Tate was employed as Assistant Superintendent of the
Surveyor General of India and was deployed to conduct critical surveys in
Afghanistan such as
Baluch-
Afghan Boundary Commission (1895‒96) and
Seistan Arbitration Mission (1903‒5). Tate (along with
J.W. Newland) also conducted surveys in
Hong Kong in 1899 to 1900 and believed to be the namesake of
Tate's Cairn (the hill was renamed sometime after Tate's time in Hong Kong). ==Personal==