Oliver Warin
1931
– 2008
Geologist
Oliver
Noel Warin was a geologist, and also an accomplished musician and artist.
He spent his childhood in
Goldhanger. His father died in 1934 and he was raised with his brother Jack by his
mother who was the respected and well liked headmistress of the village school from 1939 to 1969. They lived in a tiny
cottage provided by the Parish for the headmistress at No. 10 Head St. which
was the former village Poorhouse.
No.10
Head St |
|
village school |
|
There
does not appear to be any recognisable photos of Oliver in the village archives,
however as his mother was headmistress of the school and Oliver would have been
six at the time, it is highly likely that he was one of the children in this Coronation parade in the Square.
After
attending the village school Oliver went to Maldon Grammar school, and
following national service, won a scholarship to St John’s College, Cambridge,
where he gained a degree in Natural Sciences, specialising in geology. Even at
an early age Oliver was a talented pianist and could frequently be heard
playing his mother piano, while occasionally playing the organ in St Peters
Church. Some recall that when he came home from university he would begin by
playing a piece of well known classical music and then evolve it into a one of
his favourite jazz pieces.
He left
home in 1955 and spent the next seven years field mapping with the Australian
Bureau of Mineral Resources. In 1962 he joined Utah Development Company as
senior geologist, and was in charge of their research into iron ore and tin
deposits in Australia and their search for phosphate throughout the world.
at
Cambridge |
at Cambridge |
in
Australia |
|
In 1980
he was asked to lead the worldwide mineral exploration activities of the parent
company Utah International, in San Francisco, and he continued in that role
when that company was acquired by BHP. He successfully led BHP’s global
exploration team until his retirement.
1980 |
1989 |
|
In 1994
the Australian Academy of Sciences awarded Oliver the Mawson Medal, recognising
his outstanding contribution to earth science in Australia. The citation for
the award said: ‘Since taking over Utah
International and under Warin’s direction, BHP has become one of the most
successful of all mineral exploration companies’. He gave the Mawson Memorial
lecture at the Australian Geological Convention in Perth in September in that
year. Here are extracts from the beginning and end of the lecture...
SIR DOUGLAS MAWSON LECTURE 12th Australian Geological
Convention Exploration in a changing world
- 2000 and beyond Pity the poor ageing Exploration
Managed! Not only is he physically not
up to it any longer; finding
himself stumbling, slow and short of breath when it comes to climbing hills
with the younger geologists - but he is mentally not up to it any longer;
finding himself stumbling, slow and short of breath as he tries vainly to climb the geological,
geochemical, geophysical hills they seem to scamper up with ease. Then, to add insult to injury or perhaps
to kick a man when he is trying to lay down, he gets asked to give talks and lectures with imposing
titles - on the basis, I suppose,
that anyone that has been around that long must have acquired sonic wisdom,
some knowledge
worth imparting. But what can he talk about? I
decided long ago that the most dangerous topic for an Exploration Manager to
talk about is “Success in Exploration" and a close second are subjects
like "How to Organize Exploration Teams", etc. "Success" is a
beautiful and very attractive but very easily frightened, creature; if you
have actually managed to coax her out of the shadows you need to be very
careful not to make a noise or any sudden movement if you are not to frighten
her back into the shadows again! This time to stay hidden for years. . . . . . . I would like to urge on you as
you take on this role of front runners for your companies and in the process,
front runners for the market economy, for entrepreneurialism and even for
democracy, that you carry with you an awareness of how you will be viewed. You will be judged in Uzbekistan
and Ulan Bator, in Alma Ata and Audra Pradesh, Ouagadogou and Timbuctoo, in
Zimbabwe and Zambia, in Punta Arenas and Tierra Del Fuego both as individuals
and as representatives of your company, your profession and your culture. I feel bound therefore to offer
two words of advice. Those two words are: INTERESTING and DIFFERENT. If you are an alert and alive
human being willing, as were Mawson and his companions, to travel and explore
this magnificent world, you will find, I guarantee, more than 90 percent of
what you see will be interesting. And essentially interest is always what
dispels discomfort. And you will find much that you
see and have to deal with is different. It is, perhaps, an unfortunate
trait of our Westernized upbringing that we feel, in the interests of
efficiency and progress, we must make mental judgements and we must pronounce
them essentially as soon as they are made. All I can say is that you will
find yourself welcome everywhere if you can just take to heart the simple
phrase. "not better or worse - just different". Thank you Mr Chairman. |
|
It
was said: “without doubt the most creative phase of Ole’s career was running BHP’s
exploration program out of San Francisco. Copper, diamonds and gold were some
of his success stories”...”Oliver paved the way for the discovery of the Bowen
Basin coal deposits, the Cannington zinc-lead-silver deposit in Queensland,
Kalimantan coal, Syama sulphide gold deposit in Mali, Escondida Copper in
Chile, Reko Diq Cu-Au (gold-copper) in Pakistan and the Ekati diamond field in
Canada”.
In retirement Oliver pursued his
interest in art in several forms...
Oliver Warin passed away at his home
in San Anselmo, San Francisco, California in 2008.
some
of the information and photographs here are taken from...
oliverwarin.com and
obituaries-australia/warin-oliver-noel
back
to...