Professor Waters To Stay For Year

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30540, 8 September 1964, Page 16

Professor Waters To Stay For Year

He had accepted the chair of physical geography at the University of Sheffield only if that university would wait for him because he had his obligations to the University of Canterbury, said Professor R. S. Waters, professor of geography at the University of Canterbury for the last two years. He has just returned to Christchurch from Britain where he attended the 20th International Geographical Congress.

Professor Waters said it would be probably December, 1965, before he took up his new appointment Why had he accepted the appointment after a comparatively short time at Canterbury University? Because it was an attractive opportunity and probably the only chair of geography in Britain he would have been interested in, said Professor Waters. This chair was instituted in 1962 and was the first chair of physical geography in Britain. It was right in his line, and being the first chair made it very attractive. k

A second reason was the great scope for research. Sheffield had a long tradition of physical geography and it did attract very good research students who were supported by the D.S.LR. of Britain. At the moment there were about a dozen of these students there and several were taking part in a big project in applied climatology. A further reason for accepting the position was that it was a sentimental journey because his first lecturing post in a university was at Sheffield. “I lectured there for five years. Both my wife and I have close associations with Sheffield,” said Professor Waters.

He visited university departments of geography in London, Birmingham and Exeter to get ideas on the kind of equipment available so it could be installed in the laboratories at Ham. He had brought back several ideas he hoped would be of benefit to the University of Canterbury, said Professor Waters. One line of advance in physical geography would come through instrumentation. particularly in climatology. He felt it particularly important that Canterbury University should lead the field in scientific geography as it always had done in New Zealand.

Primarily he went to Britain to attend the International Geographical Congress. The paper sessions were held in London from the middle

to the end of July. Both before and after the papers there were associated symposia and field studies in different parts of the United Kingdom and Ireland. Professor Waters directed the symposium on pleistocene geomorphology which was held in Exeter before the congress meetings. This w’as part of a larger symposium in which geomorphologists from all parts of the world participated. One of its chief objects was to demonstrate the effect of the pleistocene ice age on the landscapes of Britain.

Field study took him on a trip from Cambridge to Ireland, down to Cork and then up to Dublin and Belfast and on to Donegal. There were 40 in this group, from every country in Europe. America, Russia and Japan. There were two New Zealanders—Dr. J. Dalrymple, of Auckland, and himself, said Professor Waters.