New Zealand geologist (1912–1974)
Richard Wright Willett (31 October 1912 – 1974) was a New Zealand geologist. He rose to be Director of the New Zealand Geological Survey from 1956 to 1967, where his major work was the instigation of a 1:250,000 scale national geological map known as the 'Four Mile project'.
As a student at University of Otago he became active in the New Zealand Labour Party during the 1935 election.[1]
Sir Ernest Marsden lobbied for Willet to become the first 'Commonwealth geological liaison officer' which involved Willet and his family moving to London for the period 1951–1954.[1]
In 1958, Willet and two others published a detailed geological description on New Zealand's only uranium-rush, that of Hawks Crag in the Buller Gorge.[1]
In 1965, Willett was awarded an honorary DSc from the University of Otago.[2]
Willett was President of the Royal Society of New Zealand 1970–1974, preceded by John Miles and followed by Sir Malcolm McRae Burns.[3]
Selected works
- A glacial valley, Mount Aurum, Skippers' Creek Survey District. Richard Wright Willett. Wellington : Govt. Printer, 1939.
- Elliotvale Coal-mine H. W. Wellman and Richard Wright Willett, Government Printer, New Zealand, 1944
- Coal at Coal Creek, Centre Hill, Survey District, Southland. New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. Wellington, N.Z. : Govt. Printer, 1945.
- The Limestone Resources of Southland, New Zealand. Richard Wright Willett, New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, 1950
- Uranium mineralization in the Hawks Crag Breccia of the Lower Buller Gorge Region, South Island, New Zealand. A. C. Beck, J. J. Reed & R. W. Willett. Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 1:3, 432–450, 1958 DOI: 10.1080/00288306.1958.10422773
- Report from the Royal Society of New Zealand Earthquake Risk Subcommittee. Richard Wright Willett. 1962
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