Pat Suggate

Richard Patrick Suggate CNZM (17 March 1922 – 16 June 2016) was a New Zealand geologist, known for his research into coal properties and coal rank, and into the advances and retreats of New Zealand's glaciers. From 1974 to 1986 he served as director of the New Zealand Geological Survey.

Pat Suggate

CNZM
Born
Richard Patrick Suggate

(1922-03-17)17 March 1922
Islington, London, England
Died16 June 2016(2016-06-16) (aged 94)
Wellington, New Zealand
Spouse
Olwyn Daphne Reynolds
​
​
(m. 1944; died 2012)​
RelativesEugenie Sage (daughter-in-law)
Alma materUniversity of Oxford
AwardsFRSNZ (1963)
Hutton Medal (1983)
McKay Hammer (2001)
CNZM (2003)
Scientific career
FieldsGeology
InstitutionsNew Zealand Geological Survey

Early life and family

Born in Islington, London, England, on 17 March 1922,[1][2] Suggate was the son of Leonard Suggate and Florence Burden. He was educated at the University of Oxford, graduating with a Master of Arts.[3][4] He married Olwyn Daphne Reynolds in London on 1 November 1944.[5] Suggate served with the Royal Army Ordnance Corps as a lieutenant during World War II.[5]

Career

Emigrating to New Zealand in 1947, Suggate joined the New Zealand Geological Survey. Initially based in Greymouth, he worked with Harold Wellman to investigate the coal resources around Murchison.[4] He went on to make major contributions to geological mapping in New Zealand, and to the effect of coal rank on its properties.[4] He showed how peat is transformed into coal when buried in sedimentary basins,[6] and showed that coal and organic sediments are the origin of gas and oil fields in New Zealand, and not marine deposits as previously believed.[7]

In 1961 Suggate was awarded a Doctor of Science degree by the University of New Zealand through Canterbury University College on the basis of papers submitted.[8]

Suggate rose to become director of the New Zealand Geological Survey in 1974, retiring in 1986.[4] However, he continued to be an active researcher, and developed the Suggate rank scheme, which is used internationally by oil exploration companies to measure the oil and gas potential of sedimentary rocks.[4][7] In this period he also completed a number of geological mapping projects, and made a significant contribution to research on the advance and retreat of glaciers near Hokitika.[7]

Suggate died in Wellington on 16 June 2016.[9]

Honours and awards

Suggate was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 1963.[3] In 1983 he was awarded the Hutton Medal by the Royal Society of New Zealand,[10] and in 2001 he received the McKay Hammer from the Geological Society of New Zealand, for the most outstanding published research on New Zealand geology over the preceding three years.[11]

In the 2003 New Year Honours, Suggate was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to geology.[12]

References
  1. "UK, incoming passenger lists, 1878–1960". Ancestry.com Operations. 2008. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  2. "Interview with Pat Suggate". Alexander Turnbull Library. 2005. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  3. "The Academy: S–U". Royal Society of New Zealand. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  4. Sherwood, Alan; Phillips, Jock (9 July 2013). "Coal and coal mining – the nature of coal". Te Ara: the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  5. "Marriages". Chronicle. No. 17. St Hugh's College, Oxford. 1944–1945. p. 7. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  6. "79-Year-old wins NZ's top geology award". Scoop Independent News. 30 November 2001. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  7. Napp, Bernie (3 December 2001). "Age no barrier for geologist". Evening Post. p. 16.
  8. "NZ university graduates 1870–1961: Sl–Sz". Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  9. "Richard Suggate death notice". Dominion Post. 18 June 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  10. "Hutton Medal recipients". Royal Society of New Zealand. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  11. "Geological Society of NZ awards for 2001". Alert Newsletter. Royal Society of New Zealand. 29 November 2001. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  12. "New Year honours list 2003". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2002. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
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