Carolin, Roger Charles (1929 - 2025)

Summary

Roger Carolin was a systematic botanist who made significant contributions to Australian botany in a number of fields including plant taxonomy, phylogeny, floristics, biogeography and ecology. At the University of Sydney, which he joined in 1955 as Lecturer in Botany, he transformed the teaching of taxonomy: many of his students themselves went on to be leaders in the field. He was also highly effective as Curator of the University's John Ray Herbarium. Carolin's research focused on the Campanales, particularly the families Brunoniaceae and Goodeniaceae. His publications included papers on other plant families (Geraniaceae, Poaceae, Chenopodiaceae and others), and the ecology and phytogeography of coastal heath in eastern Australia. Notably he was co-author of the Handbook of the vascular plants of the Sydney district and Blue Mountains (1962), later published in multiple editions under the title Flora of the Sydney Region. Carolin made frequent field trips, often in company with Surrey Jacobs and Barbara Briggs. A further contribution of Australian botany was his membership of the editorial committees for the Flora of Central Australia and the Flora of Australia, of which he was the principal author for volume 35 (Brunoniaceae and Goodeniaceae). In retirement Carolin continued his research in an honorary capacity at the University of Sydney and the National Herbarium of New South Wales. Carolin served on a number of government and community organisations in New South Wales, chairing the National Parks and Nature Reserves, and the Scientific Advisory Committee of the National Parks and Wildlife Service of New South Wales.

Details

Chronology

1947

Career position - Scientific Assistant, British Museum (Natural History)

1947 - 1949

Military service - Served with the Royal Army Medical Corps

1952

Education - BSc (hons), Imperial College, London

1952 - 1955

Career position - Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Fellow, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

1955

Life event - Migrated to New South Wales

1955 - 1973

Career position - Lecturer in Botany, University of Sydney

1955 - 1989

Career position - Curator, John Ray Herbarium, University of Sydney

1962

Education - PhD, University of Sydney

1963

Career position - Member of Council, Linnean Society of New South Wales

1968

Career position - President, Linnean Society of New South Wales

1970

Career position - Member of Council, Linnean Society of New South Wales

1971

Life event - Naturalised as an Australian citizen

1973

Career position - Foundation Member, Australian Systematic Botany Society

1973 - 1989

Career position - Associate Professor in Botany, University of Sydney

1976 - 1979

Career position - President, Australian Systematic Botany Society

1979 - 1981

Career position - Vice-President, Australian Systematic Botany Society

1987 - 1992

Career position - President, Australian Flora Foundation

1989 - ?

Career position - Honorary Associate, School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney

1989 - ?

Career position - Honorary Research Associate, National Herbarium of New South Wales

1989

Life event - Retired

1990

Award - Nancy Burbidge Medal, Australian Systematic Botany Society

Related entries

Published resources

Books

• Beadle, N. C. W., Carolin, R. C., and Evans, O. D., Flora of the Sydney Region (Sydney: Reed, 1072), 724 pp. Details
• Beadle, N. C. W., Evans, O. D. and Carolin, R. C., Handbook of the vascular plants of the Sydney district and Blue Mountains (Armidale, N.S.W.: Brown Gem Print, 1962), 597 pp. Details

Journal Articles

• Briggs, B. G., Carolin. R. C. and Pulley, J. M., 'Plantaginaceae', Contributions from the New South Wales National Herbarium, flora series, 181 (1977), 1-35. Details
• Carolin, R. C., 'J. R. and J. G. A. Forster and Their Collections', Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 88 (1963), 108-111. Details
• Carolin, R. C., 'A review of the family Portulacaceae', Australian journal of botany, 35 (1987), 383-412. Details
• Carolin, R. C., 'Nomenclatural notes and new taxa in the genus Goodenia (Goodeniaceae)', Telopea, 3 (1990), 517-70. Details
• Carolin, R. C. and Johnson, L. A.S., 'Obituary: Obed David Evans', Telopea, 1 (2) (1976), 87-90. Details
• Morrison, D., 'Roger Carolin ‒ a short biography and appreciation on his retirement', Australian Systematic Botany Society newsletter, 61 (1989), 7-12. Details
• Myerscough, P. J. and Carolin, R. C., 'The vegetation of the Eurunderee sand mass, headlands and previous islands in the Myall Lakes area, New South Wales', Cunninghamia, 1 (1986), 399-466. Details
• Siddiqi, M. Y., Carolin, R. C. and Anderson, D. J., 'Studies in the ecology of coastal heath in New South Wales, I: vegetation structure', Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 97 (1973), 211-224. Details
• Weston, Peter, Hughes, Janice, Wilson, Karen, Briggs, Barbara, Pellow, Belinda and Keith, David, 'Dr Roger Charles Carolin (1929‒2025)', Australasian Systematic Botany Society newsletter, 202 (2025), 5-15, https://asbs.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/ASBSNewsletter_202.pdf. Details