Charles Francis Heathcote died suddenly in Melbourne, Australia, on May 10th, 1935, at the age of 70.
He was educated at the United Services College, Westward Ho!, North Devon, and in 1884 matriculated in the engineering department of ‘King’s College, London. He obtained the “Tennant” prizes for mineralogy and geology and a number of other prizes and certificates, and was elected an Associate of Kings College in 1887.
After a practical training in England, he went to Tasmania, as surveyor on the Government railways, and from 1892 was employed mostly in Tasmania and Australia in various capacities, until in 1905 he was appointed superintendent of the Tasmania Gold Mine, Beaconsfield. This position he held until 1914, when he returned to England and during the war period performed special work for the Ministry of Munitions. He received the O.B.E. for his services in that connexion.
In 1919 he went to India as superintendent of the Champion Reef Mine, and remained in that position until his retirement in 1934, when he returned to Australia. As the result of his experience he contributed a paper to the Transactions of the Institution on ‘Ventilation Problems at Champion Reef Mine’ (Trans., vol. xxxiii), and occasionally took part in the discussion of other papers.
Mr. Heathcote was elected a Member of the Institution in 1899, and served as Member of Council for India from 1923 to 1935.
Vol. 45, Trans IMM 1935-36, p.514
