Finlay was born inComilla,India (nowBangladesh), on 22 March 1901, to a family of Baptist missionaries. He was left a paraplegic after contracting poliomyelitis at the age of four, but was able to participate in field excursions.[1][2] The family moved toDunedin in 1906.[2] He graduated from theUniversity of Otago with B.Sc. and M.Sc.[1] He received the Hamilton Memorial Prize of theNew Zealand Institute in 1926 and a D.Sc. in 1927.[1] His main research interest wasmarine andnon-marine malacofauna of New Zealand, both recent and fossil. Much of his work focused on mollusc taxonomy and biostratigraphy.[2]
After graduation, Finlay ran into financial hardship, living off of research grants, and occasional work as a contract consultant for oil exploration companies.[2] Finlay was appointed to theGeological Survey of New Zealand in 1937,[1] where he worked a micropaleontologist studyingForaminifera.[2] Due to this shift in scope, Finlay sold his mollusc collection to theAuckland Institute and Museum, of which there were an estimated 14,000 specimen lots, and 437 type specimens for the species that Finlay had described.[2]
(incomplete; complete only for publications from Trans. N.Z. Inst.)
1923
Finlay H. J. 1923.Some Remarks on New ZealandCalliostomidae, with Descriptions of New Tertiary Species. Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. 54, pp.99–105.
Finlay H. J. &McDowall F. H. 1923.Fossiliferous Limestone atDowling Bay. Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. 54, pp.106–114.
1924
Finlay H. J. 1924.A Chemical Investigation ofPintsch Oil. Trans. N.Z. Inst., Volume 55, 1924,
Finlay H. J. 1924.Three FossilAnnelids new to New Zealand. Trans. N.Z. Inst., Volume 55, 1924,
Finlay H. J. 1924.New shells from New Zealand Tertiary Beds. Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. 55, 1924, pp. 450–479.
Finlay H. J. 1924.New Zealand TertiaryRissoids. Trans. N.Z. Inst. vol 55, 1924, pp. 480–490.
Finlay H. J. 1924.The Molluscan Fauna ofTarget Gully. Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol 55, 1924, pp. 494–516.
Finlay H. J. 1924.Additions to the Recent Molluscan Fauna of New Zealand. Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol 55, 1924, pp. 517–526.
Finlay H. J. 1924.The FamilyLiotiidae, Iredale, in the New Zealand Tertiary: Part 1—The GenusBrookula. Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol 55, 1924, pp. 526–531.
Finlay H. J. & McDowall F. H. 1924.Preliminary Note on theClifden Beds. Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. 55, pp.534–538.
Finlay H. J. 1924.Two New Species ofMagadina. Trans. N.Z. Inst., Volume 55, 1924,
Finlay H. J. 1924.Some necessary changes in Names of New Zealand Mollusca. Proc. Mal. Soc. (Lond.), vol. 16, pt. 2, pp. 99–107.
Finlay H. J. 1924.List of Recorded Relationships between Australian and New Zealand Mollusca. Rep. Austr. Assoc. Adv. Sci., vol. 16, pp. 332–343.
1925
Finlay H. J. 1925Some Modern Conceptions Applied to the Study of the Caenozoic Mollusca of New Zealand. Verbeek Mem. Birthday Vol., pp. 161–172.
1926
Finlay H. J. 1926New Shells from New Zealand Tertiary Beds: Part 2. Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. 56, 1926, pp. 227–258.
Finlay H. J. 1926OnIredalina, new genus: a Volute without plaits. Proc. Mal. Soc. (Lond.), vol. 17, pt. 1, pp. 59–62.
1927
Finlay H. J. 1927.Additions to the Recent Molluscan Fauna of New Zealand.—No. 2. Trans. N.Z. Inst., Volume 57, 1927, pp. 485–487
Finlay H. J. (19 January) 1927.New Specific Names for Austral Mollusca. Trans. N.Z. Inst., Volume 57, 1927, pp. 488–533.
Finlay H. J. (23 December) 1927.A Further Commentary on New Zealand Molluscan Systematics. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 57, 1927,320-485.
1928
Finlay H. J. 1928.The Recent Mollusca of theChatham Islands. Trans. N.Z. Inst., Volume 59, 1928, pp. 232–286
1930
Finlay H. J. (23 August) 1930.Additions to the Recent Molluscan Fauna of New Zealand. No. 3. Trans. N.Z. Inst., Volume 61,222-247. (PDF)
Finlay H. J. 1930.Invalid Molluscan Names. No. 1. Trans. N.Z. Inst., Volume 61, 1930
Finlay H. J. 1930.New Shells from New Zealand Tertiary Beds. Part 3. Trans. N.Z. Inst., Volume 61, 1930, pp. 49–84
Finlay H. J. 1930.Notes on Recent Papers dealing with the Mollusca of New Zealand. Trans. N.Z. Inst., Volume 61, 1930, pp. 248–258
Finlay H. J. 1930.Revision of the New Zealand. Shells Referred toFusinus. Trans. N.Z. Inst., Volume 61, 1930
1931
Finlay H. J. 1931–1932.OnTurbo postulatus Bartrum: Does it indicate a Pliocene Connection with Australia? Trans. N.Z. Inst., Volume 62, 1931–32
Finlay H. J. 1940.New Zealand Foraminifera: Key Species in Stratigraphy. No. 2. Trans. N.Z. Inst., Volume 69, 1940
Finlay H. J. &Marwick J. 1940.The Divisions of the Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary in New Zealand. Trans. Roy. Soc. N.Z., vol. 70, pp.77–135.
1946
Finlay H. J. 1946–1947.The Microfaunas of the Oxford Chalk andEyre River Beds. Trans. N.Z. Inst., Volume 76, 1946–47,
Finlay H. J. 1946–1947.The Foraminiferal Evidence for Tertiary Trans-Tasman Correlation. Trans. N.Z. Inst., Volume 76, 1946–47
1947
Finlay H. J. & Marwick J. 1947.New Divisions of the New Zealand Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary. N.Z. Journ. Sci. Tech., vol. 28, (sec. B), pp. 230–236.
1950
Benson W. N. & Finlay H. J. 1950.A Post-Tertiary Micro-Fauna in a Concretion Containing Cancer novae-zealandiae. Trans. N.Z. Inst., Volume 78, 1950,269-270.
