Person
Brockway, George Ernest (1902 - 1973)
- Born
- 1902
Claremont, Western Australia, Australia - Died
- 8 November 1973
Perth, Western Australia, Australia - Occupation
- Conservationist and Forester
Summary
George Brockway was a forester whose career with the Western Australian Forests Department spanned more than 40 years. During his posting to regional areas his responsibilities varied from the establishment of the forest district headquarters and fire management to remediation work to protect water supplies and oversight of the sandalwood industry. He became knowledgeable on the local flora and was considered expert in tree growth in the arid zones of Western Australia. Posted to Kalgoorlie in 1933, Brockway was one of the first to make systematic collections of seeds of the trees native to the area, and successfully established nurseries for reafforestation projects. He pioneered conservation in the Western Australian wheatbelt by advocating tree planting to protect soil and water resources, instead of the deleterious practice of land clearing. To prevent wholesale alienation of forest land he advocated the creation of bush corridors and the precondition that the local floral and faunal resources be assessed. Brockway's expertise in regenerating degraded forests led to several visits to Pakistan and North Africa as advisor for the WHO. He retired in 1965 as Superintendent of Research for the Forests Department.
Details
Chronology
- 1922
- Education - BSc (forestry), University of Adelaide
- 1922 - 1963
- Career position - District Forestry Officer (later Superintendent of Research), Western Australian Forests Department
- 1963
- Life event - Retired
Related entries
Published resources
Journal Articles
- Brockway, G. E., 'Fire control organisation and fire fighting operations in Mundaring District', Australian forestry journal, 6 (1923), 257-63. Details
- Brockway, G. E., 'Forests of the arid Goldfields region of Western Australia', Empire forestry review, 34 (1) (1941), 31-41. Details
- Brockway, G. E., 'Tree establishment in the wheatbelt', Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, series 3, 8 (2) (1959), 133-58. Details
- Fordham, H., 'George Brockway: the forgotten conservationist', Western Australian naturalist, 17 (1981), 94-6. Details
- Underwood, Roger, 'George Brockway - the forgotten conservationist', Australian Forest History Society Newsletter, 78 (2019), 3-6. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 29 March 2022