Person
Bratt, Geoffrey (1931 - 1977)
- Born
- 8 January 1931
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia - Died
- 16 October 1977
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Lichenologist and Metallurgist
Summary
Geoffrey Bratt was an metallurgist who for much of his professional career worked for the Electrolytic Zinc Company of Australasia. He worked primarily on physical chemical studies of the purification and electro-deposition stages of zinc production. Research into hydrometallurgical procedures to extract lead from zinc plant residue earned him the Hofmann Prize in 1971. In his leisure time, Bratt became an expert on Tasmanian lichens. He was inspired to study lichens when he met Peter James, Lichenologist at the Natural History Museum in London, both being participants in the British Glaciological Society expedition to Patagonia in the late 1950s. On returning to Tasmania after his PhD studies, Bratt started investigating the local lichen flora, collecting specimens on his many travels to remote parts of the state. He assembled a large herbarium at his home. As Honorary Research Associate in the Department of Botany at the University of Tasmania from 1969 he curated the Tasmanian Lichen Herbarium. Bratt's bushwalking activities were curtailed when he developed kidney failure in 1974. His collection of over 15,000 specimens was bequeathed to the Tasmanian Herbarium.
Details
Chronology
- 1952
- Education - BSc, University of Tasmania
- 1952 - 1955
- Career position - Research Scientist, Electrolytic Zinc Company of Australasia
- 1957 - 1958
- Career position - Member, Imperial College Exploring Society Karakorum Expedition, Mongolia
- 1958 - 1959
- Career position - Member, British Glaciological Society expedition to Patagonia
- 1959
- Career event - Joined the Royal Geographical Society
- 1959
- Career position - Leader, Imperial College Exploration Society expedition to the Peruvian Andes
- 1959
- Education - PhD, Imperial College, London
- 1959 - 1977
- Career position - Research Scientist (later Senior Principle Research Officer), Electrolytic Zinc Company of Australasia
- 1965 - 1977
- Award - Life Member, Royal Society of Tasmania
- 1969 - 1977
- Career position - Honorary Research Associate, Department of Botany, University of Tasmania
- 1971
- Award - Hofmann Prize for extractive metal (shared with R. W. Pickering), International Lead Conference, Hamburg, West Germany
- 1971
- Career position - Member, U.S.N. Eltanin expedition to Kerguelen Island
Related entries
Published resources
Journal Articles
- Ault, A. R. and Bratt, G. C., 'Control of manganese level in an electrolytic zinc plant circuit by anodic deposition of oxide', Proceedings of the Ausatalasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, 254 (1975), 37-45. Details
- Bratt, G. C., 'Lichens of South-west Tasmania, part I: lichens of the Button grass areas', Tasmanian naturalist, 45 (1976), 1-4. Details
- Bratt, G. C., 'Lichens of the Cradle Mountain area', Tasmanian tramp: journal of the Hobart Walking Club, 22 (1976), 111-8. Details
- Bratt, G. C. and Moscal, A. M., 'Towards a flora of Maatsuyker Island, part 1: introduction and vascular plants', Tasmanian naturalist, 51 (1977), 14-8. Details
- Bratt, G. C. and Pickering, R. W., 'Production of lead via ammoniacal ammonium sulphate leaching', Metallurgical transactions, 1 (1970), 2141-9, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02643427. Details
- Bratt, G. C., Blackman, A. J. and Cashin, J. A., 'The genus Anzia in Tasmania', Lichenologist, 8 (1976), 69-77, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0024282976000078. Details
- Filson, R. B., 'Obituary: Geoffrey Charles Bratt 1931 - 1977', Lichenologist, 10 (1978), 101-3, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0024282978000122. Details
See also
- Fagg, Murray, 'Bratt, Geoffrey (1931 - 1977)', Australian Plant Collectors and Illustrators, Council of Heads of Australian Herbaria (CHAH), 2010, https://www.anbg.gov.au/biography/bratt-geoffrey-charles.html. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 23 January 2025