Born: Millicent, South Australia, August 7th, 1922  Died: Perth, Western Australia, July 23rd, 2007

Education and qualifications

Tertiary: The University of Western Australia 1963: MSc 1951: BSc Honours 1950: Bsc Secondary: 1947: Perth Teaching College (matric) 1938: Millicent High School (Junior) Primary: 1936: Rendalsham Primary School

Career positions held

1972-1982: CSIRO Division of Land Resource Management (Senior Principal Research Scientist) 1964-1972: CSIRO Division of Soils (Principal Research Scientist) 1959-1964: CSIRO Division of Soils (Senior Research Officer) 1952-1958: CSIRO Division of Soils (Research Officer) In 1982, I retired from CSIRO, but continued with soil studies on contract basis. The projects were mainly about land capability studies for mining, agriculture, viticulture, forrestry, defence, urban development and water supply.

ASSSI position held

Honorary Lifetime Membership

 

When did/why did soil science first appeal to you?

As part of my Honours project in Plant Ecology. I studied Soil Science and this sparked my interest in soils. Later, C.G. Stephens visted me and described the work of CSIRO Soil Division to me. I was offered a position in the divsion and began work in February 1952. Geology and Botany (majors) and basic Physics and Chemistry together with Ecology and Soil Science has proven to be a very useful background for soil studies.

What were the most significant developments in soil science during your career?

Recognition that a soil profile may consist of independent sedimentary layers Edaphology - the study of relationships between soil attributes and plant growth Development by Northcote of a simple and effective scheme for clarification of soils in the field. The culmination was the use of this scheme in mapping for the Atlas of Australian Soils (Publ. 1968) Evolution of Land Capability as a major discipline in land management decisions

What were your main contributions to soil science?

Determining principles of soil distribution on the Swan Coastal Plain. In this project with E Bettenay, it was shown that the Plain consisted of superposed layers of fluviatile and aeolian materials and that the soil pattern depended on which layer formed the surface; an age sequence was suggested (CSIRO Soil Publ. 16) . Mapping land forms and soils of Western Australia for the Atlas of Australian Soils (Sheets 5, 6 & 9). In this work, spreas over four years, we (CSIRO Soils Division offices) travelled oer the entire state assembling data on soils, land forms, geology and vegetation.  Mapping land forms and soils of the South Coastal Area of Western Australia. In this area, covered by five adjacent 1:100,000 sheets, there are many resources and the data collected are being used as a basis for management decisions (CSIRO LRM Bulletin 88/i).   Assembling data for reference soils of south western Australia - a bicentennial project (publ. 1991) Environmental study of the railway corridor from the Marandoo mine as a basis for protecting the landscape. Detailed mapping of land forms and soils provided a basis for locating roads and infrastructure, identifying potential hazards (Report to Rio Tinto).