Walter Howchin was a geologist

Geologist

A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...

 who lectured in mineralogy

Mineralogy

Mineralogy is the study of chemistry, crystal structure, and physical properties of minerals. Specific studies within mineralogy include the processes of mineral origin and formation, classification of minerals, their geographical distribution, as well as their utilization.-History:Early writing...

 and palaeontology at the former Adelaide School of Mines and Adelaide University

University of Adelaide

The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...

; he won the Clarke Medal

Clarke Medal

The Clarke Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of New South Wales for distinguished work in the Natural sciences.Named in honour of the Reverend William Branwhite Clarke, one of the founders of the Society...

 in 1907.

Early life

Howchin was born in Norwich

Norwich

Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, the son of the Rev. Richard Howchin and his wife Mary Ann Ward, née Goose; he was one of eleven children. Howchin was educated at the Academy, King's Lynn, left there aged 12 then studied for the Methodist ministry, and was ordained towards the end of 1864. His first circuit was Shotley Bridge

Shotley Bridge

Shotley Bridge is a village in the Derwent Valley, adjoining the town of Consett in County Durham, England. Shotley Bridge was once the heart of Britain's swordmaking industry.The origins of swordmaking here dated from 1691...

, Durham

Durham

Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...

, and during the next 16 years he moved between a number of parishes in the Tyne

River Tyne

The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...

 valley. He began to take an interest in geology

Geology

Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...

 at an early age, and found much to develop this interest in the abundant local outcrops of coal-bearing and associated rocks of Carboniferous

Carboniferous

The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Permian Period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Mya . The name is derived from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous means "coal-bearing"...

 age. Howchin discovered abundant glacial till

Till

thumb|right|Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material , and this characteristic, known as matrix support, is diagnostic of till....

 at Haltwhistle, the study of which led to work that later made him famous. His interest in the flint

Flint

Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...

 implements of Northumberland led to the later study of stone implements of the Australian aborigines

Indigenous Australians

Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....

. In 1876, in conjunction with H. B. Brady, Howchin did some important work on the foraminifera

Foraminifera

The Foraminifera , or forams for short, are a large group of amoeboid protists which are among the commonest plankton species. They have reticulating pseudopods, fine strands of cytoplasm that branch and merge to form a dynamic net...

 of Carboniferous and Permian

Permian

The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...

 age, and became a fellow of the Geological Society of London

Geological Society of London

The Geological Society of London is a learned society based in the United Kingdom with the aim of "investigating the mineral structure of the Earth"...

 in 1878.

Australia

After contracting tuberculosis

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...

, Howchin emigrated to Australia in 1881. The change of climate helped his condition and he recovered fully. For some time he served as a supernumerary minister in South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

, did some journalistic work, and was secretary to the Adelaide Children's Hospital from 1886 to 1901. Howchin held lecturing positions in mineralogy at the Adelaide School of Mines from 1899 to 1904, and geology and palaeontology at the University of Adelaide

University of Adelaide

The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...

 from 1902 to 1918, achieving the status of Honorary Professor in the latter year. Howchin retired in 1920, retaining his title of Honorary Professor and continuing his work as a geologist for many years.

In 1909 Howchin published The Geography of South Australia, a popular book for use in schools, which was followed in 1918 by The Geology of South Australia, a volume of well over 500 pages. These books remained in use as student textbooks for some decades. The Building of Australia and the Succession of Life, with Special Reference to South Australia, was published in three parts (1925–30), and in 1934 he published The Stone Implements of the Adelaide Tribe of Aborigines.

Although Howchin publishing scientific papers throughout his career, his activity increased with age. In the last 30 years of his life his productivity was extraordinary for a man of his years; in 1933 the Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of South Australia listed more than 100 of his papers. His most important work was on a series of glacial rocks, that he referred to as the 'Cambrian series' of the Mount Lofty Ranges, but are now known to be Permian, which gave rise to much controversy. For much of this later period of his life he was closely associated with another great Australian geologist of his era, Edgeworth David

Edgeworth David

Sir Tannatt William Edgeworth David KBE, DSO, FRS, was a Welsh Australian geologist and Antarctic explorer. A household name in his lifetime, David's most significant achievements were discovering the major Hunter Valley coalfield in New South Wales and leading the first expedition to reach the...

.

Legacy

Howchin died in Adelaide on 27 November 1937 aged 92; he married Esther Gibbons (died 1924) in 1869, and was survived by two daughters. He was awarded the Clarke Medal of the Royal Society of New South Wales

Royal Society of New South Wales

The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. It was established as the Philosophical Society of Australasia on 27 June 1821...

 in 1907, the Ferdinand von Mueller Medal by the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science in 1913, a grant from the Lyell Geological Fund, Geological Society of London in 1914, the Sir Joseph Verco Medal of the Royal Society of South Australia

Royal Society of South Australia

The Royal Society of South Australia is a Learned Society whose interest is in Science, particularly, but not only, of South Australia.The Society stems directly from the Adelaide Philosophical Society founded on the 10 January 1853. The title "Royal" was granted by her Majesty Queen Victoria in...

 in 1929, and the Lyell Medal

Lyell Medal

The Lyell Medal is a prestigious annual scientific medal given by the Geological Society of London, equal in status to the Murchison Medal, awarded on the basis of research to an Earth Scientist of exceptional quality...

of the Geological Society of London in 1934.

A man of short and stocky build, Howchin came to Australia at 36 years of age thinking his life may soon be over. But he proved to lead a long and vigorous life; it is claimed that he was still collecting specimens and visiting sites into his nineties.