Ron Scarlett
Encyclopedia
Ronald Jack Scarlett MBE
(1911–2002) better known as Ron Scarlett was a paleozoologist
from New Zealand
.
Scarlett was born at Stoke
, near Nelson
on March 22, 1911 to Walter Andrew Scarlett and Lilian Elsie (née Creswell). He was the oldest child of four brothers and four sisters. His father was an impoverished sawyer and so the family was forced to move around the upper South Island to find work in sawmills. Ron Scarlett attended six primary schools until he began to work at age 14. He had jobs on farms, in a sawmill, as a labourer, as golf greenkeeper, as gardener, as goldminer and later as trucker for a coalmine. During WW11 he spent some time as a conscientious objector in the Hamner Springs Conscientious Objectors camp. After he joined the staff of the Canterbury Museum in 1952 he became one of the most prolific osteologists of New Zealand. Scarlett became notable for his excavations over many decades on several paleontological deposits on New Zealand like Te Aute, Lake Poukawa
, or the Pyramid Valley
swamp where he unearthed and described the fossil remains of a Late Quaternary avifauna
including bones of the Eyles' Harrier
(Circus eylesi), the New Zealand Owlet-nightjar
, the Scarlett's Duck
(which was named by Storrs L. Olson
), and the Hodgens' Waterhen
. The Scarlett's Shearwater
(Puffinus spelaeus) described in 1994 by Richard N. Holdaway and Trevor H. Worthy
is named in his honour too. Ron Scarlett belong to the founders of the New Zealand Archaeological Association which was established in 1954. He was also a member of the Ornithological Society of New Zealand
where he has frequently written contributions for the quarterly scientific journal, Notornis. In 1996 he was awarded an MBE for his services to science. Scarlett died at age 91 on July 9, 2002 in a Christchurch
hospital.
He was a well known stamp, coin and postcard collector. His extensive collections of New Zealand and Pacific Island postcards are now with the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch including a extensive collection of postcards showing views of the Chatham Islands which he had visited many times.
MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
(1911–2002) better known as Ron Scarlett was a paleozoologist
Paleozoology
Paleozoology, also spelled as palaeozoology , is the branch of paleontology or paleobiology dealing with the recovery and identification of multicellular animal remains from geological contexts, and the use of these fossils in the reconstruction of prehistoric environments and ancient...
from New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
Scarlett was born at Stoke
Stoke, New Zealand
Stoke is one of the suburbs of Nelson, New Zealand. It lies between Richmond and Tahunanui. Stoke has a population of around 7000. Stoke was voted 'Keep New Zealand Beautiful Peoples Choice Best Place in New Zealand' in 2010.-Main attractions:...
, near Nelson
Nelson, New Zealand
Nelson is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay, and is the economic and cultural centre of the Nelson-Tasman region. Established in 1841, it is the second oldest settled city in New Zealand and the oldest in the South Island....
on March 22, 1911 to Walter Andrew Scarlett and Lilian Elsie (née Creswell). He was the oldest child of four brothers and four sisters. His father was an impoverished sawyer and so the family was forced to move around the upper South Island to find work in sawmills. Ron Scarlett attended six primary schools until he began to work at age 14. He had jobs on farms, in a sawmill, as a labourer, as golf greenkeeper, as gardener, as goldminer and later as trucker for a coalmine. During WW11 he spent some time as a conscientious objector in the Hamner Springs Conscientious Objectors camp. After he joined the staff of the Canterbury Museum in 1952 he became one of the most prolific osteologists of New Zealand. Scarlett became notable for his excavations over many decades on several paleontological deposits on New Zealand like Te Aute, Lake Poukawa
Lake Poukawa
Lake Poukawa is a small shallow hardwater lake in the Hawke's Bay Region, North Island, New Zealand. It is located about 20 km south-west of Hastings, New Zealand, close to the settlement of Te Hauke. It is the largest lake lying within a peatland in the active tectonic Poukawa depression, between...
, or the Pyramid Valley
Pyramid Valley
Pyramid Valley is a limestone rock formation near Waikari in the North Canterbury region of New Zealand. It lies 80 km north-west of Christchurch. On the foot of the valley is a swamp which became notable in 1939 as New Zealand's largest paleontological site for moa fossils...
swamp where he unearthed and described the fossil remains of a Late Quaternary avifauna
Late Quaternary prehistoric birds
Prehistoric birds are various taxa of birds that became extinct before recorded history, or more precisely, before they could be studied alive by bird scientists...
including bones of the Eyles' Harrier
Eyles' Harrier
Eyles' Harrier is an extinct bird of prey which lived in New Zealand.It was an example of island gigantism, weighing over twice as much as a Swamp Harrier. It was a generalist predator, taking prey of the same size as small eagle species do – land animals weighing one or a few kilograms...
(Circus eylesi), the New Zealand Owlet-nightjar
New Zealand Owlet-nightjar
The New Zealand Owlet-nightjar, Aegotheles novazelandiae, was a large species of owlet-nightjar formerly endemic to the islands of New Zealand. Fossil remains indicate the species was once widespread across both North Island and South Island...
, the Scarlett's Duck
Scarlett's Duck
Scarlett's Duck is an extinct duck species from New Zealand which was closely related to the Australian Pink-eared Duck . The scientific name commemorates the late New Zealand ornithologist and palaeontologist Ron Scarlett who discovered the holotype in 1941...
(which was named by Storrs L. Olson
Storrs L. Olson
Storrs Lovejoy Olson is an American biologist and ornithologist from the Smithsonian Institution. He is one of the world's foremost avian paleontologists....
), and the Hodgens' Waterhen
Hodgens' Waterhen
The Hodgens' Waterhen is an extinct rail species from New Zealand. Its name commedorates the Hodgen brothers who were owners of the Pyramid Valley swamp where the holotype was discovered....
. The Scarlett's Shearwater
Scarlett's Shearwater
Scarlett's Shearwater was a species of seabird in the petrel family Procellariidae. Its common name commemorates New Zealand palaeontologist Ron Scarlett....
(Puffinus spelaeus) described in 1994 by Richard N. Holdaway and Trevor H. Worthy
Trevor H. Worthy
Trevor H. Worthy is a paleozoologist from New Zealand known for his research work on the moa.In the late 1980s Worthy discovered the fossil remains of three frog species from the Leiopelmatidae family, the Aurora frog , the Markham's frog , and the Waitomo frog...
is named in his honour too. Ron Scarlett belong to the founders of the New Zealand Archaeological Association which was established in 1954. He was also a member of the Ornithological Society of New Zealand
Ornithological Society of New Zealand
The Ornithological Society of New Zealand was founded in 1940. It is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the study of birds and their habitats in the New Zealand region. It caters for a wide variety of people interested in the birds of the region, from professional ornithologists to casual...
where he has frequently written contributions for the quarterly scientific journal, Notornis. In 1996 he was awarded an MBE for his services to science. Scarlett died at age 91 on July 9, 2002 in a Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
hospital.
He was a well known stamp, coin and postcard collector. His extensive collections of New Zealand and Pacific Island postcards are now with the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch including a extensive collection of postcards showing views of the Chatham Islands which he had visited many times.
Works (selected)
- 1972: Bones for the New Zealand Archaeologist
- 1979: Birds of a Feather: Osteological and Archaeological Papers from the South Pacific in honour of R.J. Scarlett
- 1987: Bird Species Present on the Southwest Coast of Chatham Island in the 16th Century AD
- 1990: The Naval Good Shooting Medal, 1903–1914
- 1992: Under Hazardous Circumstances : Register of Awards of Lloyd's War Medal for Bravery at Sea 1939-1945