Guide to the Evan R. Stanley Map Collection, ca. 1914-1924

Summary

Collection number:

MFC 41

Creator:

Stanley, Fiona, Prof. and Stanley, Evan Richard

Extent:

22 items and in 1 map folder

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of map item], Evan R. Stanley Map Collection, National Library of Australia, [item number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for reference. Not for loan.

Background

Biographical / Historical:

{"persname":"Fiona Stanley","content":["Evan Richard Stanley occupied the position of Government Geologist for the Territory of Papua from 9 January 1911 until his death on 27 December 1924, and was responsible for surveying much of Papua. He conducted geological investigations that resulted in more than 50 papers and reports and the first comprehensive accounts, in 1923 and 1924, of the geology and resources of both the New Guinea and Papua Territories. Stanley died suddenly in Adelaide on 27 December 1924 after a brief illness. No successor was appointed and geological survey work did not resume in Papua until after World War II when the administration of the Territories was merged. Evan Stanley is the grandfather of Professor","\u003cspan class='persname'\u003eFiona Stanley\u003c/span\u003e. Further biographical information at \u003ca href=\"https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-571409\"\u003ehttps://nla.gov.au/nla.party-571409\u003c/a\u003e"]}

Note: The career timeline was compiled from H.L. Davies' paper 'Evan Richard Stanley, 1885-1924: pioneer geologist in Papua New Guinea', reprinted from BMR Journal of Australian Geology and Geophysics, 10, 153-177, 1987; a copy of which is available in Papers of Evan R. Stanley, 1908-1986 MS 7933.

