Professor James Park, doyen of the mining profession in New Zealand, died on July 29th, 1946, at Oamaru, at the age of 89.
He was born in Aberdeen and received his professional training at the Royal School of Mines between 1872 and 1874. He went immediately afterwards to New Zealand but, finding no suitable employment there, joined the ranks of the Gordon Highlanders in India. He returned to New Zealand after a very brief army career, during which he was wounded, and was appointed to the Geological Survey Department as assistant geologist in 1878. Twelve years later he took up the position of Director of Thames School of Mines and Superintendent of the Government Experimental Metallurgical Works. He relinquished this appointment to act as consulting engineer to various companies from, 1896, but in 1901 was appointed Professor of Mining and Mining Geology at Otago University. He was later made Dean of the Faculty of Mining and Economic Geology, and on his retirement in 1932 was appointed Professor Emeritus.
Professor Park was the author of many papers and textbooks, including three papers published in the Transactions of the Institution — ‘Notes on the action of cyanogen on gold’ (vol. 6, 1897-8), ‘Notes on the coalfields of New Zealand’ (vol. 8, 1899-1900), and ‘On the course of border-segregation in some igneous magmas ’ (vol. 14, 1904-5).
He was elected a Member of the Institution in 1896, and in 1931 was elected to Honorary Membership in recognition of his great service to mining education.
Professor G.J. Williams writes: Professor Park belonged to the old-school before the days of specialization, and his interests were exceptionally diverse. He became a leader in scientific societies in New Zealand, and his scientific status coupled with an unusually sound judgment caused him to be recognized as one of the leading mining engineers and mining geologists of his day, and he was called upon to report on mining properties as far afield as New Caledonia, Canada, and Spain.
Professor Park’s retentive memory, his sense of humour, and his never-failing optimism made him a delightful conversationalist and an agreeable companion. He loved to entertain his students and to recount to them stories of his youth: he kept young by his association with the younger generation. He had a large family and his youngest son later became world famous: he is Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Park, who is so well known for his part in the Battle of Britain, as the air defender of Malta, and later as Allied Air Commander-in-Chief, South-East Asia Command. It was as if a life of exceptional fullness and usefulness were crowned by the visit of Sir Keith and Lady Park to him shortly before he passed away. The anticipation of this visit had sustained him through many months of illness.
Professor Park’s portrait is hung in the Scottish National Gallery at Edinburgh among those of other distinguished Scotsmen.
Vol. 56, Trans I.M.M., 1946-7, pp.622-3
