Finnie, Richard Sterling, 1906-1987

Dates

• Existence: 1906 - 1987

Biography

Richard Finnie was born in Dawson City, Yukon Territory in 1906. He made numerous expeditions to the Canadian north which lead to his recognition as an authority on the history and geography of the Arctic and northern Canada. His first expeditions were with Captain Bernier in 1924 and 1925, as radio operator on the last expeditions of the C.G.S. ARCTIC. In 1928, he received his first Commission to produce the film "In the Shadow of the Pole" from the Government Motion Picture Bureau. He served on the Burwash expedition to King William Island and produced a series of films in 1930 and 1931, during a twelve month assignment in the western Arctic. In 1939, he made a film for the Bureau on mineral development in the Mackenzie District during which he produced the film "Treaty Time at Fort Rae" concerning the Dogrib tribe. He published the books "Lure of the North," 1940 and "Canada Moves North" in 1942, as well as numerous articles on the Canadian North. He was hired by the firm Bechtel Engineering and Construction in 1942, as a northern advisor and documentary filmmaker. He produced the film "the Alaska Highway" and also films on the CANOL pipeline. During his 25 years of service with Bechtel he produced numerous films, photographs and articles on their construction projects all over the world. Canadian projects which he documented include the construction and publicity for the Interprovincial, Transmountain, Westcoast Transmission and Trans Canada pipelines in films such as "Canadian Pipeline" and "Oil Across the Mountains" as well as the film "Iron from Labrador". Finnie died in 1987. (from Library and Archives, Canada).

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