{"chronlist":{"head":"Career summary","chronitem":[{"date":"3 May 1885","eventgrp":{"event":{"persname":["Robert Ernest Stanley","Elizabeth Ramage"],"content":["Born Adelaide, eldest of four sons of","\u003cspan class='persname'\u003eRobert Ernest Stanley\u003c/span\u003e and","\u003cspan class='persname'\u003eElizabeth Ramage\u003c/span\u003e."]}}},{"date":1902,"eventgrp":{"event":{"persname":"Douglas Mawson","content":["Commenced studies (Bachelor of Science) at University of Adelaide and the School of Mines and Industries. Specialised in minerology and petrology under","\u003cspan class='persname'\u003eDouglas Mawson\u003c/span\u003e (later Sir Douglas Mawson)."]}}},{"date":1910,"eventgrp":{"event":"Appointed first Government Geologist for the Australian Territory of Papua (formerly British New Guinea)."}},{"date":"January 1911","eventgrp":{"event":{"geogname":["Yule Island","Astrolabe mineral field","Muyua","Woodlark Island"],"content":["Arrived Port Moresby. Explored and surveyed the topography of","\u003cspan class='geogname'\u003eYule Island\u003c/span\u003e and the","\u003cspan class='geogname'\u003eAstrolabe mineral field\u003c/span\u003e. Report published in the Annual Report for the Territory of Papua 1910-11. Conducted first major geological expedition to","\u003cspan class='geogname'\u003eMuyua\u003c/span\u003e /","\u003cspan class='geogname'\u003eWoodlark Island\u003c/span\u003e; surveyed its gold mining areas; produced a report, geological maps and photographs. Valuable information gathered on the history and output of local mines."]}}},{"date":"April-May 1912","eventgrp":{"event":{"geogname":["Vailala River","Purari","Aro Aro"],"content":["Reconnaissance of Papuan oil fields (oil having been discovered by local planters the previous year in the","\u003cspan class='geogname'\u003eVailala River\u003c/span\u003e area, Gulf Province). Explored area around","\u003cspan class='geogname'\u003ePurari\u003c/span\u003e and Vailala Rivers, travelled up the Vailala, produced map of the 'Papuan petroleum area' and report for the Annual Report 1911-12. Suffered malarial attack. Later that year, discovered another oil seep near","\u003cspan class='geogname'\u003eAro Aro\u003c/span\u003e just west of the Vailala."]}}},{"date":1913,"eventgrp":{"event":{"persname":"Helen Mary Benson Turner","corpname":"Australian Association for the Advancement of Science","content":["Three months' leave in Australia. Presented a paper on the Papuan petroleum area to the","\u003cspan class='corpname'\u003eAustralian Association for the Advancement of Science\u003c/span\u003e (AAAS) in Melbourne. Married","\u003cspan class='persname'\u003eHelen Mary Benson Turner\u003c/span\u003e in Adelaide. Dispute with government department about his Woodlark Island report; charged with insubordination and threatened with dismissal. Stanley's proposal for a scientific journal series Bulletins of the Territory of Papua accepted, and begun in this year. Returned to Port Moresby in June."]}}},{"date":1914,"eventgrp":{"event":{"corpname":"The Geological Society","content":["War declared August 1914. Stanley and others recruited to defend Australian facilities in case of attack from German New Guinea Territory. Stanley patrolled hilly areas above town. In September Australian troops arrived and captured Rabaul, headquarters of the German Territory, resulting in Australia administering the New Guinea Territory. Stanley continued with investigations into oil and copper on Normanby Island and Cape Vogel peninsula. Elected a Fellow of","\u003cspan class='corpname'\u003eThe Geological Society\u003c/span\u003e, London, in recognition of his geological work in Papua."]}}},{"date":1915,"eventgrp":{"event":["Explored Misima Island and produced a report, including geological maps and photographs, published later that year as [Bulletin of the Territory of Papua no. 3. His findings were foundational for geological knowledge of Misima and also led to profitable gold mining there.",{"geogname":"Owen Stanley Range","corpname":"Royal Society of South Australia","content":["On leave in Australia. Presented a 'lantern lecture on certain features of Papua' to the","\u003cspan class='corpname'\u003eRoyal Society of South Australia\u003c/span\u003e, reported by The Australian Statesman and Mining Standard September 1915. Returned to Port Moresby and continued with investigations into","\u003cspan class='geogname'\u003eOwen Stanley Range\u003c/span\u003e, producing topographic and geological map of the Papuan peninsula and identifying prospects for gold mining and rubber planting. Stanley's work contributed significant new knowledge to contemporary geology, and had important economic implications."]}]}},{"date":"1916-1917","eventgrp":{"event":"Stanley's skill with topographic mapping led to a request from the Lieutenant-Governor for him to update maps of each administrative division in Papua. This involved recording the location of villages, tracks and drainage in these areas."}},{"date":"1918-1920","eventgrp":{"event":"Returned to Port Moresby with his family after leave in Australia. Produced reports on the geology of New Guinea and Papua, the importance of hydropower and the presence of minerals significant for the mining industry."}},{"date":"November 1920","eventgrp":{"event":{"subject":"Commonwealth Scientific Expedition to New Guinea","content":["Joined the","\u003cspan class='subject'\u003eCommonwealth Scientific Expedition to New Guinea\u003c/span\u003e. The aim was to assess the Territory's resources and possible wealth. Delays resulted in the expedition getting underway only in April 1921. Sailing from Rabaul aboard the Wattle, Stanley made geological observations on his trips inland as well as along the coast of New Britain, entering the Ramu River in July 1921. Stanley made the first geological descriptions of active volcanoes along New Britain's north coast; also synthesised his new data with older data from previous explorers and information obtained from prospectors and indigenous tribes; mapped the Ramu River and compiled a vocabulary of indigenous words."]}}},{"date":"July 1922","eventgrp":{"event":"Expedition reports tabled in Parliament. Included Stanley's recommendations to establish a Geological Bureau, Observatory to monitor seismic activity, Forestry Department, sanitoria and a School of Tropical medicine."}},{"date":1923,"eventgrp":{"event":{"subject":"Pan-Pacific Science Congress","content":["From his work over the preceding years, Stanley had acquired a better understanding of the geology of New Guinea and Australia. He presented his ideas to the meeting of the AAAS in January, including several significant advances in knowledge about Papuan and New Guinea geology and vulcanology, and the geological links between Australia and Papua. Highlighted the potential for petroleum exploration in several regions. At the","\u003cspan class='subject'\u003ePan-Pacific Science Congress\u003c/span\u003e in August-September, his papers on multiple topics (including Papuan geology and land connections between Australia and New Guinea in past geological epochs) were important contributions to contemporary knowledge, and very well-received; scientific and economic value of his findings in Papua acknowledged. This was a high point in Stanley's career as Government Geologist."]}}},{"date":"1923-1924","eventgrp":{"event":{"persname":"H.A. Brouwer","content":["Worked on the topography and geology of the Astrolabe mining field. Contributed a chapter 'Practical hints to scientific travellers in New Guinea' (1925) for a book by Professor","\u003cspan class='persname'\u003eH.A. Brouwer\u003c/span\u003e of the Netherlands."]}}}]}}

