Written by Royden Thomson
Bill was born in California in June 1931 and slipped away in Ashland, Oregon, on the 3 March 2024 after a lifelong career “bashing rocks” in a wide range of applied and research situations.
He was awarded the first engineering geology degree at the University of California (Berkley) in June 1957. After graduation he initially worked for the State of California then joined Bechtel Corporation in San Francisco, the firm that designed and managed the Manapouri Power Project. In 1963 he was sent to New Zealand as the scheme’s project geologist, based in Invercargill, with responsibilities for all site geological works, including the investigations for the initially conceived high dam on the Lower Waiau River. Bill actively participated in both surface and underground construction work areas in Fiordland and his logging styles set the scene for follow-up support staff. Following his return to Bechtel’s head office he prepared a comprehensive, interim geotechnical report on the Manapouri scheme which he presented to a conference in New York in 1968. Of particular note is the presumption he was the first accredited engineering geologist to undertake applied work in New Zealand.
Leaving Bechtel, Bill worked for the Forest Service in both California and Oregon, principally on total catchment hydrological appraisals, roading issues and the identification of Landslides and associated remedial works. In later years he was a private consultant with a bent for community support in regard to geological hazards and risks, landsliding being a particular focus.
Bill was passionate about Southland, Stewart Island in particular, and made several trips back to NZ. One was to attend a New Zealand Geological Society conference at Christchurch in about 2012 to present a poster display, his theme being a 3D mapping system developed by a friend and colleague in Portland to assess terrains and geological conditions in both terrestrial and maritime environments. The Cascadia Subduction Zone was used as a reference, but the novel mapping technique did not gain any local traction.
In all respects Bill can be regarded as an enthusiastic pioneer in engineering geology and his passing will be missed in the profession.