Henry James Evans
Encyclopedia
Henry James Evans was the leading exploration geologist and discoverer of the immense bauxite
deposits near Weipa, on the west coast of Cape York Peninsula
in northern Queensland
, Australia
.
Henry Evans was born on 7 November, 1912, in Greymouth
, a mining centre on the west coast of the South Island
of New Zealand
. After graduating from high school he studied geology at the Reefton School of Mines. After working evaluating gold dredging areas on the west coast and later for a tin mining company, he joined New Zealand Petroleum as senior geologist in 1938 and spent six years with them before spending most of 1945 assessing the resources of the Greymouth Coal Basin with the New Zealand Geological Survey.
In 1946 he moved to Australia joining the Zinc Corporation (now Rio Tinto
) and worked for them looking for oil, gas in Australia. uranium at Rum Jungle, and for potash
in the U.K.
In 1955, he was asked to lead a group of American oil explorers to Cape York Peninsula, Sir Maurice Mawby suggested he should also search other minerals such as phosphate or bauxite. Prospects for oil seemed poor, but Evans did collect some samples of the reddish-brown pebbles on their way to the Weipa Mission Station, suspecting they might be contain bauxite. While at Weipa he could see the red cliffs at Hey Point across the Emberly River, but had no boat to reach them.
The samples he had collected proved to be bauxite, creating great interest. Evans returned to Weipa in October, with a dinghy and outboard motor.
He examined 84 km of the coastline to the south of Weipa, noting the huge extent of the bauxite deposits. Evans was unaware at the time that the striking red cliffs along the coast had been remarked on much earlier when the Dutch ship Duyfken
under Willem Janszoon
charted the shores of Gulf of Carpentaria, making landfall at the Pennefather River
in the Gulf of Carpentaria
(the first authenticated European discovery of Australia), and again, in 1802, by Matthew Flinders
.
Evans' report, made in 1976, led to the formation in December, 1966, of the Commonwealth Aluminium Corporation of Australia (Comalco
) in December 1956, and the later development of bauxite mining at Weipa, Comalco's alumina refining and aluminium smelting at Gladstone
in Queensland, and at Bell Bay in Tasmania
and Bluff
in New Zealand.
Sadly, the development of bauxite mining near Weipa along the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria
, led to massive dispossession of land, dislocation and great suffering by the Aboriginal inhabitants of the region. The "Comalco Act of 1957" revoked the reserve status, giving the company 5,760 square km (2,270 sq mi) of Aboriginal reserve land on the west coast of the Peninsula and 5,135 square km (1,933 sq mi) on the east coast of Aboriginal-owned (though not reserve) land. Mining commenced in 1960. The mission became a government settlement in 1966 with continued attempts by Comalco
to relocate the whole community elsewhere. The company then built a new town for its workers on the other side of the bay.
Evans was seconded to Comalco and was put in charge of exploration work at Weipa. After more work in other parts of Australia, he discovered another important bauxite deposit in the Paragominas
region of Brazil
. He later returned to Australia and was a director of Consolidated Zinc and Australian Mining and Smelting for some time.
Evans was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1965 for his persistence and skill in exploration. He retired in 1974, but, in 1988 he was awarded the President's Medal from the Autralasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, for his contribution to early oil and gas exploration in Australia, and for his recognition of the significance of the Weipa bauxite deposits.
Evans died in Melbourne on the 9th November 1990.
Bauxite
Bauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2...
deposits near Weipa, on the west coast of Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland at the tip of the state of Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoilt wilderness in northern Australia and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth...
in northern Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Henry Evans was born on 7 November, 1912, in Greymouth
Greymouth
Greymouth is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coast's inhabitants...
, a mining centre on the west coast of the South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. After graduating from high school he studied geology at the Reefton School of Mines. After working evaluating gold dredging areas on the west coast and later for a tin mining company, he joined New Zealand Petroleum as senior geologist in 1938 and spent six years with them before spending most of 1945 assessing the resources of the Greymouth Coal Basin with the New Zealand Geological Survey.
In 1946 he moved to Australia joining the Zinc Corporation (now Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto Group
The Rio Tinto Group is a diversified, British-Australian, multinational mining and resources group with headquarters in London and Melbourne. The company was founded in 1873, when a multinational consortium of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto river, in Huelva, Spain from the...
