Turner, John Stewart (1908 - 1991)

Summary

John Turner was botanist and plant physiologist who in 1938 was appointed Professor of Botany at the University of Melbourne. On arrival in Melbourne he found a Department focussed mainly on plant physiology. At the time of his retirement the greatly-expanded Department of Botany taught a much wider range of subjects. He continued his research in plant respiration and photosynthesis, but also initiated ecological projects. These ranged from an investigation of soil erosion in the Hume catchment to vegetation surveys on the Bogong High Plains (both led by Maisie Fawcett), and included studies for Victorian government agencies such as the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works and the State Electricity Commission. During World War II Turner was in charge of a team at the University of Melbourne working on tropic proofing optical instruments using a fungicide. He also helped to instigate a new science degree in forestry. Turner's interests and influence extended beyond the University. He became a leader in the conservation movement in Victoria. He was a foundation member of both the Victorian National Parks Association (VNPA) and the Australian Conservation Foundation. His work in association with the VNPA was critical in the early work of Victoria's Land Conservation Council; Turner was a foundation member of the Council from 1971 to 1978. He was heavily involved in teaching of science in secondary schools as the first President of the Science Teachers' Association of Victoria and chairman for 25 years of the Schools Board General Science Standing Committee. He chaired the Australian Academy of Science Committee on Biological Education. The Committee published Biological science: the web of life (1967), resulting in a radical change in the way biology was taught in Australia. Turner was a talented artist, using the medium of scraperboard. He is commemorated by John S. Turner Postgraduate Scholarship, Department of Botany, University of Melbourne.

Details

Chronology

1934

Education - Master of Arts (MA), Uninversity of Cambridge

1934 - 1935

Career position - Demonstrator, Botany School, University of Cambridge

1935

Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Cambridge

1936 - 1938

Career position - Senior Demonstrator, Botany School, University of Cambridge

1938 - 1939

Career event - Leader, excursion to Sunday Island, Corner Inlet, Victoria, McCoy Society for Research and Investigation

1938 - 1973

Career position - Professor of Botany and Plant Physiology, School of Botany, University of Melbourne

1951 - 1952

Career position - President, Royal Society of Victoria

1952

Career position - Foundation Member, Australian Society of Plant Physiologists

1952 - 1973

Career position - Chairman, Maud M. Gibson Trust

1956 - 1991

Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science (FAA)

1960

Career position - Foundation Chairman, Landscape Classification Committeel, National Trust of Australia (Victoria)

1962

Career position - President, Australian Society of Plant Physiologists

1962

Career position - President, Wallaby Club

1963 - 1973

Career position - Chairman, Board of Management, Melbourne University Press

1965 - 1974

Career position - Chairman, Committee on Biological Education, Australian Academy of Science

1966 - 1973

Career position - Foundation member, Australian Conservation Foundation

1971 - 1978

Career position - Foundation member, Land Conservation Council of Victoria

1974

Award - Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) - Botany

1987

Award - Doctor of Laws (LLD), honoris causa, University of Melbourne

Related entries

Archival resources

Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science

• John Stewart Turner - Records, 1977 - 1988, MS 114; Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science. Details

The University of Melbourne Archives

• John Stewart Turner - Records, 1925 - 1973, 1991.0118; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details

Published resources

Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Exhibitions

• Exhibition Papers, A Bright Sparcs Exhibition, Australian Science Archives Project, 1997, http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/exhib/papers/exhib_papers.htm. Details
• Smith, Ailie, Adolph Basser Library Manuscript Collection, eScholarship Research Centre, 2012, http://www.eoas.info/basser_browse.html. Details

Books

• Carey, Jane, Taking to the field: a history of Australian women in science (Clayton, Vic.: Monash University Press, 2023), 297 pp. Details
• Turner, J. S.; McLennan, Ethel I.; and Rogers, J. S., The tropic proofing of optical instruments (Melbourne: Ministry of Munitions, Ordnance Production Directorate, Scientific Instruments and Optical Panel, 1947), 80 pp. Details

Book Sections

• Gillbank, Linden, 'Turner, John Stewart (1908-1991), botanist, educationist, and conservationist' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 19: 1991 - 1995 A-Z, Melanie Nolan, ed. (Canberra: Australian National University Press, 2021), pp. 845-846, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/turner-john-stewart-16750. Details
• Turner, J. S., 'The development of plant physiology in Australia' in Plants and man in Australia, Carr, D. J. and Carr, S. G. M., eds (Sydney: Academic Press, 1981), pp. 10-34. Details

Edited Books

• Clifford, Harold T. ed., Cambridge - Castlemaine: a Tribute to John Stewart Turner on the Occasion of his 80th Birthday (St Lucia: Botany Department, University of Queensland, 1988), 71 pp. Details

Journal Articles

• Anon, 'Professor John Turner: first President of the Science Teachers' Association of Victoria (obituary)', LabTalk, 6 (1) (1992), 3-5. Details
• Ashton, D. H.; Ducker, S. C., 'John Stewart Turner 1908-1991', Historical Records of Australian Science, 9 (3) (1993), 278-290. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9930930278. Details
• Gillbank, Linden, 'The University of Melbourne Herbarium, from McCoy to MELU: a broken paper-trail', University of Melbourne Collections, 1 (2007), 20-8. Details
• Gillbank, Linden, 'Professor John Turner and Victoria's first conservation survey', Park watch (2009), 20-2, https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3012241940. Details
• Robin, Libby, 'The Professor and the journalist: Crosbie Morrison and John Turner, scientists in popular conservation campaigns', Victorian Historical Journal, 65 (1994), 154-68. Details
• Rowan, Kingsley, S.; and Ashton, David H., 'John Stewart Turner', Australian journal of botany, 47 (4) (1999), iii-iv. Details
• Turner, J.S., 'The Development of Plant Physiology in Australia', Records of the Australian Academy of Science, 3 (4) (1977), 27-46. http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/HR9770340027.htm. Details

Resources

• VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/4621150749009816420007. Details
• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q21535792. Details
• 'Turner, J S (19080909-19910509)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-995588. Details
• 'Awarded honorary LLD, 1987', Honorary degree holders, University of Melbourne, 2023, https://about.unimelb.edu.au/notable-alumni-staff/honorary-degree-holders. Details

Resource Sections

• 'Turner, John Stewart - Ms 114', in Listing of Adolph Basser Library holdings, Australian Academy of Science, 1994, http://www.science.org.au/basser/manuscript-collection/ms114.html. Details
• Ashton, David H.; and Ducker, Sophie C., 'John Stewart Turner 1908-1991', in Australian Academy of Science Biographical Memoirs, Australian Academy of Science, 2006, https://www.science.org.au/fellowship/fellows/biographical-memoirs/john-stewart-turner-1908-1991. Details