MR FALLA TO DIRECT CANTERBURY MUSEUM

Northern Advocate, 1 December 1936, Page 3

MR FALLA TO DIRECT CANTERBURY MUSEUM

[Per Press Association. Copyright.l CHRISTCHURCH, This Day.

One of the Dominion’s noted ornithologists,. Mr R. A. Falla, M.A., Assistant Director of the Auckland War Memorial Museum, was appointed Director of the Canterbury Museum yesterday by the Canterbury College Council, on the recommendation of its museum and library committee. Mr Falla, who is only 35 years of age, will take up on March 1 the position vacated last year by Professor R. Speight. Twenty-four applications were received for the position. Three were from the United Kingdom, five from New Zealand, three from Australia, four from other 'parts of the British Empire, and nine from the United States. His Education. Born at Palmerston North, Mr Falla received his primary education at Invercargill. He entered the Auckland Grammar School with a national scholarship and on leaving school at the end 5 of 1918 he spent two years in commercial work and attended evening lectures and laboratory classes in zoology at Auckland University College under Professor J. Sperrin-John-ston. He joined the teaching profession in 1921 as a student at the Auckland Training College, and in 1924 completed his degree of 8.A., winning a scholarship in education. He graduated M.A. in 1925, when he was relieving lecturer in general science and nature study at the Auckland Training College. From 1926 to 1929 he was lecturer in nature study and education at the college, and from 1929 to 1931 he served as assistant zoologist and ornithologist with the British, Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition under Sir Douglas Mawson. This involved two journeys to the Antarctic. Awarded Polar Medal.

He was awarded the Polar Medal, in bronze, for his work on this expedition, which was highly praised by Sir Douglas, who described his memoir on the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic birds as outstanding. An appointment as ornithologist and education officer at the Auckland War Memorial Museum was obtained in 1930 and in 1935 he became Assistant-Director of the institution.

Research has been carried out by Mr Falla at Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, Durban and Capetown. Most of his research has been in ornithology, but he has had practical experience in marine biology, having spent 10 months in laboratory and deck routine on the Discovery and also made cruises on the Royal Danish research ship Dana in 1929 and the Discovery II in 1932. Mr Falla also accompanied Dr. Raymond Firth on a field expedition to the Urewera and is a foundation member and past chairman of the anthropology and Maori race section of the Auckland Institute. He is the author of several papers on New Zealand seabirds and other subjects.