Frank Roxborough
Frank Roxborough was born at Bishop Auckland in the United Kingdom in 1933. He was educated at the local school, and in a private school in Durham and then Arlington Grammar school. He left school in 1951 and started work as a coal miner at Mainsworth Colliery rather than going straight to university after a very impressive visit to a mine while still at school. Also, people had advised him to work in the mines before deciding on a final career path.
Because he was marked as a potential university graduate his path through the hierarchy of jobs was accelerated and relatively quickly was undertaking a training program that would enable him to work on the coal face.
He had always planned to go to university so after three years at Mainsworth he applied for and won a National Coal Board scholarship and started at Kings College, Durham in 1954, studying Mining Engineering. He completed a preparatory year of course work before starting the main degree course, and because of this and his maturity he was able to pick up the academic work quite quickly.
He graduated with first class honours in 1958. His Professor, Professor Potts, was very interested in his honours research and invited him to undertake a PhD to extend the research. He was married during the second year of his undergraduate degree. His life as a newly-wed student and his settled life at this stage probably contributed to his academic success at the time. His wife encouraged him to continue his research interest and that with the pit closures in 1958 , this was a further impetus to undertake his PhD.
In 1961 he took a job as an overman at a small mine at Barcus Close and stayed there until 1964 when he returned to the university because prospects of a management position in the coal mining industry looked unpromising. He held this lectureship at the University of Newcastle on Tyne from 1963 to 1970.
In 1968 he successfully applied for funding to establish a research unit for Rock Mechanics. It was also at this time that he began his Readership at Newcastle University, This research happened throughout the 1960s and 1970s until he came to Australia in 1975, gaining the position as Head of the School of Mining Engineering at NSW University. He was primarily concerned with running the department and strengthening the coal mining side of the school.
He sought funding for upgrading the laboratories from the Joint Coal Board and the Collieries Association and got support for the School’s research activities from CRA and ICI among others. CRA was interested in hard rock mining and much of the industry was interested in underground tunnelling. There was also research into mining safety which was supported by the Joint Coal Board.
A highlight of his career was his involvement in establishing the mechanics of rock excavation as a rounded subject to be taught as an independent Engineering discipline.
His coming to Australia was a positive move personally and professionally. He had intended to return to live in England, but his family were happy and settled in Sydney.
Frank Ferdinand Roxborough was made a Member of the Order or Australia at Queen's Birthday 2001, For service to the development of innovative mining engineering techniques, and to education and research in the field.
To access an oral history interview with Frank Roxborough please use this link:'
https://heritage.engineersaustralia.org.au/wiki/Oral_Histories_Sydney
