Geology is Fun [Recollections] or The Anatomy and Confession of a Geological Addict

Adelaide: Published by the Author. 1989. Small Quarto Size [approx 17.5cm x 24cm]. Near fine condition in pictorial laminated boards. An excellent copy. Black & white cartoons and photographs. Cartoons by Stephen Stanley ("Lafferty"). Robust, professional packaging and tracking provided for all parcels. 349 pages. Reg Sprigg worked for the South Australian Geological Survey, which sent him to reopen the Radium Hill Uranium Field in 1944, and to map the Mount Painter uranium field. When he discovered the fossils, apparently while eating his lunch, he realised that these fossils were very ancient, either of Early Cambrian, or possibly even of Precambrian age. He submitted a paper to Nature, but it was turned down. He travelled to London and presented his findings to the 1948 International Geological Congress, but failed to excite either interest or belief. Subsequent work by the University of Adelaide demonstrated that they were indeed of latest Precambrian age. Although Precambrian animal fossils had been reported before, they had not been universally accepted as organic. This discovery led ultimately to the erection in 2004 of the Ediacaran Period, the first new geological period created in more than one hundred years. In 1968, he purchased the pastoral lease of Arkaroola, a property and important uranium exploration field of 610 square kilometres in the Flinders Ranges, and turned it into a wildlife refuge and tourist attraction. . 1st Edition. Hardback.