Dadswell, Herbert Eric (1903 - 1964)

Summary

Herbert Dadswell was Chief of the Division of Forest Products at CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation; formerly CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research)) from 1960, having been employed there since 1929. He was a pioneer in the field of wood anatomy and Australia's foremost expert in eucalypt anatomy.

Details

Throughout his career, Dadswell collected an impressive array of specimens. Today this collection is part of the H E Dadswell Memorial Wood Collection which is maintained by the CSIRO. It is the second largest collection of its type in the world, comprising of samples from 13 000 tree species which encompasses around 270 botanical families - from Acanthaceae to Zygophyllaceae. About 70% of the species represented are from Australia, South East Asia and the Pacific, making the collection probably the world's most comprehensive for our region.

Herbert Dadswell lectured widely in the United States of America, was associated with many international organizations, was a foundation member of the Australian (and New Zealand) Pulp and Paper Industry Technical Association and a long-term Fellow and office-bearer of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute.

The University of Melbourne holds some of his records. A sub-set of approximately 230 wood samples from the Dadswell Memorial Wood Collection was donated to the University of Melbourne Creswick Campus Library in 2012.

Chronology

1925

Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc) completed at the University of Sydney

1926

Award - Overseas research scholarship received from the CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research)

1926 - 1929

Career position - Research student at the Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, USA

1927

Education - Master of Science (MSc) completed at the University of Sydney

1929 - 1930

Career position - Researcher at the CSIR Division of Forest Products at the Australian Forestry School in Canberra

1930 - 1960

Career position - Researcher then Office- in-Charge of wood structure research at the CSIR Division of Forest Products in Melbourne

1931 - 1944

Career position - Associate of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute

1941

Education - Doctor of Science (DSc) received from the University of Melbourne

1943 - 1945

Career position - Honorary General Secretary, Australian Chemical Institute

1944 - 1953

Award - Fellow, Australian Chemical Institute (FRACI)

1947 - 1956

Career position - Secretary and Treasurer of the International Association of Wood Anatomists

1949

Career position - President of the Australian Pulp and Paper Industry Technology Association (APPITA)

1953

Award - Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal received

1954 - 1960

Career position - Assistant Chief of the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) Division of Forest Products

1955

Career position - Walker-Ames Professor of Forestry at the University of Washington, USA

1960 - 1964

Career position - Chief of the CSIRO Division of Forest Products

1961 - 1962

Career position - President, Royal Australian Chemical Institute

1961 - 1964?

Career position - RACI representative on the council of the National Association of Testing Authorities

Related entries

Published resources

Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Exhibitions

• McCarthy, Gavan; Smith, Ailie; Moje, Christine; Rigby, Rebecca, The Study of Australian Eucalypts, eScholarship Research Centre, 2013, http://www.eoas.info/eucalypts/index.html. Details

Book Sections

• Carron, L.T., 'Dadswell, Herbert Eric (1903-1964), Wood Scientist' in Australian Dictionary of Biography, John Ritchie, ed., vol. 13 (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1993), pp. 559-560. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A130618b.htm. Details

Journal Articles

• 'Obituary: Herbert Eric Dadswell', Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, 32 (7) (1965), 159. Details
• 'Obituary: Herbert Eric Dadswell', Australian Forestry, 29 (1) (1965), 3. Details
• Day, M.F.C. et al., 'The Biological Collections in CSIRO: a National Heritage', Historical Records of Australian Science, 15 (1) (2004), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR04002. Details

Resources

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q24228578. Details
• VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/272835375. Details
• 'Dadswell, H E (19030305-19641219)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-571496. Details

Teaching resources

• Dadswell, Herbert Eric, Dadswell Memorial Wood Collection (2011). http://www.pi.csiro.au/aus_biological_collections/other.html. Details