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Stanley Robert Mitchell

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stanley Robert Mitchell (12 February 1881 – 22 March 1963) was an Australian commercial metallurgist as well as an amateur mineralogist and ethnologist.

Early years

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Mitchell was born in St Kilda, Victoria, the oldest of eight siblings. His father, James Mitchell, was a commercial traveller and amateur mineralogist. He was educated at Armadale State School. From 1898 he was employed as a metallurgist and industrial chemist in a Footscray smelting works.[1]

Career

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Mitchell studied in the evenings at the Working Men's College of Melbourne; he gained a certificate in geology in 1911 and subsequently worked for the Department of Metallurgical Geology and Mineralogy. He established his own businesses, first as a gold assayer, then as S. R. Mitchell & Co., which was a refiner of precious metals from the 1920s, then Mitchell's Abrasives in 1930 to manufacture sandpaper. He also worked as a consultant to mining ventures and was a member of Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and a foundation member of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute.[1]

Mitchell was a strong supporter for regional field naturalist clubs, becoming a founder and patron of the Peninsula Field Naturalists' Club in 1952. He would go on to attend and present at club meetings and would regularly contribute to the club newsletter.[2]

Private life

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In 1906 Mitchell married Beatrice Anna Pay, a music teacher, with whom he was to have two sons and two daughters. He was widowed in 1922 and married Ila Victoria Davies in 1924, with whom he had a son and from whom he was divorced in 1946. In 1946 he married Bessie Alice Annie Terry, who survived him. His three sons all joined the family business.[1]

Mitchell accumulated major collections of rocks, minerals and Aboriginal artefacts and was heavily involved in the activities of field naturalists’ clubs. He wrote numerous articles and a book about his interests.[1]

Honours and awards

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Publications

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  • Mitchell, S.R. (1949). Stone-age Craftsmen. Stone tools and camping places of the Australian Aborigines. Tait: Melbourne.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Lovering, J.F. (2000). "Mitchell, Stanley Robert (1881–1963)". Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 15 (MUP). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
  2. ^ Australia; Australia; Club, Peninsula Field Naturalists'; Club, Peninsula Field Naturalists' (2012). Peninsula Field Naturalists' Club Newsletter. Vol. (2012:Dec). [Mornington Peninsula, VIC]: Peninsula Field Naturalists' Club.