) and worked for them looking for oil, gas in Australia. uranium at Rum Jungle, and for potash
Potash
Potash is the common name for various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. In some rare cases, potash can be formed with traces of organic materials such as plant remains, and this was the major historical source for it before the industrial era...
in the U.K.
In 1955, he was asked to lead a group of American oil explorers to Cape York Peninsula, Sir Maurice Mawby suggested he should also search other minerals such as phosphate or bauxite. Prospects for oil seemed poor, but Evans did collect some samples of the reddish-brown pebbles on their way to the Weipa Mission Station, suspecting they might be contain bauxite. While at Weipa he could see the red cliffs at Hey Point across the Emberly River, but had no boat to reach them.
The samples he had collected proved to be bauxite, creating great interest. Evans returned to Weipa in October, with a dinghy and outboard motor.
He examined 84 km of the coastline to the south of Weipa, noting the huge extent of the bauxite deposits. Evans was unaware at the time that the striking red cliffs along the coast had been remarked on much earlier when the Dutch ship Duyfken
Duyfken
Duyfken was a small Dutch ship built in the Netherlands. She was a fast, lightly armed ship probably intended for shallow water, small valuable cargoes, bringing messages, sending provisions, or privateering...
under Willem Janszoon
Willem Janszoon
Willem Janszoon , Dutch navigator and colonial governor, is probably the first European known to have seen the coast of Australia. His name is sometimes abbreviated to Willem Jansz....
charted the shores of Gulf of Carpentaria, making landfall at the Pennefather River
Pennefather River
The Pennefather River in Queensland, Australia, is located on western Cape York Peninsula at . The river is about 11 km long and up to about 2km wide.- External links :**...
in the Gulf of Carpentaria
Gulf of Carpentaria
The Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea...
(the first authenticated European discovery of Australia), and again, in 1802, by Matthew Flinders
Matthew Flinders
Captain Matthew Flinders RN was one of the most successful navigators and cartographers of his age. In a career that spanned just over twenty years, he sailed with Captain William Bligh, circumnavigated Australia and encouraged the use of that name for the continent, which had previously been...
.
Evans' report, made in 1976, led to the formation in December, 1966, of the Commonwealth Aluminium Corporation of Australia (Comalco
Comalco
Rio Tinto Aluminium is now known as Rio Tinto Alcan after Rio's takeover of Alcan. It was the world's eighth largest aluminium company...
) in December 1956, and the later development of bauxite mining at Weipa, Comalco's alumina refining and aluminium smelting at Gladstone
Gladstone, Queensland
- Education :Gladstone has several primary schools, three high schools, and one university campus, Central Queensland University. It is also home to CQIT Gladstone Campus.- Recreation :...
in Queensland, and at Bell Bay in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
and Bluff
Bluff, New Zealand
Bluff is a town and seaport in the Southland region, on the southern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the southern-most town in New Zealand and, despite Slope Point being further to the south, is colloquially used to refer to the southern extremity of the country...
in New Zealand.
Sadly, the development of bauxite mining near Weipa along the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria
Gulf of Carpentaria
The Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea...
, led to massive dispossession of land, dislocation and great suffering by the Aboriginal inhabitants of the region. The "Comalco Act of 1957" revoked the reserve status, giving the company 5,760 square km (2,270 sq mi) of Aboriginal reserve land on the west coast of the Peninsula and 5,135 square km (1,933 sq mi) on the east coast of Aboriginal-owned (though not reserve) land. Mining commenced in 1960. The mission became a government settlement in 1966 with continued attempts by Comalco
Comalco
Rio Tinto Aluminium is now known as Rio Tinto Alcan after Rio's takeover of Alcan. It was the world's eighth largest aluminium company...
to relocate the whole community elsewhere. The company then built a new town for its workers on the other side of the bay.
Evans was seconded to Comalco and was put in charge of exploration work at Weipa. After more work in other parts of Australia, he discovered another important bauxite deposit in the Paragominas
Paragominas
Paragominas is a town and municipality in the state of Pará in the Northern region of Brazil.-References:...
region of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. He later returned to Australia and was a director of Consolidated Zinc and Australian Mining and Smelting for some time.
Evans was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1965 for his persistence and skill in exploration. He retired in 1974, but, in 1988 he was awarded the President's Medal from the Autralasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, for his contribution to early oil and gas exploration in Australia, and for his recognition of the significance of the Weipa bauxite deposits.
Evans died in Melbourne on the 9th November 1990.