Place And Date Of Birth

Mt. Barker, South Australia, Australia June 15, 1918

Education and qualifications

Tertiary: The University of Adelaide DSc  1965 MSc  1948 BSc  1941 Secondary: Saint Peter's College, Adelaide, 1933-1934 Mt Barker High School, 1931-1932 Primary: Mt Barker Primary School, 1925-1930

Career positions held

1949-1982: Research Scientist, Division of Plant Industry, CSIRO - Canberra 1944-1948: Assistant Chemist, Agricultural Chemistry Section, Waite Institute 1940-1943: Shift Chemist, Nitroglycerine Section, Commonwealth Explosives Factory, Salisbury, South Australia 1935-1940: Laboratory Assistant, Agricultural Chemistry Section, Waite Institute

ASSSI position held

J.A. Prescott Medal (1982) Federal President (1974-1975) ACT Branch President Foundation Member

Video interview

 

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

On leaving school in 1935, I secured a job as laboratory assistant at the Waite Institute. This was as personal assistant to Dr C.S. Piper in Prescott's Agricultural Chemistry Section and a condition of the job was that I undertake part-time tertiary study (mostly at night). Thus the job was essentially an apprenticeship of the highest order and, in retrospect, it is little wonder that I soon developed a career in soil science. Furhtermore, Prescott was also Chief of CSIR Division of Soils, which meant that I came into contact with leading soil scientists including J.T. Marshall, C.G. Stevens, George Hubble and Geoff Downes - it was a great place for a young student.

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

There were, of course, many developments and it is difficult to choose the most significant, but, as a soil chemist, I consider that advances in analytical chemistry were very important factors enabling much of the progress made. Prior to the 1950s, the gathering of chemical data essential to many soil investigations was dependant upon wet chemical analysis (all recorded extremely well by C.S. Piper in his book "Soil and Plant Analysis"). These methods were tedious, very slow and required considerable analytical skill, which made the gathering of chemical data a slow and, at times, difficult process. The post-war development of rapid and precise analytical techniques, such as photoelectric colorimetry, flame photometry, atomic absorption spectroscopy, X-ray analysis and the autoanalyzer provided the means for overcoming most of these difficulties.

What were your main contributions to soil science?

Leadership and Administration: For many years, I was leader (or Section Head) of the Soil Fertility Section in the Division of Plant Industry (CSIRO, Canberra). Indeed, I had the privilege of setting up this section, and, thus, I was responsible for deciding and leading its research program. It ultimately involved nine research scientists and as later amalgamated with the Plant Nutrition Section. I confidently believe that we made a very good team and between us we did some pretty good work. Especially we made substantial contributions to soil science, particularly in the areas of soil nitrogen, sulphur, phosphorous and acidity. All-in-all, I consider that our work was a of a high standard and was good for soil science and Australian agriculture. Research Contributions: As far as my own research is concerned, I find it rather difficult to decide but I think I must nominate my first two projects (residual fertiliser  phosphate and fertility changes in soil under sub clover) as my most important contributions. Both concerned superphosphate, then by far the most important fertiliser used in Australia. Both yielded new and worthwhile information in areas that were largely unknown and poorly understood (some even misunderstood). I like to think that this work yielded knowledge that was of help to fellow agricultural scientists - agronomists and agrostologists - whose expertise lay mainly outside soil science (much more so then than is the case today) by giving them a better understanding of soil fertility processes and, perhaps, in a few cases, clearing up some misconceptions. More importantly, to me personally, these studies continued with me in one way or another throughout much of my research career.