Geology in Practice. Presidential Address Section 3, Geology, ANZAAS Meeting
responsibility of the geologist. The rising curve of expenditure on exploration should be matched by a comparable increase in the employment of geologists and associated specialists and services.
Under present conditions funds can be raised quickly to finance exploration, but the additional large numbers of geologists required can by no means be so readily obtained. Although statistics are lacking there can be no doubt that the ratio of number of geologists to expenditure on exploration has fallen. This fall must be limiting the effectiveness of the exploration effort and increasing the cost of funds, Few foresaw the rapid increase in exploration activity and it is not surprising that it has found Australia seriously short oi geologists, especially of experienced geologists to lead the work and geologists well-trained in the most modern exploration methods.
The census conducted by the Geological Society of Australia in 1967 found the total number of geoscientists to he about 1,720 including 1,130 geologists, 340 geophysicists and 50 geochemists; some 200 were at universities, 550 in Government employment and 970 in industry. This is a small number considering that the demands on geology are basically related to the size of the country rather than to its population.
The geological profession has to service a continent of three million square miles,
comprising 5 per cent of the land surface of the world, with a present average population density of geologists of one per 2,600 square miles.
Geologists cannot be produced quickly. Firstly a sufficient number of students must be motivated towards making a career in geology. Then a minimum of three and preferably four years of tertiary education must be allowed followed by several years in which to gain professional proficiency through practical experience.
Demand now far exceeds supply, and there is intense competition for those available. This in turn is having a serious effect in other fields where geologists are employed. One undesirable consequence is that it has caused severe difficulties in maintaining adequate numbers of staff with sufficient experience in the State Geological Surveys and the Bureau of Mineral Resources. This is occurring at a time when not only is there an increasing requirement for their indispensable traditional services, particularly regional mapping, but also when there are great masses of new information flooding in from the work of the exploration groups which require to be evaluated and incorporated in the general geological records. It is essential that these services be operated efficiently and in fairness to the dedicated and loyal staff who are keeping the surveys going it is to be hoped that the authorities will take realistic steps to restore and stabilize the situation.
