M Agr Sc Dip Ag FNZIAS CBE
Date of birth
8 May 1900 at Winchester
Died
9 August 1985 at Christchurch
Education
- Winchester Primary School
- Timaru Boys’ High School
- Lincoln College (Dip Ag Sc) 1920
- Canterbury University (B Ag Sc) 1923
- Otago University (M Ag Sc) 1929
Married
Isobel Murray (daughter of Alexander Aitken) August 1925
Children
Two sons and one daughter
Career
- Instructor in Agriculture, Auckland Education Board 1923-27
- Agricultural Teacher, Timaru Boys’ High School 1927-28
- Lecturer in Nature Study and Agriculture, Dunedin Teachers College 1928-32 and at Christchurch Teachers’ College 1933-44
- Senior Lecturer in rural education at Canterbury Agricultural College (now Lincoln University) 1944-49
- Associate Professor 1949-60
- Foundation Director Tussock Grasslands and Mountain Lands Institute 1961-65
- Member Board of Governors Lincoln College 1943
Community service
- Foundation member Royal New Zealand Forest and Bird Society – lectured widely
- Foundation member North Canterbury Catchment Board 1944-56, 1959-60, 1965-71
- Member Riccarton Bush Board 1948-57
- Arthurs Pass National Park Board 1948-67
- National Parks Authority 1953-68 and surveyed and catalogued 960 scenic reserves from 1965-72
- In 1956 invited to help set up faculty of agriculture at new university in Indonesia (Colombo Plan)
- Canterbury Progress League (Chairman of Conservation Committee for some years)
- NZ Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Council 1952-57
- Fellow of the NZ Institute of Agricultural Science 1968
Honours
- In 1939 Carnegie Travelling Scholarship to study rural education and soil conservation in Canada, USA and Great Britain
- Canterbury Agricultural College’s Bledisloe Medal for contribution to farming (1944) – the highest award granted to former students for outstanding contributions to New Zealand in the broad agricultural area
- Awarded Loder Cup by Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture (NZ) 1951
- Associate of Honour of Royal NZ Institute of Horticulture (NZ) 1954
- Honorary Doctorate of Science from Lincoln College 1978
- Commander of the British Empire 1969
- Sir Peter Scott Award for Conservation Merit 1984
- Life membership of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources 1981
Publications
After retirement in 1965, wrote four books, including:
- “Molesworth” the rehabilitation of Molesworth Station 1969
- “Hold this Land” - a history of soil conservation in New Zealand 1973
- “Colourful New Zealand” 1974
Last updated: 16 Sep 2021