Person
Webby, Barry Deane (1934 - 2025)
- Born
- 15 July 1934
Wanganui, New Zealand - Died
- 30 June 2025
Sydney - Occupation
- Palaeontologist
Summary
Barry Webby was a renowned palaeontologist and international authority on the Ordovician period. He was influential in redefining the timescale of the period by basic documentation of its fauna, and with his involvement in the administration of global scientific effort to co-ordinate its definition and internal subdivisions. International recognition came particularly from his leadership in the highly successful International Geological Correlation Project 410 (1997-2001). Webby's research on the Ordovician in Australasia ranged from island biotas, carbonate reefs and the geological development of the Gondwana margin in western New South Wales, to Palaeozoic stromatoporoid faunas of eastern Australia and stromatoporoid systematics in general. For 30 years he taught geology at the University of Sydney. Active in professional associations, he was a founding member of the Association of Australasian Palaeontologists, and a long-serving executive member of the Linnean Society of New South Wales (President 1977 - 1978). From 1976 to 1984 he was Vice-President of the International Paleontological Association.
Details
Chronology
- 1957
- Education - BSc, University of New Zealand
- 1959
- Education - MSc (hons), Victoria University of Wellington
- 1962
- Education - PhD, University of Bristol, United Kingdom
- 1962 - 1964
- Career position - Research Assistant, University of Bristol, United Kingdom
- 1964 - 1968
- Career position - Lecturer in Geology, University of Sydney
- 1968 - 1974
- Career position - Senior Lecturer in Geology, University of Sydney
- 1971 - 1992
- Career position - Titular Member, Subcommission on Ordovician Stratigraphy, International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS)
- 1973 - 1984
- Career position - Member of Council, Linnean Society of New South Wales
- 1974 - 1994
- Career position - Associate Professor, Department of Geology, University of Sydney
- 1975 - 2025
- Career position - Foundation Member, Association of Australasian Palaeontologists
- 1976 - 1984
- Career position - Vice-President, International Paleontological Association
- 1977 - 1978
- Career position - President, Linnean Society of New South Wales
- 1977 - 1978
- Career position - Editor, Alcheringa
- 1978 - 1981
- Career position - Vice-President, Linnean Society of New South Wales
- 1982 - 1990
- Career position - Secretary, Subcommission on Ordovician Stratigraphy, International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS)
- 1983 - 1989
- Career position - Editor, Ordovician news
- 1987
- Award - Royal Society of Victoria Medal for Excellence in Scientific Research
- 1990 - 1996
- Career position - Chairman, Subcommission on Ordovician Stratigraphy, International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS)
- 1991
- Award - Clarke Memorial Lecturer, Royal Society of New South Wales
- 1991
- Career position - Chairman, Organising Committee, 6th International Symposium on the Ordovician System, Sydney
- 1992 - 1995
- Career position - Editor, IUGS publication series, of Ordovician correlation charts and explanatory notes
- 1994 - ?
- Career position - Honorary Research Associate, Centre for Ecostratigraphy and Palaeobiology, Macquarie University
- 1997 - 2001
- Career position - Co-Leader, International Geological Correlation Project (IGCP) Project 410 The great Ordovician biodiversification event - implications for global correlations and resources
- 2016
- Award - Robert Etheridge Jr Medal, Association of Australasian Palaeontologists
Related entries
Published resources
Articles
- Webby, B. D., 'John A. Dulhunty - an Appreciation', Journal and Proceedings of The Royal Society of New South Wales, 119 (1986), 1-2. https://royalsoc.org.au/images/pdf/journal/119_webby.pdf. Details
Edited Books
- Webby, B. D. ed., Fossil collections of the world: an international guide (Washington, DC: International Palaeontological Association, 1989), 216 pp. Details
- Webby, B. D. and Laurie, J. R. eds, Global perspectives on Ordovician geology : proceedings of the sixth International Symposium on the Ordovician System, University of Sydney, Australia, 15 - 19 July 1991 (Rotterdan: Balkema, 1992), 513 pp. Details
Journal Articles
- Percival, Ian, 'Obituary: Barry Deane Webby, 15 July 1934 - 30 June 2025', LinnSocNews: newsletter of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 198 (2025), 5, https://linneansocietynsw.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/LinnSoc-News-198-September-October-2025.pdf. Details
- Percival, Ian, 'Barry Deane Webby 15 July 1934 - 30 June 2025', TAG: the Australian geologist, 216 (2025), 54-5, https://www.gsa.org.au/publications/the-australian-geologist/. Details
- Percival, Ian G., 'Barry Deane Webby: an appreciation', Alcheringa, 25 (1) (2002), 1-7, https://doi.org/10.1080/03115510108619211. Details
- Webby, B D., 'Presidential address: the Ordovician stromatoporoids', Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 103 (1979), 83-121. Details
- Webby, B. D., 'History of the Ordovician continental platform and shelf margin of Australia', Journal of the Geological Society of Australia, 25 (1978), 41-63. Details
- Webby, B. D., 'Ordovician island-arc biotas: Clarke Memorial lecture', Journal and proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, 124 (1992), 51-77. Details
- Webby, B. D., 'Steps towards a global standard for Ordovician stratigraphy', Newsletters in stratigraphy, 36 (1997), 1-33. Details
- Webby, B. D. and Semeniuk, V., 'The Ordovician tabulate coral genus Tetradium Dana from New South Wales', Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 95 (1971), 246-59. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 16 June 2026