Biographical entry Burbidge, Nancy Tyson (1912 - 1977)

Summary

Nancy Tyson Burbidge was a systematic botanist and Curator of the Herbarium, CSIRO Division of Plant Industry, 1946-1973. She published Flora of the ACT with Max Gray and several other books on Australian plants. Founding member and twice president, National Parks Association of the ACT and prominent in lobbying for the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve and Namadgi National Park. Commemorated by an altar-frontal, showing banksias and honey-eaters, in St Michael's Anglican Church, Mount Pleasant, Perth and by the Nancy T. Burbidge Memorial, an amphitheatre in the National Botanic Gardens, Canberra.

Details

Events

1937

Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc) completed at the University of Western Australia

1939 - 1940

Career position - Worked on the taxonomy of Australian plants at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, UK

1940 - 1943

Career position - Field and herbarium work in Western Australia

1943 - 1946

Career position - Assistant Agronomist at Waite Agricultural Research Institute

1945

Education - Master of Science (MSc) completed at the University of Western Australia

1946 - 1967

Career position - Systematic Botanist in the Division of Plant Industry at CSIRO

1946 - 1973

Career position - Curator of the Herbarium at the Division of Plant Industry, CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation)

1947

Taxonomy event - Described the Eucalyptus incrassata Labill. var. costata N. T. Burbidge

1953

Career position - On secondment as Australian Botanical liaison officer at Kew herbarium in London

1961

Education - Doctor of Science (DSc) received from the University of Western Australia

1967 - 1973

Career position - Senior Principal Research Scientist at the Division of Plant Industry at CSIRO

1973 - 1977

Career position - Director of the Flora of Australia project

1976

Award - Member of the Order of Australia (AM)

Related entries

Published resources

Encyclopedia of Australian Science Exhibitions

• McCarthy, Gavan; Morgan, Helen; Smith, Ailie; van den Bosch, Alan, Where are the Women in Australian Science?, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, 2003, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/wisa/wisa.html. Details

Book Sections

• Burbidge, N. T., 'Brown, Robert (1773-1858), botanist', in Douglas Pike (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 1, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1966, pp. 166-167. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010149b.htm. Details
• Burbidge, N. T., 'Bentham, George (1800-1884), botanist', in Douglas Pike (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 3, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1969, pp. 146-147. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A030138b.htm. Details
• Chippendale, George M., 'Burbidge, Nancy Tyson (1912-1977), Botanist and Conservationist', in John Ritchie (ed.), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 13, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1993, pp. 298-299. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A130336b.htm. Details

Journal Articles

• Burbridge, Nancy, 'Robert Brown's Australian Collecting Localities', Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, vol. lxxx, 1955, pp. 229-233. Details

Online Resources

• 'Burbidge, Nancy Tyson (1912-1977), Biographical Entry', in Australian Women's Archives Project, National Foundation for Australian Women, 2002, http://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE0206b.htm. Details
• 'Burbidge, Nancy Tyson', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-754076. Details
• Ward, C., 'Nancy Tyson Burbidge', in CSIROpedia, 2011, http://csiropedia.csiro.au/display/CSIROpedia/Burbidge%2C+Nancy+Tyson. Details