Dakin, William John (John) (1883 - 1950)

Summary

John Dakin was a marine zoologist who, having been the inaugural Professor of Biology at the University of Western Australia for seven years, was for 20 years Professor of Zoology at the University of Sydney. At Sydney he provided for the first time specialised marine biology training for New South Wales students. A principal focus of Dakin's research was on osmotic relations of the body of fluids of aquatic animals. He instituted a series of studies of the plankton on the New South Wales coast. His major work on plankton was lost when the ship carrying the manuscript was sunk in WWII. Dakin's influence in the advancement of science was widely felt. Between 1934 and 1944 he was a popular and influential broadcaster for ABC radio where many of his broadcasts were about science. The establishment of the CSIRO fisheries laboratory at Cronulla owed much to his efforts. His most influential book, Australian seashores (1952) was reprinted 11 times and considered a classic work on Australian marine life. During WWII he was Technical Director of Camouflage for the Commonwealth Department of Home Affairs.

Details

Chronology

1905

Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc), University of Liverpool

1907

Education - Master of Science (MSc), University of Liverpool

1907 - 1910

Award - 1851 Exhibition Science Research Scholarship, studied zoology - Heligoland, Norway and Naples, Italy

1911

Education - Doctor of Science (DSc), University of Liverpool

1911 - 1913

Career position - Lecturer in Zoology, University of Belfast

1913

Life event - Migrated to Australia

1913 - 1915

Career position - President, Royal Society of Western Australia

1913 - 1920

Career position - Inaugural Professor of Biology, University of Western Australia

1920 - 1928

Career position - Professor of Zoology, University of Liverpool

1922 - 1924

Career position - President, Liverpool Biological Society

1924 - 1928

Career position - External Examiner in Zoology, University of London

1928 - 1948

Career position - Professor of Zoology, University of Sydney

1930

Career event - Elected Member (Zoology), Australian National Research Council

1930 - 1931

Career position - President, Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales

1931 - 1950

Award - Life Member, Zoological Society of New South Wales

1934

Award - R. M. Johnston Memorial Medal, Royal Society of Tasmania

1934 - 1935

Career position - President, Linnean Society of New South Wales

1934 - c. 1944

Career position - Radio science broadcaster, Australian Broadcasting Commission

1937

Career event - Fellow, Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS)

1948

Life event - Retired

1948 - 1950

Career position - Emeritus Professor, University of Sydney

1949

Award - Mueller Medal, Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science

1952

Life event - Book published posthumously: Australian seashores : a guide for the beach-lover, the naturalist, the shore fisherman, and the student. With assistance from Isobel Bennett (1909 - 2008) and Elizabeth Pope (1912 - 1993)

Related entries

Archival resources

Wellcome Collection

• Eugenics Society in the University of Western Australia, 1933 - 1937, SA/EUG/E.5; Eugenics Society [SA/EUG]; Wellcome Collection. Details

Published resources

Books

• Dakin, W. J. and Colefax, A. N., The plankton of the Australian coastal waters off New South Wales, vol. 1 (Sydney: Australasian Medical Publishing Company for the University of Sydney, 1940), 215 pp. Details
• Dakin, William J., Great Barrier Reef and some mention of other Australian coral reefs (Melbourne: Australian National Publicity Association, 1950), 135 pp. Details
• Dakin, William J., W. J. Dakin's classic study Australian seashores: guide to the temperate shores for the beach-lover, the naturalist, the shore-fisherman and the student: fully revised and illustrated by Isobel Bennett (North Ryde, N.SW.: Angus & Robertson, 1987), 411 pp. Details
• Dakin, William J.: assisted by Isobel Bennett and Elizabeth Pope, Australian seashores: a guide for the beach-lover, the naturalist, the shore fishermen, and the student (Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1952), 372 pp. Details

Book Sections

• Bygott, Ursula; Cable, K. J., 'Dakin, William John (1883-1950), zoologist' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 8: 1891 - 1939 Cl-Gib, Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle, eds (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1981), pp. 190-191. https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/dakin-william-john-5863. Details

Journal Articles

• Colefax, A. N., 'Obituary: Professor William John Dakin, DSc, FZS', Australian Journal of Science, 12 (6) (1950), 208-209. Details
• Dakin, W. J. and Colefax, A. N., 'The marine plankton of the coastal waters of New South Wales, I: the chief planktonic forms and their seasonal distribution', Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 68 (3/4) (1943), 186-222. Details
• Dakin, William J. and Colefax, Allen [sic] N., 'Observations on the seasonal changes in temperature, salinity, phosphates, and nitrate nitrogen and oxygen in the ocean waters on the continental shelf off New South Wales, and the relationship to plankton production', Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 60 (5/6) (1935), 303-14. Details
• Elias, Ann, 'The ocean in our blood: William Dakin's modern story for ABC radio', Journal of Australian Studies, 37 (4) (2013), 425-37. Details

Resources

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q9374843. Details
• VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/24995809. Details
• 'Dakin, William J (1883-1950)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-459377. Details

See also

• Prince, J. H., The first one hundred years of the Royal Zoological Society of N.S.W. 1879 - 1979 (Sydney: Royal Zoolgical Society of New South Wales, 1979), 81 pp. Details