Charles Edward Adams, 1870–1945
Appointed government astronomer in 1916, Charles Adams found that seismology added to his responsibilities in 1920. He maintained rigorous observatory procedures while documenting major earthquakes in 1929, 1931, 1932 and 1934, and was senior author of an important paper on the 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake.
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Trevor Hatherton, 1924–1992
As director of the geophysics division, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Trevor Hatherton initiated a wide-ranging programme of research into the narrow earthquake zone beneath New Zealand. In 1967 Hatherton and W. R. Dickinson, of Stanford University, coined the term ‘Benioff zone’, which has been adopted worldwide for such seismic zones.
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James Hector, 1834–1907
When James Hector was appointed Director of the Geological Survey and Colonial Museum in 1865, he initiated records of earthquakes and other phenomena, and his staff made field observations of the larger events. Hector arranged for the first seismograph to be built and installed in his office in 1874.
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George Hogben, 1853–1920
George Hogben was a leading educationalist who became secretary for education. With a keen interest in earthquakes, he persuaded the government to purchase two seismographs, one of which was located in his house in Wellington from 1901 to 1920. This has produced the oldest set of continuous seismological records in New Zealand.
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Alexander McKay, 1841–1917
Geologist Alexander McKay travelled widely around New Zealand, and investigated the effects of the 1888 North Canterbury earthquake. He was one of the first to recognise that earthquakes are caused by fault movement, and that the country’s mountains are created by many small fault movements associated with earthquakes.
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