Scientist's legacy celebrated

Announcement from the Royal Society of New Zealand

Scientist's legacy celebrated

A symposium celebrating the legacy of the 'father of New Zealand science', James Hector, will be held at Te Papa on Thursday 8 November. The event will feature a special piece of rock air-freighted all the way from the Canadian Rockies. Members of the public can learn more about the story that evening at a free public lecture by science communicator Hamish Campbell: "Buried alive at Kicking Horse pass: the remarkable exploits of James Hector".

James Hector's name is familiar to most New Zealander's through Hector's dolphin, Mount Hector in the Tarauras, the Hector Range near Queenstown, and the tiny coal-mining settlement of Hector on the West Coast. Few people, however, know much about the life of this Scottish-born doctor and scientist.

Hector was employed in 1861 to undertake a geological survey of Otago and was later recruited by the government to set up the New Zealand Geological Survey (now GNS Science) and the Colonial Museum (now Te Papa). He was the founder of the New Zealand Institute (now Royal Society of New Zealand). For over 35 years, Hector was the government's scientific advisor, responsible for technical issues that ranged from developing weather forecasting to running the Patent office. He founded the Wellington Botanic Gardens as a place to acclimatise useful plants, including the introduction of Pinus radiata.

November 7 2007 is the centenary of Hector's death, and scientists are commemorating Hector's legacy with a symposium at Te Papa on Thursday 8 November. Hector descendants are gathering in Wellington over the weekend of 9-11 November for a family reunion. And in Lower Hutt, where Hector lived with his family at Ratanui (just south of Percy's Reserve in the western hills), the City Council is opening a new park on the site of the house and gardens.

The public lecture "Buried alive at Kicking Horse pass: the remarkable exploits of James Hector", is based on Hector's time as a member of the Palliser expedition, from 1857-60, exploring the Rocky Mountains and seeking a pass that would connect eastern and western Canada. Hector's party discovered the pass that is now on the route of the Canadian Pacific railway, but he almost lost his life when kicked by a horse. The talk will be held at 6.00pm on Thursday 8 November, in Soundings Theatre at Te Papa.

The rock from Kicking Horse Pass will be on display at Te Papa.

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