Sinkora, Doris Martha (1927 - 2017)

Summary

Doris Sinkora was for 24 years a Technical Assistant at the National Herbarium of Victoria, a designation which does not reflect her expertise as a phycologist. Appointed to undertake general curation duties, she soon developed an interest in algae that saw her become curator of those collections. In addition to establishing an index of synonyms and types, she became adept at interpreting herbarium labels and uncovering documents in, and connections with, other herbaria. Her skill in this area was readily acknowledged by the many phycologists with whom she corresponded. Vacations spent on the Victorian south coast near Walkerville resulted in over 2500 algal specimens being lodged in the Herbarium. Sinkora was the major contributor to the compilation of a bibliography of the publications of Ferdinand von Mueller. Her skills at transliterating and translating letters in 19th century scripts were of particular value for the Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller Project, an international enterprise of which she was an Editor. In retirement she continued to work on this Project, as well as breeding begonias, African violets, orchids and cacti. The algal genus Sinkoraena was named in her honour.

Details

Chronology

1968 - 1974

Career position - Technical Assistant, National Herbarium of Victoria

1974 - 1986

Career position - Technical Assistant Grade 1, National Herbarium of Victoria

1986 - 1992

Career position - Technical Assistant Grade 2, National Herbarium of Victoria

2000 - 2003

Career position - Honorary Research Associate, National Herbarium of Victoria

Related entries

Published resources

Book Sections

• Sinkora, D. M., 'Mueller bibliography, [2nd ed.]' in Regardfully yours: selected correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, volume I: 1840-1859, Home, R. W., Lucas, A.M., Maroske, Sara, Sinkora, D.M. and Voigt, J.H., eds (Bern: Peter Lang, 1998), pp. 565-685. Details

Edited Books

• Home, R. W.; Lucas, A. M.; Maroske, Sara, Sinkora, D. M.; and Voigt, J. H. eds, Regardfully Yours: Selected Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, Volume 2, 1860-1875, vol. 2 (Bern: Peter Lang, 2002), 865 pp. Details
• Home, R. W.; Lucas, A.M.; Maroske, Sara, Sinkora, D.M.; and Voigt, J.H. eds, Regardfully Yours: Selected Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, Volume 1, 1840-1859, vol. 1 (Berne: Peter Lang Verlag, 1998), 850 pp. Details
• Home, R. W.; Lucas, A.M.; Maroske, Sara, Sinkora, D.M.; Voigt, J.H.; and Wells, M. eds, Regardfully Yours: Selected Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, Volume 3, 1876-1896, vol. 3 (Bern: Peter Lang, 2006), 909 pp. Details

Journal Articles

• Churchill, D. M.; Muir, T. M.; Sinkora, D. M., 'The Published Works of Ferdinand J. H. Mueller (1825-1896)', Muelleria, 4 (1) (1978), 1-120. Details
• Churchill, D. M.; Muir, T. M.; Sinkora, D. M., 'The Published Works of Ferdinand J. H. Mueller (1825-1896), Supplement', Muelleria, 5 (4) (1984), 229-248. Details
• Maroske, S.; Sinkora, D.; and Cohn, Helen M., 'Ferdinand von Mueller's library', Botanic magazine, 4 (1992), 17-23. Details
• Maroske, Sara, 'Doris Martha Sinkora (1927 - 2017) - herbarium curator, phycologist, historian of botany', Australasian Systematic Botany Society Newsletter, 174 (2018), 33-6. Details
• May, T. W.; Maroske, S.; and Sinkora, D. M., ''The mycologist, the Baron, his fungi hunters and the mystery artist', Botanic magazine, 6 (1995), 36-9. Details
• Parnell, John A. N.; Womersley, H. Bryan S.; Sinkora, Doris, Vaughan, Alison and Huisman, John M., 'W. H. Harvey's Australian Travelling Set of Algae in the Herbarium of Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and the National Herbarium of Victoria (MEL), Australia', Biology and Environment: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 110B (2) (2010), 119-61. Details
• Short, P. S.; and Sinkora, D. M., 'The Botanist Joachim Steetz (1804-1862)', Muelleria, 6 (1988), 449-494. Details
• Sinkora, Doris, 'The phycological collections of the National Herbarium of Victoria', Australasian Systematic Botany Society Newsletter, 174 (2018), 10-2. Details
• Voigt, Johannes H and Sinkora, Doris M., 'Ferdinand (von) Müller in Schleswig-Holstein, or The Making of a Scientist and of a Migrant', Historical Records of Australian Science, 11 (1) (1996), 13-33. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9961110013. Details
• Womersley, H. B. S.; and Sinkora, D. M., 'Ferdinand Mueller's earliest Australian plant collections', Australian Systematic Botany Society Newsletter, 53 (1987), 11-4. Details

Newspaper Articles

• Maroske, Sara, 'Doris Sinkora 1927-2017: war survivor found new life in plants', The Age (2018). http://www.theage.com.au/comment/obituaries/war-survivor-found-new-life-in-plants-20180112-h0h7cj.html. Details