The Real McKay: The remarkable life of Alexander McKay, geologist
The Scot Alexander McKay arrived in New Zealand in 1863 at the age of twenty-six with just two full years of schooling. Seeking his fortune on the goldfields of the South Island, he developed an eye for the structure and history of the land. Ten years later, he attracted the interest of the pioneer geologist Julius Haast, founder of the Canterbury Museum, who offered him his first job in geology, as a field assistant and collector of fossils for the displays of the fledgling museum.