Person
Wakefield, Norman Arthur (1918 - 1972)
- Born
- 28 November 1918
Romsey, Victoria, Australia - Died
- 23 September 1972
Sherbrooke, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Naturalist and Teacher
Summary
Norman Wakefield was recognised as an authority on the flora of Gippsland. He was a teacher with the Victorian Department of Education for over 30 years, and looked on his postings to remote Gippsland schools as an opportunity to explore inaccessible parts of the region. His particular interest in pteridophytes resulted in the publication of the first comprehensive book on the ferns of southern Australia, The ferns of Victoria and Tasmania (1955). After moving to Melbourne in 1951 his attention shifted more to zoology. His discoveries included identifying a living mountain Pygmy Possum Burramys parvus, previously known only from fossils, and footprints over 355 million years old near the Genoa River, Victoria. Wakefield was an active member of the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria which awarded him the Australian Natural History Medallion in 1962. He deposited most of his plant collections, including the type specimens, in the National Herbarium of Victoria: the balance was donated by his widow.
Details
Chronology
- 1938
- Career position - Member, Field Naturalists Club of Victoria
- 1942 - 1945
- Military service - Second World War. Bombardier, 2nd Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery, Australian Imperial Forces
- 1952 - 1957
- Career position - Editor, Victorian naturalist
- 1956 - 1972
- Award - Honorary Member, Field Naturalists Club of Victoria
- 1958 - 1964
- Career position - Editor, Victorian naturalist
- 1960
- Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc), University of Melbourne
- 1962
- Award - Australian Natural History Medallion, Field Naturalists Club of Victoria
- 1969
- Education - Master of Science (MSc), Monash University
Related entries
Published resources
Book Sections
- Clode, Danielle, 'Wakefield, Norman Arthur (1918-1972), Naturalist' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 16: 1940 - 1980 Pik-Z, John Ritchie and Diane Langmore, eds (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2002), p. 461. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A160553b.htm. Details
Journal Articles
- Aston, H. I., 'The herbarium and plant collections of Norman A. Wakefield (1918-1972)', Muelleria, 4 (1972), 251-63. Details
- Clode, Danielle, 'Popular and Professional Communicators: Edith Coleman and Norman Wakefield', The Victorian naturalist, 122 (2005), 274-81. Details
- Nicholls, John, 'Norman Wakefield', Gippsland Heritage Journal, 2 (1) (1987), 42-5. Details
- Wakefield, N. A., 'Mammals of the Blandowski Expedition to North-Western Victoria, 1856-57', Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, 79 (pt 2) (1966). Details
- Wakefield, N. A., 'Botanical exploration of East Gippsland', Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, 82 (1969), 61-7. Details
- Wakefield, N. A., 'Aspects of Exploration and Settlement of East Gippsland', Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, 82 (1) (1969), 7-25. Details
- Wakefield, N. A., 'Dr. John Lhotsky's Two Excursions Into the Australian Alps', The Victorian naturalist, 92 (11) (1975), 228-243. Details
- Willis, J. H., 'Latest two recipients of the Australian Natural History Medallion', The Victorian naturalist, 81 (6) (1964), 192-3. Details
- Willis, J. H., 'Vale, Norman Arthur Wakefield', The Victorian naturalist, 90 (4) (1973), 103-105. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q7051918. Details
- VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/21877425. Details
- 'Wakefield, N A (19181128-19720923)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-629314. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 26 June 2018, Last modified: 3 July 2018