Whalley, Ralph Derwyn Broughton (Wal) (1933 - )

Summary

Wal Whalley has specialised in Australian native grasses, his research being into their commercial, farming and environmental uses. He is noted as a champion for the conservation and sustainable management of native grasslands, promoting the cause of indigenous species before it became fashionable. His work contributed significantly to the adoption of native grasses in Australian pasture systems. Whalley joined the University of New England in 1965 as a lecturer in botany, later being promoted to Associate Professor. He retired in 1998 from teaching and as Head of the School of Rural Science and Natural Resources. During this time he published prolifically and was a popular mentor to his many postgraduate students. Whalley was a foundation member of the Australian Rangeland Society. He was active in the Society's affairs, for over 30 years being Associate Editor or Editor of the Society's The rangeland journal. He was elected a Fellow in 2012. The grass genus Walwhalleya (Poaceae) was named in his honour.

Details

Chronology

1955

Education - BSc (Agriculture), University of Sydney

1965

Education - PhD, University of California, Riverside, California, U.S.A.

1965 - 1998

Career position - Lecturer (later Associate Professor of Botany), University of New England

1974 - 2012

Career position - Foundation Member, Australian Rangelands Society

1976 - 1979

Career position - Chairman, Publications Committee, Australian Rangeland Society

1986

Career position - Chairman, Organising Committee, 4th Biennial Conference, Australian Rangelands Society, Armidale, New South Wales

1990 - 1998

Career position - Associate Editor, The rangeland journal

1998

Career event - Retired as Head of School of Rural Science and Natural Resources, University of New England

1998 - 2003

Career position - Member, Moree Plains Regional Vegetation Committee

1998 - 2011

Career position - Editor, The rangeland journal

1999 -

Career position - Honorary Fellow, Botany, School of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resources Management, University of New England

2002 - 2003

Career position - Chairman, Moree Plains Regional Vegetation Committee

2003 - 2004

Career position - Member, Local Establishment Team, Border Rivers-Gwydir Catchment Management Authority

2007

Award - Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for services to conservation and the environment, particularly through research into Australian native grasses and the promotion of their use for pasture, lawn and revegetation of degraded natural landscapes

2011 - 2019

Career position - Associate Editor, The rangeland journal

2012 -

Award - Fellow, Australian Rangeland Society, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to rangeland science and the Society

Related entries

Published resources

Books

• Jacobs, S. W. L., Whalley, R. D. B. and Wheeler, D. J. B., Grasses of New South Wales (Armidale, N.S.W.: University of New England, 2008), 450 pp. Details
• Kahn, Lewis, Heard, Belinda and Whalley, Wal, Pasture plants of the slopes and tablelands of New South Wales: a field guide to the recognition and attributes of 70 plants (Armidale, N.S.W.: Department of Botany, University of New England, 2003), 164 pp. Details
• Waters, Cathy, Whalley, Wal and Huxtable, Charles, Grassed up: a guideline for revegetating with Australian native grasses ([Orange, N.S.W.]: NSW Agriculture, 2000), 72 pp. Details

Journal Articles

• Bruhl, Jeremy J. and Whalley, R. D. B. (Wal), 'Walwhalleya jacobsiana (Poaceae, Paniceae), a new rare species of grass from South Australia', Telopea, 13 (1) (2011), 77-92. Details

See also

• Fagg, Murray, 'Whalley, Ralph Derwyn Broughton (Wal) (1933 - )', Australian Plant Collectors and Illustrators, Council of Heads of Australian Herbaria (CHAH), 2010, https://anbg.gov.au/biography/whalley-ralph-derwyn-broughton.html. Details