The Amazing World of James Hector (Paperback)

Simon Nathan

ISBN 10: 0958275076 / ISBN 13: 9780958275071

Published by Awa Press, Wellington, 2009

About this Item

Paperback. James Hector was astounding. Scottish-born and trained as a surgeon, at 23 he took part in a daring British expedition to survey western Canada, and was given up for dead at a place still known - on account of his accident - as Kicking Horse Pass. Fortunately, he survived. Then head-hunted to carry out a geological survey of Otago, he arrived in New Zealand in 1861 and within a few years had founded all the country's leading scientific bodies, including the national museum (now Te Papa), the New Zealand Institute (now the Royal Society) and the Geological Survey (now GNS Science). A man of seemingly unbounded energy and interests, at various times he was also responsible for the Meteorological Department, the Colonial Observatory, the Wellington Time-ball Observatory, the Wellington Botanic Garden, and the Patent Office library. In this superb collection of essays, scientists, historians and Hector's descendants tell the fascinating and sometimes controversial story of Hector's life and work. James Hector was astounding. Scottish-born and trained as a surgeon, at 23 he took part in a daring British expedition to survey western Canada, and was given up for dead at a place still known - on account of his accident - as Kicking Horse Pass. Fortunately, he survived. Then head-hunted to carry out a geological survey of Otago, he arrived in New Zealand in 1861 and within a few years had founded all the country's leading scientific bodies, including the national museum (now Te Papa), the New Zealand Institute (now the Royal Society) and the Geological Survey (now GNS Science). A man of seemingly unbounded energy and interests, at various times he was also responsible for the Meteorological Department, the Colonial Observatory, the Wellington Time-ball Observatory, the Wellington Botanic Garden, and the Patent Office library. In this superb collection of essays, scientists, historians and Hector's descendants tell the fascinating and sometimes controversial story of Hector's life and work. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780958275071

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Amazing World of James Hector (Paperback)
• Publisher: Awa Press, Wellington
• Publication Date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0958275076
• ISBN 13: 9780958275071
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Within seven-and-a-half years of his arrival in New Zealand at the age of 28, James Hector had founded and was in charge of all the country’s major scientific institutions. Today these institutions—under their modern names GNS Science, the National Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and the Royal Society of New Zealand—still form the scientific backbone of New Zealand. The first biography of this pioneer, this compelling celebration shows Hector as an inspired scientist who researched and wrote on a variety of topics—ranging from the geology of coal fields to the fossil skeletons of whales—an avid botanist whose name is borne by 13 plant species, and a geologist who produced maps of enduring quality. His extraordinary life and work is vividly celebrated in this anthology of essays from New Zealand’s foremost scientists and his own descendents.

About the Author

Simon Nathan is a geologist and former editor of Te Ara, the online encyclopedia of New Zealand. Mary Varnham is the publishing director of Awa Press and author of Beyond Blue Hills and Heading Nowhere in a Navy Blue Suit. Hamish Campbell is the geologist at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and the coauthor of The Transit of Venus.