Person

Ratcliffe, Francis Noble (1904 - 1970)

OBE

Born
11 January 1904
Calcutta, India
Died
8 December 1970
Acton, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Occupation
Conservationist, Entomologist, Science administrator and Zoologist

Summary

Francis Ratcliffe was a zoologist and entomologist who was at the forefront of applied ecology and wildlife conservation in Australia. He first came to Australia in 1929 to study flying foxes in Queensland and northern New South Wales for the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). After several years at the University of Aberdeen, He returned to CSIR in 1935 with what amounted to a roving brief to study wind erosion. For over 30 years Ratcliffe's research ranged from termites and weevils to malaria and scrub typhus. With Frank Fenner at the Australian National University he undertook major research on myxomatosis and rabbit control. From 1949 Ratcliffe was Officer-in-Charge of CSIRO's Wildlife Survey Section, and retired in 1969 as Assistant Chief of the Division of Entomology. Ratcliffe was the founding Secretary of the Australian Conservation Foundation. Among his contributions was his insistence on the high scientific quality of the Foundation's publications. In 1963 he was elected President of the Ecological Society of Australia.

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Details

Chronology

1925
Education - BA, University of Oxford
1926
Career position - Visiting Fellow, Princeton University, New Jersey, U.S.A.
1927? - 1929
Career position - Research officer, Empire Marketing Board, United Kingdom
1929 - 1932
Career event - In Australia to study flying foxes Queensland and northern New South Wales foir CSIR
1932 - 1935
Career position - Assistant, Zoology Department, University of Aberdeen
1935 - 1937
Career position - Research officer, CSIR
1937 - 1949
Career position - Senior Research Officer, Division of Economic Entomology, CSIR
May 1942 - August 1942
Military service - Senior Research Officer, Division of Economic Entomology, CSIR
August 1942 - December 1945
Military service - Assistant Director of entomology, Australian Army Medical Corps
1949 - 1961
Career position - Officer-in-Charge, Wildlife Survey Section, CSIRO
1957
Award - Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
1961 - 1969
Career position - Assistant Chief, CSIRO Division of Entomology
1963 - 1964
Career position - President, Ecological Society of Australia
1966 - 1970
Career position - Foundation Member and Honorary Secretary, Australian Conservation Foundation
1968
Award - DSc honoris causa, Australian National University
1969
Life event - Retired

Published resources

Books

  • Fenner, Frank and Ratcliffe, F. N., Myxomatosis (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965), 379 pp. Details
  • Ratcliffe, F. N., The flying fox (Pteropus) in Australia (Melbourne: CSIR, 1931), 81 pp. Details
  • Ratcliffe, F. N., Gay, F. J. and Greaves, T., Australian termites: the biology, recognition, and economic importance of the common species (Melbourne: CSIRO, 1952), 124 pp. Details
  • Ratcliffe, Francis N., Flying Fox and Drifting Sand: the Adventures of a Biologist in Australia (Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1938). Details
  • Ratcliffe, Francis N., The Rabbit Problem: a Survey of Research Needs and Possibilities (Melbourne: CSIRO, 1951). Details
  • Ratcliffe, Francis N., The commercial hunting of kangaroos (Parkville, Vic.: Australian Conservation Foundation, 1970), 10 pp. Details

Book Sections

  • Griffiths, Tom, 'Francis Ratcliffe and changing ecological visions' in Perspectives on wildlife research: celebrating 50 years of CSIRO Wildlife and Ecology, Saunders, Denis, Spratt, David and van Wensveen, Monica, eds (Chipping Norton, N.S.W. & Canberra: Surrey Beatty & Sons with CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, 2002), pp. 132-40. Details
  • Warhurst, John, 'Ratcliffe, Francis Noble (1904-1970), Ecologist and Conservationist' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 16: 1940 - 1980 Pik-Z, John Ritchie and Diane Langmore, eds (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2002), pp. 61-62. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A160070b.htm. Details

Journal Articles

  • 'Obituary: Francis Ratcliffe: the Australian conservation pioneer', Newsletter of the Australian Conservation Foundation, 3 (1) (1971), 4-6. Details
  • Coman, B.J., 'Francis Ratcliffe, Pioneer Conservationist', Quadrant, 42 (1-2) (1998), 20-26. Details
  • Mackerras, I. M., 'Francis Ratcliffe (1904-1970): Obituary', Search, 2 (3) (1971), 74-75. Details
  • Robin, Libby, 'Nature conservation as a national concern: the role of the Australian Academy of Science', Historical records of Australian Science, 10 (1) (1994), 1-24, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9941010001. Details

Resources

Resource Sections

See also

McCarthy, G.J. and Helen Cohn

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 10 October 2024

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