Presentation by Mr Peter Stevenson
Royal Society Room
Tuesday, 2nd March 2010 Commencing 8.00 pm until 10.00 pm
About the Speaker
Peter Stevenson qualified from Birmingham University in 1954 in Geology with emphasis on soil mechanics and engineering geophysics. He has had a very diverse career in the UK, on and in much of Africa, and in Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, and Qatar. He obtained a higher degree in groundwater hydrology, spent time at the University of London on Diamonds. He migrated to Tasmania and joined the Geological Survey of Tasmania as Senior Engineering Geologist, specialising in groundwater and slope stability work. He retired in 1988.
Brief Abstract of the Talk
The Beagle was in Tasmanian Waters for 22 days in 1836. Charles Darwin made his geological and other observations while it was anchored in Sulivan’s (sic) Cove from the 5-17 February. The other days the Beagle was at sea. World travel under sail was tedious and this talk uses the account given in the ship’s log which deals mainly with handling the sails, and navigational fixes, but gives no clue as to the thoughts of Captain FitzRoy, or of his later- to-become famous passenger, Charles Darwin. They are not mentioned. We must admire the surveying and scientific achievements accomplished under the demanding conditions at sea in the1830s.
