Richard Arthur Varden died at Witham, Essex, on April 23rd, 1921.
He entered Clausthal Mining College in 1872 and passed the engineer’s examination in 1876. On graduating he returned to England and was engaged for some time on practical mining work in Cornwall. In 1880 he was appointed assistant manager of the Wohlfahrt mines in Germany, but in the following two years he was engaged on engineering and reporting work in the New England states, U.S.A.
From 1882 to 1886 he was occupied as consulting engineer and assayer to mines in New Mexico, and subsequently as consulting engineer and manager of the Gogebic iron mines in Wisconsin, U.S.A. During the years 1888 to 1892 he was manager successively to the Torreon copper mines and the Santa Barbara (Mexico) mines.
In 1895 he went to Western Australia as manager of the Hannan’s Brown-Hill and in the following year he joined the firm of Bainbridge, Seymour & Co., at Coolgardie, first as Australian and then as London partner. In 1910 he became Australian partner in the firm of Hooper, Speak & Co., and continued in that capacity until 1918, when he retired from active practice. While with the last-named firm he was principally concerned in the management of the Great Boulder Perseverance and Ida H. gold mining companies.
Mr. Varden was elected a Member of the Institution in 1897, and was a Member of Council for many years.
Vol. 31, Trans IMM 1921-3, p.585
[Julius Price met him in W. Australia and described him and his wife – pp.96-99, Julius Price The Land of Gold (London, 1896)]
