A leading geologist of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911-14 and author of a main section of the Expedition's geological report, "The Metamorphic Rocks of Adelie Land". In that he set a high standard in the petrology of metamorphic rocks and developed new principles in relation thereto.
Later he contributed greatly to knowledge of the geology and mineralogy of the Bendigo, the Broken Hill and the Kalgoorlie mining fields. He is notable also for having introduced and developed in Australia modern technique in the microscopic study of opaque ore minerals and the branch of petrology known as mineragraphy.
His publications have been numerous and his findings have solved many problems confronting metalliferous mining in Australia, and thus has done much to improve the prospects of the mining industry.