Person
Erickson, Frederica Lucy (Rica) (1908 - 2009)
AM FRWAMS
- Born
- 10 August 1908
Boulder City, Western Australia, Australia - Died
- 8 September 2009
- Occupation
- Naturalist, Botanical artist and Teacher
- Alternative Names
- Erickson, Rica (Also known as)
Summary
Rica Erickson gained renown as a naturalist, botanical artist, historian, author and genealogist and was awarded many honours. In 1980 she was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters for her work in the fields of Literature and Botany, and in the same year was WA Citizen of the Year for outstanding service to the Arts, Culture and Entertainment. She became a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1987 for her services to the Arts particularly as an author and illustrator. The Department of Conservation and Land Management named a bush reserve after her (1996), and a commemorative plaque was laid in her honour in St Georges Terrace, Perth (1999). Throughout her life and career her work was strongly linked to the development of the collections at the J.S. Battye Library of West Australian History.
Details
Chronology
- 1926
- Career position - Monitor and Teacher at Kendenup School in Western Australia
- 1927 - 1928
- Education - Student at Claremont Teachers' College
- 1928 - 1934
- Career position - Teacher at Aurora School then Youngs Siding in Western Australia
- 1934 - 1936
- Career position - Teacher in Bolgart
- 1951
- Career position - Orchids of the West - her first self-illustrated book published
- 1979
- Career position - The Dictionary of Western Australians 1829-1914 published
- 1980
- Education - Honorary Doctor of Letters (Hon DLitt) received from the University of Western Australia
- 1987
- Award - Member of the Order of Australia (AM)
- 1996
- Award - Rica Erickson Nature Reserve named in her honour by the Department of Conservation and Land Management
- 2001
- Award - Centenary Medal for service to the arts, particularly as an author and illustrator
Archival resources
J S Battye Library of West Australian History (Battye Library), State Library of Western Australia
- The Rica Erickson archives, http://www.liswa.wa.gov.au/erickson/pages/foreword.html; J S Battye Library of West Australian History (Battye Library), State Library of Western Australia. Details
Published resources
Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Exhibitions
- McCarthy, Gavan; Morgan, Helen; Smith, Ailie; van den Bosch, Alan, Where are the Women in Australian Science?, Exhibition of the Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, First published 2003 with lists updated regulary edn, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, 2003, https://eoas.info/exhibitions/wisa/wisa.html. Details
Books
- Erickson, R., Orchids of the West (Perth: Paterson Brokensha, 1951), 109 pp. Details
- Erickson, R., Triggerplants (Perth: Paterson Brokensha, 1958), 229 pp. Details
- Erickson, R., Plants of Prey of Australia (Osborne Park, W.A.: Lamb Paterson Pty Ltd, 1968), 94 pp. Details
- Erickson, R., The Drummonds of Hawthornden (Osborne Park, W.A.: Lamb Paterson, 1969), 183 pp. Details
- Erickson, Rica, A Naturalist's Life (Crawley: University of Western Australia Press, 2005), 144 pp. Details
- Erickson, Rica; edited by Lenore Layman, Rica's stories (Nedlands, W.A.: Royal Western Australian Historical Society, 2001), 255 pp. Details
- Gooding, J., Brush with Gondwana: Botanical Artist's Group of Western Australia (North Fremantle, W.A.: Fremantle Press, 2008), 142 pp. Details
Book Sections
- Erickson, Rica, 'Drummond, James (1784-1863), botanist and plant collector' in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Douglas Pike, ed., vol. 1 (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1966), pp. 325-326. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A010309b.htm. Details
- Erickson, Rica, 'Georgiana Molloy (1803-1843) botanist' in 200 Australian Women: A Redress Anthology, Heather Radi, ed. (Sydney: Women's Redress Press Inc, 1988). Details
- Erickson, Rica, 'Serventy, Dominic Louis (1904-1988), Ornithologist and Conservationist' in Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 18 (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2012), pp. 406-7. http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/serventy-dominic-louis-15496. Details
Journal Articles
- Erickson, R., 'History of the Western Australian Naturalists' Club', Western Australian Naturalist, 9 (6) (1964), 122-145. Details
- Keighery, Bronwen, 'Frederica (Rica) Lucy Erickson, August 1908- September 2009', Australian Systematic Botany Society Newsletter, 141 (2009), 30-32 . Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q4357043. Details
- VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/72634025. Details
- Rica Erickson AM Hon Dlitt Cit WA FRWAMS, 2001, http://www.liswa.wa.gov.au/erickson/. Details
- 'Erickson, Rica (19080810-20090908)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-465217. Details
Annette Alafaci
Created: 8 September 2005, Last modified: 15 June 2022