Bertie Moore
MOORE, Bertie Harcourt BSc BE ME DSc FSASM FACI MAIMME (1880-1947)
Bertie was born on June 28, 1880, in Christchurch, New Zealand, the second eldest son of Adolphus Alfred Moore and his first wife Alice Mary Moore nee Searle. Bertie’s mother died in August 1883 and his father remarried Harriet Ball in New Zealand that year. By April 1886, the family was in Queensland having travelled to Moreton Bay via London on the “Morialta”.
Bertie’s education was in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne before the family moved to South Australia. Bertie completed his secondary education at Prince Alfred College, Adelaide in 1896.
In December 1896, Bertie had been awarded a £35 scholarship to study at the University of Adelaide, completing a Bachelor of Science in geology and mechanics in December 1900.
Bertie enrolled at the South Australian School of Mines completing a Diploma in mining and metallurgy in 1901 and a Fellowship in geology and mining in 1902.
He initially worked as a lecturer in mathematics in Kalgoorlie before being appointed as Officer in Charge/Registrar at the School of Mines, Port Pirie in July 1903.
On June 28, 1905 he married Florence Winifred Wadham at St Bartholomew’s Church, Norwood, South Australia. They had a daughter Gwendoline May (born 1906) and two sons, Norman Harcourt Wadham (born 1908) and Maurice Alfred (born 1918). Maurice studied at the Kalgoorlie School of Mines, was President of the School of Mines Students Association and progressed from being a mine surveyor to become a mining engineer.
In 1908, Bertie returned to Kalgoorlie as lecturer in chemistry and metallurgy at Kalgoorlie School of Mines.
In 1913, the University of Adelaide recognised his post graduate study and practical experience awarding him a Bachelor of Engineering degree.
In 1923, Bertie was appointed Officer in Charge of the new metallurgical laboratory at the Kalgoorlie School of Mines. The laboratory had been specifically created to support minerals processing. From 1925 he played a key role in developing flotation technology for the gold industry working with Arthur Sidney Winter and William George Clarke. He also spent periods seconded to industry to resolve processing problems.
He was awarded a Master of Engineering in December 1927 and a Doctor of Science in December 1931, both from the University of Adelaide. His DSc was the first award of that level by the University of Adelaide in applied science and recognised his extensive published and unpublished work.
Bertie became the Principal of the School of Mines in January 1931, holding that position until becoming Director of Kalgoorlie, Norseman and Wiluna Schools of Mines in March 1941. He retired from this position in December 1945 and is remembered for getting extensive support from the local community, industry and government which resulted in student scholarships, student employment, donations of equipment and the provision of testwork and assays for the local miners. Bertie’s work was critical in successfully guiding the school through the depression to the end of WWII.
He then took up the role of Supervisor of Professional Training under the Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme. He held this role from January 1946 until his death in January 1947.
Bertie was a Member of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers from 1910. He was also a founder of the Western Australian Branch of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute in 1939.
Bertie died in Kalgoorlie on January 7, 1947, aged 66. He was survived by his wife Florence and their three children.
References:
South Australian Register, 16.12.1896, p. 6.
Quorn Mercury 14,7, 1903, p. 3.
West Australian, 9.7.1903, p. 5.
The Mail (Adelaide), 10.12.1927, p. 16.
Kalgoorlie Miner, 20.1.1931, p. 2.
Kalgoorlie Miner, 10.9.1931, p. 4.
West Australian, 22.7.1939, p. 18.
Kalgoorlie Miner, 25.3.1941, p. 4.
West Australian, 7.1.1947, p. 8.
McLaren, Glen, Miners and Mentors, Curtin University of Technology, 2001.
Cumming, Denis A and Hartley, Richard G, Westralian Founders of Twentieth Century Mining, Richard G Hartley, Rossmoyne, 2014.
