page_title: Frank T. M. White
section_title: Setting up a Department of Mines, Fiji
hierarchical_section_title: Frank T. M. White / Career / Setting up a Department of Mines, Fiji
caption_attribution_description: Postcard from Suva, Fiji from late 1940s or early 1950s
context_page_description: Frank Thomas Matthews White was an Australian mining and metallurgical engineer and mineral science educator. His career included appointments in Australia, Fiji, Malaya, and Canada.
  Frank White was born in Northcote, Victoria, Australia, son of Edith and Frank Kenworthy White, Justice of the Peace, councillor and mayor of the City of Kew, Victoria for two periods: 1932–33 and 1945–1946.
context_section_description: In 1934, a mining ordinance to regulate a fledgling industry (initially at Vatukoula) was introduced by the British Colonial Administration in Fiji. As the Ordinance called for a Mines Inspectorate, H.M. Colonial Mines Service recruited Frank TM White to set up a Mines Department in Suva. In addition to developing legislation and implementing inspections, by 1939 White (as Inspector of Mines) also initiated and personally developed a geological survey of Viti Levu, resulting in Fiji's first geological survey map, published in 1943. Known colloquially as "White's Map", this remained the accepted geological representation until at least the mid-1950s. 
  Shortly following his arrival in Fiji, he became a founding member of the Fiji Society of Science and Industry and served as its president during the war years. He published papers on "Prospecting in Fiji", and on "Volcanic Activity and Related Phenomena in Fiji".  He also served on the board of trustees of the Fiji Museum, with a special interest in paleontology. 
  In May 1942, in addition to his governmental duties, White joined the Fiji Defence Force (FDF). Since the outbreak of World War 2 in November 1939, FDF had operated within the command structure of the New Zealand Defence Force. However, following the onset of the Pacific War in December 1941, during 1942 the FDF was transferred to US command (37th Infantry Division) and renamed the Fiji Military Force (FMF). As a special platoon commander, he was now assigned responsibility for training military engineers in explosive demolition methods and related preparations. For his FDF/FMF service, he was later awarded the Defence Medal (United Kingdom).
caption: Suva Business District c. 1940s
exif: {}