Person
Pennefather, Reginald Richard (1905 - 1957)
- Born
- 4 May 1905
Camberwell, Victoria, Australia - Died
- 2 February 1957
Parkville, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Agricultural scientist
Summary
Reginald Pennefather was an agricultural scientist who worked to find solutions to problems caused by salinity and declining soil fertility. His research into properties of soils in the Murrumbidgee irrigation area, and the infiltration of water through them, led him to formulate principles to guide irrigation techniques. Implementation of these principles prevented irreparable damage to the region's agricultural land. As foundation secretary of the CSIR's irrigation research and extension committee Pennefather was able to advocate for sustainable irrigation practices to the wider agricultural community. His extension work included regular articles published in farmers' magazines and radio broadcasts. He successfully forged closer relationships between farmers, scientists and public servants, narrowing the gap between research and its practical application.
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Details
Chronology
- 1927
- Education - Bachelor of Agricultural Science, University of Melbourne
- c. 1927 - c. 1932
- Career position - Investigating Officer and Surveyor, Prime Ministers Department, Australian Federal Government
- 1932 - 1940
- Career position - Field Research Assistant, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Griffith, New South Wales
- 1940 - 1944
- Career position - Foundation Secretary, Irrigation Research and Extension Committee, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research
- 1944
- Career position - Research Officer-in-Charge, Soils and Irrigation Extension Service, CSIRO
- 1945 - 1951
- Career position - Agricultural Extension Service, Department of Agriculture, New South Wales Government
- 1951 - 1957
- Career position - Officer-in-Charge, Agricultural Research Liaison Section, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Melbourne Victoria
Published resources
Book Sections
- Boardman, N. Keith, 'Pennefather, Reginald Richard (1905-1957), Agricultural Scientist' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 15: 1940 - 1980 Kem-Pie, John Ritchie, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2000), pp. 588-589. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A150687b.htm. Details
Newspaper Articles
- 'Surveyors (Registered under the NSW Surveyors Act, No. 3 of 1929)', Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (1930), 26. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article223072805. Details
- 'Death of C.S.I.R.O. Officer', The Canberra Times (1957), 5. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91234192. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q21537261. Details
- 'Pennefather, Reginald Richard (19050504-19570202)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1470067. Details
Helen Cohn and Elizabeth Daniels
Created: 25 July 2017, Last modified: 3 July 2018