Fuller, Mary Ellen (1905 - 1938)

Summary

Mary Fuller, an entomologist with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research 1929-1938, published in 1934, The Insect Inhabitants of Carrion: a study in Animal Ecology as Volume 82 of the CSIR Bulletin. She was a key member of Blowfly Research Investigation team. Her death, by suicide in 1938, was a tragedy that reverberated within CSIR and the wider community.

For a list of works produced as a result of employment by CSIRO or its predecessors go the CSIRO Research Publications Repository (1917-) and search or browse by name. For newspaper articles check TROVE Newspapers & Gazettes (1903-Present less 70 years) and search by name.

Details

From Collis "Field of Discovery" page 497, note 8:
"Many women with professional qualifications, especially within the CSIR were mindful of the case of Mary Fuller, a highly respected and widely published researcher with the Division of Entomology (sic). In 1937 she had secretly married, but was found out some months later. Despite pleas by the CSIR Executive for her retention, the office of the Prime Minister, Joseph Lyons, ordered her dismissal under the Public Service Act. Two days after being told her employment was to be terminated she committed suicide."

"Daily Mercury (Mackay, Queensland) Wednesday 9 November 1938, page 2 (Trove):
" Entomologist's suicide. . . "Edgar Harold Kipps, husband of the dead woman, said that they had taken up residence at Deewhy, following the birth of a baby. At the beginning of September he left for West Australia. His wife was then in good health. He was advised of her death in West Australia. He had been told that she worried about her position. He had learned, too, that she thought the baby was in poor health. Her concern in both instances was quite unnecessary. The Coroner (says the 'Herald') said that it was hard to find a reason for some of these happenings."

For information on CSIR/O career positions and research work see CSIROpedia CSIRO (and predecessor) Annual Reports 1916 - 2000.

Chronology

1925

Award - Public Exhibition, University of Sydney. Awarded on results of NSW Leaving Certificate Examination, November 1924

1925 - 1928

Education - Undergraduate, University of Sydney, Faculty of Science with subjects including botany, entomology and chemistry

1927

Award - G.S. Caird Scholarship for Botany III, Faculty of Science University of Sydney enabling her to proceed to fourth year honours

1929

Education - Graduated BSc, University of Sydney

March 1929 - 1930

Career position - Appointed Assistant Entomologist, in blowfly research, CSIR Division of Economic Entomology

2 October 1929

Operational event - CSIR Eleventh Monthly Conference of Senior Officers, note from male staff of the Division of Economic Entomology detailing four points why women should not be appointed to scientific positions. Attendees: R.J. Tillyard, G.F. Hill, I.M Mackerras, G.A. Waterhouse, G.A. Currie, A.L. Tonnoir

1930 - 1933

Career position - Junior Entomologist, CSIR Division of Economic Entomology

1931

Publication - Fuller, ME. The larvae of the Australian sheep blowflies. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of NSW. 1932; 57:77-91. http://hdl.handle.net/102.100.100/339961?index=1

1932

Publication - Fuller, ME. The blowfly problem - notes on the effect of carcass burial. Journal of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. 1932; 5:162-164. http://hdl.handle.net/102.100.100/339964?index=1

1932

Publication - Fuller, ME. The larvae of the Australian sheep blowflies. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of NSW. 1932; 57:77-91. http://hdl.handle.net/102.100.100/339961?index=1

1933

Publication - Fuller, ME. The life history of Onesia accepta Malloch (Diptera, Calliphoridae). Parasitology. 1933; 25:342-52. http://hdl.handle.net/102.100.100/339881?index=1

1934

Publication - Fuller, ME. The insect habitants of carrion:a study in animal ecology. Bulletin (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (Australia)). 1934; 82:1-62. http://hdl.handle.net/102.100.100/339735?index=1

1934

Publication - Fuller, ME. Observations on the flies responsible for striking sheep in Western Australia. Journal of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. 1934; 7:150-2.http://hdl.handle.net/102.100.100/339729?index=1

1934

Publication - Fuller, ME. The early stages of Sciadocera rufomaculata White (Dipt.:Phoridae). Proceedings of the Linnean Society of NSW. 1934; 59:9-15. http://hdl.handle.net/102.100.100/339728?index=1

1934

Publication - Fuller, ME. Sheep blowfly investigations. Some field tests of baits treated with sodium sulphide. Journal of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. 1934; 7:147-9. http://hdl.handle.net/102.100.100/339733?index=1

1934 - 1936

Career position - Assistant Entomologist, CSIR Division of Economic Entomology

1936

Publication - Mackerras, IM; Fuller, ME; Austin, KM; Lefroy, EHB. Sheep blowfly investigations. The effect of trapping on the incidence of strike in sheep. Journal of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. 1936; 9(3):153-162.http://hdl.handle.net/102.100.100/339617?index=1

1936

Publication - Fuller, ME. Notes on the biology of Scaptia auriflua Don. (Diptera,Tabanidae). Proceedings of the Linnean Society of NSW. 1936; 61:1-9. http://hdl.handle.net/102.100.100/339616?index=1

1937

Publication - Fuller, ME. Notes on the biology of Tabanus froggatti, T. gentilis and T. neobasalis (Diptera). Proceedings of the Linnean Society of NSW. 1937; 62:217-29. http://hdl.handle.net/102.100.100/339554?index=1

1937

Publication - Mackerras, IM; Fuller, ME. A survey of the Australian sheep blowflies. Journal of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. 1937; 10:261-70. http://hdl.handle.net/102.100.100/339545?index=1

1937 - 1938

Career position - Assistant Research Officer, CSIR Division of Economic Entomology

