal
The Hector Medal, formerly known as the Hector Memorial Medal, is a science award given by the Royal Society Te Apārangi in memory of Sir James Hector to researchers working in New Zealand. It is awarded annually in rotation for different science ...
in 1921, at the time its highest award.
He was awarded the
King George V Silver Jubilee Medal in 1935.
Family and death
On 4 January 1899, he married Ruth Mary Seager at
St Michael's Church in
central Christchurch.
His wife was the sister of Rose Elizabeth Seager, the mother of the writer
Ngaio Marsh
Dame Edith Ngaio Marsh (; 23 April 1895 – 18 February 1982) was a New Zealand mystery writer and theatre director. She was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1966.
As a crime writer during the "Golden Age of De ...
.
Ruth and Robert Speight's three children all went to live overseas, so after his wife died in 1941 his life was lonely. He died at
St George's Hospital on 8 September 1949, aged 81.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Speight, Robert
1867 births
1949 deaths
19th-century New Zealand geologists
English emigrants to New Zealand
Presidents of the Royal Society of New Zealand
Directors of Canterbury Museum, Christchurch
Fellows of the Geological Society of America
Fellows of the Geological Society of London
Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand
People educated at Christchurch Boys' High School
University of Canterbury alumni
People from Stockton-on-Tees
20th-century New Zealand geologists
University of Canterbury faculty