Clinton Coleridge Farr, 1866–1943
Physics professor Clinton Farr established the magnetic observatory in Hagley Park, Christchurch Botanic Gardens. He served as its magnetic observer from 1901 to 1904.
Learn more at the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
(Link opens in a new browser window)
Trevor Hatherton, 1924–1992
Geophysicist Trevor Hatherton was a leading 20th-century researcher in geomagnetism. He studied the magnetic properties of volcanic rocks, and studied regions of magnetic anomaly in Nelson and Northland. While in Antarctica he studied geomagnetic disturbance during auroras. As director of the geophysics division of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Hatherton was responsible for organising aeromagnetic surveys of New Zealand.
Learn more at the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
(Link opens in a new browser window)
Edward Kidson, 1882–1939
Edward Kidson became New Zealand’s leading meteorologist during the 1930s, but had earlier worked in the Christchurch Magnetic Observatory. He also conducted magnetic surveys with the Carnegie Institution of Washington in central America and Western Australia.
Learn more at the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
(Link opens in a new browser window)
John Lort Stokes, 1811?– 1885
John Lort Stokes captained HMS Acheron during its hydrographic survey of the New Zealand coast between 1848 and 1851. He recognised the magnetic anomaly at Nelson that now bears his name.
Learn more at the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
(Link opens in a new browser window)
Harold William Wellman, 1909–1999
Harold Wellman was one of the most significant New Zealand geologists of the 20th century. In the 1940s he developed the theory that the Alpine Fault had split and displaced belts of rock (including the Stokes Magnetic Anomaly) for a distance of 480 kilometres.
Learn more at the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
(Link opens in a new browser window)
