Euen Ritchie Morrison

摘要

The son of an established Johannesburg dental surgeon, Euen Morrison spent his preparatory and senior schooling at St John's College, an institution he was always very fond of. His love for the game of rugby culminated in him being represented in the school's 1949 First XV side. After matriculating he read for his B.Sc. (Honours) degree in Geology at the University of the Witwatersrand, and then moved to Canada where he attended McGill University in Montreal to obtain his Master's degree in 1955. On leaving McGill, Euen joined the British Newfoundland Exploration Company operating in Labrador, where he was engaged in the search for uranium, copper and molybdenite. There is a story that he was dumped 600 miles from base by aircraft and then found he had forgotten his tent poles. A radio call to his exploration manager brought the terse reply, "Try looking at the trees around you". This had a rejoinder as Euen once received a call from a young geologist in Siakobvu, or thereabouts, complaining that he had a puncture and no spare wheel. "Well get the tyre off the rim, stuff it with grass and come home," was his unsympathetic reply.