Biographical entry Willis, James Hamlyn (1910 - 1995)

Summary

James Hamlyn Willis is one of Australia's most renowned and beloved botanists and authors. He was taxonomic botanist at the National Herbarium within the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, from 1937 to the end of his career in 1972. Willis received many honours including those from the Australian Institute of Horticulture, the Society for Growing Australian Plants, the Australian Conservation Foundation and the National Trust of Australia, and the Royal Society of Victoria's Research Medal. He was educated at the Victorian School of Forestry in Creswick (Dip.For.) and at the University of Melbourne (BSc, DSc).

Details

Events

1930 - 1939

Career position - Forests Commission Field Officer in Victoria

1939 - 1958

Career position - Botanist at the National Herbarium in Victoria

1954

Taxonomy event - Collaborated on the description of eucalyptus aromaphloia L. D. Pryor & J. H. Willis (1954)

1960

Award - Australian Natural History Medallion received

1961 - 1972

Career position - Assistant Government Botanist at the National Herbarium

1962

Career position - Wrote A Handbook to Plants in Victoria

1968

Career position - Co-authored Australian Flora in Colour; Flowers and Plants of Victoria

1971 - 1972

Career position - Acting Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens and the National Herbarium

1995

Award - Member of the Order of Australia (AM)

Archival resources

Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne

• Records of James Hamlyn Willis, 1804 - 1996; Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne. Details

Published resources

Books

• Hall, Norman, Botanists of the Eucalypts : short biographies of people who have named eucalypts, whose names have been given to species or who have collected type material, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Melbourne, 1978, 101 pp. Details

Book Sections

• Willis, J. H., 'Nicholls, William Henry (1885-1951), Orchidologist', in Geoffrey Serle (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 11, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1988, pp. 23-24. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A110025b.htm. Details
• Willis, J. H., 'Baron von Mueller's Travels in the Australian Alps, 1853-61', in Roger Good (ed.), The Scientific Significance of the Australian Alps: The Proceedings of the First Fenner Conference on the Environment, Australian Alps Liaison Committee, Canberra, 1989, pp. 381-382. Details

Conference Papers

• Willis, J.H., 'Melbourne: a Focal Point for Early Botanical Activity', in Short, P.S. (ed.), History of Systematic Botany in Australasia: Proceedings of a Symposium Held at the University of Melbourne, 25-27 May 1988, Australian Systematic Botany Society, Melbourne, 1990, pp. 1-4. Details

Journal Articles

• 'James Hamlyn Willis: a biographical sketch [includes list of publications]', Muelleria, vol. 3, no. 2, 1975, pp. 69-88. Details
• Jack, Christopher, 'James Hamlyn Willis: a True Conservationist', Australasian Science, vol. 19, no. 9, 1998, p. 48. Details
• Salkin, A. I., 'Short History of the Discovery and Naming of Banksias in Eastern Australia: Part 7, James Hamlyn Willis and Alexander George', Victorian Naturalist, vol. 99, no. 4, 1982, pp. 136-139. Details
• Tropea, Rachel, 'Jim Willis: a Lifelong Passion for Botany', Australasian Science, vol. 22, no. 3, 2001, p. 46. Details
• Willis, J. H., 'Ferdinand von Mueller: Nestor of Australian Botany', Australian Journal of Science, vol. 10, 1948, pp. 136-140. Details
• Willis, J. H., 'Robert Brown's Collectings in Victoria', Muelleria, vol. 1, 1956, pp. 51-54. Details
• Willis, J. H., 'The Botany of the Victoria Exploring Expedition (September 1860-June 1861) and of Relief Contingents from Victoria (July 1861-Noveber 1862)', Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, vol. 75, 1962, pp. 247-268. Details
• Willis, J. H., 'Late Raleigh Adelbert Black (1880-1963) and his Private Herbarium', Muelleria, vol. 1, no. 3, 1967, pp. 233-238. Details
• Willis, J. H., 'William Hunter (1893-1971): Doyen of East Gippsland Botanists', Victorian Naturalist, vol. 88, no. 4, 1971, pp. 88-91. Details
• Willis, J. H., 'Vale, Norman Arthur Wakefield', Victorian Naturalist, vol. 90, no. 4, 1973, pp. 103-105. Details
• Willis, J. H., 'Richard Wallace Bond (1914-1976) - an appreciation', Victorian Naturalist, vol. 94, no. 2, 1977, p. 75. Details
• Willis, J. H., 'Alexander Hugh Chisholm, OBE, CMZS., C.F.A.O.U. (1890-1977). An Appreciation', Victorian Naturalist, vol. 94, no. 5, 1977, pp. 188-190. Details
• Willis, J. H., 'The First Century of the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria', Victorian Naturalist, vol. 97, no. 3, 1980, pp. 93-106. Details
• Willis, J.H., 'Botanical Pioneers in Victoria', Victorian Naturalist, vol. 66, 1949, pp. 83-89; 103-109; 123-107. Details
• Willis, J.H., 'Botanical Science in Victoria 100 Years Ago', Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, vol. 73, 1961, pp. 41-45. Details

Online Resources

• 'Willis, J H', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-617062. Details
• Tropea, Rachel, Barnes, Andrea and Anderson, Fay, James Hamlyn Willis Guide to Records, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, December 2000, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/guides/will/will.htm. Details