Germaine Joplin

Early life

Joplin, born in Strathfield, New South Wales in 1903, was educated at Presbyterian Ladies College in Croydon, Sydney. She initially trained as a nurse on leaving school, but at age 23 commenced studies at the University of Sydney, graduating with a B.Sc. and the University Medal in 1930. Joplin then pursued study in England, earning a Junior Fellowship of the World Federation of University Women, to study petrology at Newnham College, University of Cambridge with Cecil Edgar Tilley. A number of Australian women were studying with her at Newnham College during the 1930s, including Dorothy Hill and Betty Ripper. Joplin attained her Ph.D. in 1936. She would take a B.A in 1949 from the University of Sydney and complete a Diploma in Social Studies but returned to geology. She took a D.Sc. from the University of Sydney in 1950.

Career

After returning from England, Joplin lectured in geology at the University of Sydney until 1949. In 1952 Joplin commenced a permanent research position as a Fellow in the recently established Department of Geophysics at the Australian National University working with John Jaeger and John Richards.

Joplin's principal works were three critical compilations of analytical data on Australian rocks, commenced during her short time with the Bureau of Mineral Resources and published in their Bulletin series, plus two petrology monographs and a book for high school readers. A Petrology of Australian Igneous Rocks (1964; 2nd Ed. 1968; 3rd Ed. 1971) was also published in New York and later A Petrology of Australian Metamorphic Rocks (Sydney, 1968) was published. Finding the Age of Rocks (Sydney, 1972) was written in collaboration with John Richards and Christine Joplin.

Awards

In 1986 Joplin was awarded the W. R. Browne Medal by the Geological Society of Australia 'for distinguished contributions to the Geological Sciences of Australia'. Also in 1986, she became a Member of the General Division of the Order of Australia (AM).

Joplin died in Sydney in 1989.