Person

Sutton, George Lowe (1872 - 1964)

CMG

Born
23 October 1872
Everton, Lancashire, England
Died
11 January 1964
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Occupation
Agricultural scientist, Public servant and Science administrator

Summary

George Sutton was noted as a successful experimenter in the breeding of wheat varieties. After several years at the Hawkesbury Agricultural college, he was manager of the experimental farm at Corowa, New South Wales. On the death of William Farrer in 1906, Sutton took charge of all wheat-breeding research for the New South Wales Government. In 1911 he became Agricultural Commissioner for Western Australian wheatbelt. Continuing his own experimental work, he emphasised environmental suitability, milling quality, disease resistance and yield. The 'Nabawa' variety was released in 1918 and remained the premier variety until replaced in the 1930s by the variety 'Bencubbin'. Appointed Director of Agriculture for Western Australia in 1921, Sutton was severely hampered by lack of resources. Nevertheless he provided advice to farmers in times of severe drought, converted model farms to experimental ones with the task with supplying commercial quantities of wheat and other crops to farmers, and instituted a program of cadetships for new graduates. His insistence on quality not always appreciated but led in 1927 to a national register of wheat varieties. Watson published extensively in the Agricultural gazette of New South Wales and the Journal of the Department of Agriculture Western Australia. In 1937 he was awarded the Farrer Memorial Medal in recognition of his contribution to the wheat industry in Australia.

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Details

Chronology

1900 - 1905
Career position - Experimentalist (later lecturer in agronomy), Hawkesbury Agricultural College
1905 - 1908
Career position - Manager, experimental farm, Corowa, New South Wales Department of Mines and Agriculture
1908 - 1911
Career position - Manager, experimental farm, Corowa, New South Wales Department of Agriculture
1911 - 1921
Career position - Agricultural Commissioner for Western Australian wheatbelt, Western Australia Department of Agriculture
1919 - 1920
Career position - President, Royal Society of Western Australia
1921 - 1937
Career position - Director of Agriculture, Western Australia Department of Agriculture
1922
Career event - Elected Associate Member (Agriculture), Australian National Research Council
1932
Career event - Elected Member (Agriculture), Australian National Research Council
1937
Career event - Fellow, Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS)
1937
Award - Farrer Memorial Medal, Farrer Memorial Trust
1937
Award - Doctor of Agricutural Science (DAgSc), honoris causa, University of Western Australia
1937
Life event - Retired
1951
Award - Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) - Services to agriculture in Western Australia
1958 - 1964
Award - Life Member, Australian Institute of Agricultural Science

Related Awards

Archival resources

JS Battye Library of West Australian History, State Library of Western Australia

  • George Lowe Sutton - Records, 1902 - 1964, LBWA/1428A; JS Battye Library of West Australian History, State Library of Western Australia. Details

Published resources

Book Sections

Resources

See also

McCarthy, G.J. and Helen Cohn

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 13 February 2024

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