A collection of personal papers, some published here for the first time, this study shows the life of George Jobberns, a founding figure in university geography in New Zealand. After a period of secondary school teaching, Jobberns studied geology at what is now the University of Canterbury and lectured there throughout the 1930s in the first independent geography department in New Zealand. At a time when the emphasis for academics was on teaching rather than research, Jobberns was a pioneer in combining his life in the classroom with publishing, traveling, and attending international conferences, particularly in the United States.