Born in Scotland Gavin came early to NZ and has had a distinguished career as a scientist and a stellar career as a volunteer bush firefighter. He has worked in industry and at GNS and is about to receive a Double Gold Star for 50 years for volunteer Bush Fire service. He is also responsible for creating the Bush Fire Historical Museum. Our club was privileged to meet him on an earlier club visit to the Wainui Bush Fire Station.
Gavin's thesis was that to talk of a "Nuclear Free New Zealand". To justify this he gave a brief history of the discovery and use of nuclear forces, mentioning:
- How x-rays are electro-magnetic waves - little photons of energy streaming forth
- Rontgen's very first use of nuclear radiation when he x-rayed his wife's hand in 1895
- The demonstration of radio-activity in uranium 1896
- How Madame Curie gave us the term x-ray and won two Nobel Prizes before her death from radio-active poisoning.
- How by 1898 several NZ hospitals had x-ray equipment by 1898
- How radiation was used extensively and excessively, leading to the death of many women painting the luminous dials on wrist watches, including in shoe shops until regulations were introduced to control it.
There was much much more and if you would like to read our scribe's full summary, and perhaps a free glass of wine, click HERE.
