Badman, Francis John (Frank) (1943 - 2015)

Summary

Frank Badman was renowned for his encyclopaedic knowledge of the flora and avifauna of northern South Australia. During his early career working in outback South Australia he made accurate field records for every bird he spotted, including notes on habitat and abundance during periods of flood. His work around Lake Eyre provided a sound basis for future ornithological work in the region. Major studies in which he was involved included population size of arid zone birds as affected by bores and the Great Victoria Desert Survey of 1983. Between 1978 and 2007 he made more than 12,000 plant collections for the State Herbarium of South Australia, with notes on distribution, biology and palatability. Frank Badham Memorial Herbarium, the basis of which is the Olympic Dam herbarium assembled by Badham, is at Arid Recovery, a joint conservation venture between BHP, the University of Adelaide and the South Australian Department For Environment, Water and Natural Resources. During his fieldwork Badman was frequently in company with staff from the South Australian Museum and the Herbarium. His wife Evan was his invaluable companion in the field.

Details

Chronology

1960

Life event - Migrated with family to New South Wales

1976 - 1985

Career position - Trucking contractor for South Australian Highways Department

August 1980 - September 1980

Career event - In field with Andrew Barton, Nature Conservation Society Great Victoria Desert survey

April 1985 - May 1985

Career event - In field with Andrew Barton at Dalhousie Springs, Simpson Desert, Warburton River, lower Cooper Creek

1988 - 1999

Career position - Botanist, Western Mining Corporation at Olympic Dam Project at Roxby Downs

1995

Education - MSc, University of Adelaide

1999

Career event - Established environmental consultancy, Badman Environmental

2002

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

Related entries

Published resources

Books

• Badman, F., Plants of the Marla-Oodnadatta soil conservation district ( Port Augusta, S.A.: Marla-Oodnadatta Soil Conservation Board; Primary Industries (South Australia), 1995), 232 pp. Details
• Badman, F. J., The Lake Eyre South study: vegetation (Adelaide: Royal Geographical Society of South Australia, 1999), 238 pp. Details
• Read, J. L. and Badman, F. J., The birds of the Lake Eyre South region (Adelaide: Royal Geographical Society of South Australia, 1999), 82 pp. Details

Journal Articles

• Badman, F. J., 'Birds of the southern and western Lake Eyre drainage', South Australian ornithologist, 28 (2-3) (1979), 29-81, https://resources.birdssa.au/images/saopdfs/Volume28/1979V28P029.pdf. Details
• Badman, F. J., 'Birds of the Willouran Range and adjacent plains', South Australian ornithologist, 28 (6) (1981), 141-53, https://resources.birdssa.au/images/saopdfs/Volume28/1981V28P141.pdf. Details
• Barker, W. R. [and others], 'Frank Badman, outback scientist, 29 June 1943 - 26 September 2015', Australasian Systematic Botany Society Newsletter, 166 (2016), 24-31. Details
• Black, Andrew and Horton, Philippa, 'Obituary: Francis John (Frank) Badman 29 June 1943 to 26 September 2015', South Australian ornithologist, 42 (1) (2016), 31-5. Details
• Read, J. L. and Badman, F. J., 'Reptile densities in chenopod shrubland at Olympic Dam, South Australia.', Herpetofauna, 20 (1990), 3-7. Details

Resources

• 'Badman, Francis (19430629-20150926)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1772637. Details

Theses

• Badman, F. J., ' A comparison of the effects of grazing and mining on vegetation of selected parts of northern South Australia', PhD thesis, University of Adelaide, 2002. Details

See also

• Fagg, Murray, 'Badman, Francis John (Frank) (1943 - 2015)', Australian Plant Collectors and Illustrators, Council of Heads of Australian Herbaria (CHAH), 2010, https://anbg.gov.au/biography/badman-frank.html. Details