Earth Sciences History Group (A Specialist Group of the Geological Society of Australia Inc.) Email Bulletin No. 55 21 June 2019
Vale John Blockley We have been saddened by the death of John Blockley on 10 March. John was a stalwart of ESHG, particularly when the committee was based in Western Australia, and continued to keep the Queensland-based Committee up to date with various news items. An obituary prepared by his West Australian colleagues was published in the most recent edition of The Australian Geologist.
Tom Vallance Medal 2018 The Tom Vallance Medal was introduced in 2011 to recognise people who have made a significant contribution to researching, recording, investigating, documenting and/or publishing about people or places or events of historical importance to the geological sciences in Australia or Australasia. It is awarded biennially and presented at the biennial Convention of the Geological Society of Australia (or similar event). Dr Susan Turner was awarded the Tom Vallance Medal at the Australian Geoscience Council Convention in Adelaide in October 2018. The award recognised her significant contributions in researching and documenting the role of women in Australian geology, particularly in the field of palaeontology. She is a Fellow of the Geological Society and the Linnean Society and a Member of the Geological Society of Australia, the International History of Geosciences Commission and the Earth Sciences History Group of the GSA. She is also an editor for the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences. A selection of her papers on this topic is given below. Turner, S., 1994. “Women in Palaeontology in Australia.” In Useful and Curious Geological Enquiries beyond the World: Pacific- Asia Historical Themes, edited by David F. Branagan and G.H. McNally. Sydney: 19th Int. INHIGEO Symposium, Sydney, 4–8 July: 248–250, 1994. First recognition of women paleontologists in Australia. Turner, S., 1998. “Women in Paleontology in Australia.” In Sciences of the Earth. An Encyclopedia of Events, People, and Phenomena, edited by Gregory A. Good. New York: Garland. Turner, S. & Vickers-Rich, P., 2004. Reg Sprigg, Martin F. Glaessner, Mary Wade and the Ediacaran fauna. Abstract for IGCP 493 conference, Prato Workshop, Monash University Centre. Aug. 30-31, 2004, 1p. With poster. Turner, S., 2005. Dr Elizabeth Arnold Ripper 1909–2004: early 20th century Victorian palaeontologist. In Memoriam. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 117(2): xlix–liv.ISSN 0035-9211 Turner, S. 2006. Rocky Road to success. A new history of the International Geoscience Programme (IGCP). pp. 297-314. In Petitjean, P., Zharov, V., Glaser, G., Richardson, J., de Paridac, B. & Archibald, G. eds Sixty Years of Science at UNESCO 1945-2005. UNESCO, Paris.