20 November 1937

Life event - Married Edgar Harold Kipps - undisclosed to CSIR

1938

Publication - Fuller, ME. Notes on Trichopsidea oestracea (Nemestrinidae) and Cyrtomorpha flaviscutellaris (Bombyliidae) - two dipterous enemies of grasshoppers. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of NSW. 1938; 63:95-104. http://hdl.handle.net/102.100.100/339470?index=1

1938

Publication - Fuller, ME. On the biology and early stages of Helicobia australis (sacrophaginae), a dipterous insect associated with grasshoppers. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of NSW. 1938; 63:133-8. http://hdl.handle.net/102.100.100/339468?index=1

April 1938

Career event - Takes leave six months leave for family reasons

22 June 1938

Life event - Birth of daughter, Lucille Ellen Kipps (1938-1987) - undisclosed to CSIR

August 1938

Career event - CSIR becomes aware that the reason for her leave of absence was that she had married and had a child.

September 1938

Career event - "The Council consulted with the Minister, and the Minister's response in mid September 1938 was to inform the Council that her position should be advertised. The Council Executive observed that although she came highly recommended by Dr Mackerras, she should not have withheld the fact of her marriage from the Council. The next piece of correspondence was a telegram from Dr Mackerras stating that Mary Fuller had died." [Alvarez, A.J. Thesis (1993) page 28]

29 September 1938

Event - Death notice The Sydney Morning Herald Thursday 29 September 1938 page 10: "KIPPS.-September 25, 1938, at her residence, Deewhy, Mary Ellen, beloved wife of E. G. Kipps and loving mother of Lucille and loving daughter of Elizabeth and the late James Fuller, and sister of Angela. Aged 31 years. R.I.P."

14 October 1938

Operational event - CSIR Executive Committee Minutes item 3 "Deceased. Mrs Kipps (nee Mary Fuller) - died 25.9.38"

9 November 1938

Event - Newspaper report of Coroner's verdict Daily Mercury (Mackay, Queesland) Wednesday, page 2: "A verdict of suicide by poison followed an inquiry by the Sydney Coroner, Mr. Oram, into the death at Dee-why on September 24 of Mrs. Mary Ellen Kipps (32), an entomologist, employed for the past nine years by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research."

22 November 1938

Operational event - CSIR Executive Committee Minutes item 1 noted that "the position rendered vacant by the death of Mrs Kipps had been referred to Dr Mackerras who had sent a reply stating that he did not desire to proceed immediately to fill the position."

13 December 1938

Operational event - CSIR Executive Committee Minutes item 8 (iii) Sheep Blowfly Investigations - Temporary Assistant Research Officer. Dr Mackerras "had now heard from Mr D.A. Gill that a recent graduate of the Unviersity of Sydeny (mr K.L. Taylor) seemed to be an appropriate appointee."

1942

Publication - Mackerras, IM; Fuller, ME. The genus Pelecorhynchus (Diptera, Tabanoidea). Proceedings of the Linnean Society of NSW. 1942; 67:9-76. http://hdl.handle.net/102.100.100/339143?index=1

1946

Publication - Waterhouse, DF; Fuller, ME. The use of borax for the prevention of fly breeding in trap baits. Journal of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. 1946; 19:321-329. http://hdl.handle.net/102.100.100/338756?index=1

Related entries

Archival resources

CSIRO Archives, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

• Eleventh Monthly Conference of Senior Officers. October 1st and 2nd, 1929 - Minute of Meeting, 2 October 1929, Copy (pdf) held by the Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation; Division of Economic Entomology, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research; Tillyard, Robin John (1881 - 1937); CSIRO Archives, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. Details
• Personal History File: Miss Fuller, 1929 - 1938, CSA Series 3 File PH/FUL/1; Council for Scientific and Industrial Research; CSIRO Archives, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. Details

Published resources

Books

• Carey, Jane, Taking to the field: a history of Australian women in science (Clayton, Vic.: Monash University Press, 2023), 297 pp. pages 202, 203, 290. Details
• Fuller, M. E., The insect inhabitants of carrion : a study in animal ecology (Melbourne: H. J. Green for Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, 1934), 62 pp, https://doi.org/10.25919/dbrb-zx18. Details

Conference Papers

• Alvarez, Amaya, 'Invisible Workers and the Archives of the History of Science', in Recovering Science: Strategies and Models for the Past, Present and Future: Proceedings of a Conference Held at the University of Melbourne, October 1992 edited by Tim Sherratt, Lisa Jooste and Rosanne Clayton (Canberra: Australian Science Archives Project, 1995), pp. 71-78., https://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/confs/recovering/alvarez.htm. page 77 [not named as such]. Details

Journal Articles

• Tillyard, R.J., 'Scientific papers from the Division of Economic Entomology published elsewhere than in the Council's publications', Journal of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (1932), https://hdl.handle.net/102.100.100/339951?index=1. Details

Reports

• Tillyard, R.J., The work of the Division of Economic Entomology for the year 1928-29 (Melbourne: Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (Australia), 1929), 19 pp. https://doi.org/10.25919/2k6y-h875. Details

Theses

• Alvarez, Amaya Jane, 'Writing about Women in the History of Science: a Study of Women at the CSIR 1930-1950', Minerva-Access, Digitised Collections, MA thesis, University of Melbourne, 1993, vi, 96 leaves, bound ; 31 cm pp. https://minerva-access.unimelb.edu.au/items/76988996-82dc-569a-bc97-e4f20bddd219. pages 27-29. Details

See also

• Collis, Brad, Fields of Discovery: Australia's CSIRO (Crows Nest, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin, 2002), 520 pp. Page 497, Notes, 5 Textile Wars #8. Details