Immediate Source of Acquisition:

Donated to the National Library of Australia by Professor Fiona Stanley, Evan R. Stanley's granddaughter, in 2002, along with manuscript and pictures materials.

Related

Separated Material:

View the catalogue record for the Papers of Evan R. Stanley, 1902-1987, at MS 9713.

Maps 6-8 show Misima in context with the rest of Papua and how it is related geologically to various land masses. They relate to Box 1 Folder 2: Articles for the Bulletin of the Territory of Papua (1915 and 1921), which centre on the geology of the island of Misima (St Aignan).

Map 10 shows tracks to Parimamu and Aro Aro, identified by Stanley as potentially significant petroleum-yielding areas. This relates to Box 1 Folder 1 'Introduction.'

Map 11 shows Opa village in relation to Kiri; Opa identified by Stanley as having significant oil-bearing potential. Relates to Box 1 Folder 1 'Introduction,'

Map 12 complements Stanley's observations in his article 'A Contribution to the Geology of New Guinea' in the 1921 Bulletin of the Territory of Papua in Box 1 Folder 2. Stanley refers to the potential for water power in New Guinea through the harnessing of its rainfall which, combined with its high mountains and steep terrain, results in numerous large rivers.

Map 13 shows geographical features such as numerous peaks which are possibly the mud volcanoes referred to by Stanley in 'Notes on the Papuan Petroleum Area,' 1912, in Box 1 Folder 1. This map complements 'Notes' by showing the location of villages and tribes described by him, as well as camps and mission stations.

Map 15 shows the route taken by the 1920-21 Commonwealth Scientific Expedition's ship, Wattle, along the Ramu and other rivers, and to locations such as New Britain. Stanley's 1922 'Report on The Salient Geological Features and Natural Resources of the New Guinea Territory including Notes on Dialectics and Ethnology,' in Box 1 Folder 4, is based on the Expedition (of which he was a member) tasked with assessing the resources of the New Guinea Territory.

Map 21 shows a proposed dam and surrounding infrastructure, relating to 'A Contribution to the Geology of New Guinea' in Box 1, Folder 2.

Map 22 is a detailed representation of the Ramu River and environs including villages, camps and mission station, with written descriptions of terrain and waterways, also relating to 'Report on The Salient Geological Features and Natural Resources of the New Guinea Territory including Notes on Dialectics and Ethnology' in Box 1, Folder 4.

View the catalogue record for the Selection of photographs from the Evan R. Stanley Collection, at https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1586009. View the catalogue record for the Evan R. Stanley collection of lantern slides of New Guinea, ca. 1920, at PIC Cold store C5/1/4 #PIC/8084/1-95. View the catalogue record for the Report of the Salient Geological Features and Natural Resources of the New Guinea Territory 1922, at mfm PMB 606.

Indexed terms

Names:

Stanley, Fiona, Prof.

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn8077396).

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of map item], Evan R. Stanley Map Collection, National Library of Australia, [item number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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