Person

Robertson, Enid Lucy (1925 - 2016)

AM

Born
20 November 1925
Unley, South Australia, Australia
Died
10 July 2016
Belair, South Australia, Australia
Occupation
Systematic botanist

Summary

Enid Robertson was a systematic botanist whose roles at both the Waite Agricultural Research Institute and the Department of Botany at the University of Adelaide included as curator of their herbaria. Her research ranged from Poaceae and Asteraceae to seagrasses. At the Department of Botany she managed the research infrastructure and an algal culture facility, as well as providing support to Bryan Womersley in his phycological research. She made significant contributions to the revised edition of part 4 of J. M. Black's Flora of South Australia (1965) and wrote the substantial section on seagrasses for Womersley's The marine benthic flora of southern Australia, part 1 (1984). In retirement Robertson focussed on conservation issues affecting the flora of the Mount Lofty Ranges, including the threat of invasive species. She lodged voucher specimens of over 1,200 of these weeds in the State Herbarium of South Australia.

Details

Chronology

1946
Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc), University of Adelaide
1947 - 1953
Career position - Systematic Botanist, Waite Agricultural Research Institute, Adelaide
1953 - 1955
Career position - Senior Research Fellow, Department of Botany, University of Adelaide
1987
Award - Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for service to botany, particularly the conservation and management of native vegetation in South Australia, and to the community
1987
Life event - Retired retired
1992
Award - Australian Natural History Medallion, Field Naturalists Club of Victoria

Related Corporate Bodies

Related People

Published resources

Books

  • Ashby, Alison, Alison Ashby's wildflowers of southern Australia (Adelaide: South Australian Museum Board and Botanic Gardens, 1981), 80 pp. Details

Book Sections

  • Robertson, E. L., 'Botany' in Ideas and Endeavours - The Natural Sciences in South Australia, C. R. Twidale; M. J. Tyler and M. Davies, eds (Adelaide: Royal Society of South Australia, 1986). Details
  • Robertson, Enid, 'Black, John McConnell (1855-1951), botanist' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 7: 1891 - 1939 A-Ch, Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle, eds (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1979), pp. 304-305. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A070310b.htm. Details
  • Robertson, Enid, 'Ashby, Edwin (1861-1941), estate agent and naturalist' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 7: 1891 - 1939 A-Ch, Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle, eds (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1979), pp. 108-109. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A070111b.htm. Details
  • Robertson, Enid, 'Ashby, Alison Marjorie (1901-1987), Botanical Artist and Plant Collector' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 17: 1981 - 1990 A-K, Diane Langmore, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2007), p. 35. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/ashby-alison-marjorie-12151. Details

Journal Articles

  • Robertson, Enid L., 'Hansjörg Eichler 1 April 1916 - 22 June 1992', Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, 15 (81-5) (1993). Details

Resources

Helen Cohn

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