Person

Fenner, Charles Albert Edward (1884 - 1955)

Born
18 May 1884
Dunach, Victoria, Australia
Died
9 June 1955
Rose Park, South Australia, Australia
Occupation
Science educator and Geographer

Summary

Charles Fenner qualified as a teacher and taught geography, including at the Ballarat School of Mines where he was joint Principal, before becoming Superintendent of Technical Education for South Australia in 1916. His distinguished career in this position continued after he became South Australian Director of Education in 1937. His appointment as part-time Lecturer in geography at the University of Adelaide in 1929 ultimately led to the establishment of a course in geography at the University. Fenner's research interests lay in geomorphology and australites, on which he became an acknowledged expert. He published widely on these subjects, as well as making frequent contributions to newspapers. For 20 years, under the pen-name Tellurian, he wrote the "Science notes" for the Melbourne newspaper, the Australasian. Fenner was active in local scientific societies, serving terms as President of the Royal Society of South Australia and the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia, South Australian Branch.

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Details

Chronology

1913
Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc(Hons)), Melbourne Teachers' College
1913
Education - Diploma of Education (DipEd), Melbourne Teachers' College
1914 - 1916
Career position - Joint Principal, Ballarat School of Mines
1916 - 1937
Career position - Superintendent of Technical Education, South Australia
1917
Education - Doctor od Science (DSc), University of Melbourne
1919
Award - Sachse Medal, Royal Society of Victoria
1923 - 1932
Career event - Elected Associate Member (Geography), Australian National Research Council
1924 - 1933
Career position - Member of Council, Royal Society of South Australia
1928
Career position - President, Section P (Geography and Oceanography), Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science
1929
Award - David Syme Research Prize, University of Melbourne
1929
Award - Grant for the preparation of a paper dealing with the physiography of the Murray River valley, Science and Industry Endowment Fund
1929 - 1939
Career position - Lecturer in geography, University of Adelaide
1930 - 1931
Career position - President, Royal Society of South Australia
1931
Career position - Delegate of Australian geographers, British Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting, London
1931 - 1932
Career position - President, South Australian Branch, Royal Geographical Society of Australasia
1932 - c. 1954
Career event - Elected Member (Geography), Australian National Research Council
1933 - 1938
Career position - Editor, Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia
1937
Career event - Fellow, Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS)
1937 - 1946
Career position - Director of Education, South Australia
1947
Award - John Lewis Gold Medal, Royal Geographical Society of Australasia, South Australian Branch

Related Corporate Bodies

Archival resources

Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science

  • Charles Fenner - Records, c. 1890 - c. 1985, MS 178; Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science. Details

State Records of South Australia

  • Charles Albert Edward Fenner - Records, 1926 - 1929, 909, 1926...; State Records of South Australia. Details

Published resources

Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Exhibitions

Books

Book Sections

  • Trethewey, Lynne, 'Fenner, Charles Albert Edward (1884-1955), educationist, geographer and author' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 8: 1891 - 1939 Cl-Gib, Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle, eds (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1981), pp. 481-482. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A080507b.htm. Details

Journal Articles

  • Twidale, C. Rowland, 'Charles Fenner and Early Landform Studies in South Australia', Historical Records of Australian Science, 21 (2) (2010), 149-63, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR10001. Details

Resources

Resource Sections

See also

  • Smith, Susan and Spurling, Thomas H., 'The Science and Industry Endowment Fund: supporting the development of Australian science', Historical Records of Australian Science, 26 (1) (2015), 58-83, https://doi.org/10.1071/HR14027. Details

Gavan McCarthy [P004098] and Helen Cohn

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 6 October 2023

EOAS ID: biogs/P001062b.htm

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