Ward, William Thomas (Bill) (1928 - 2011)

Summary

Bill Ward was a prominent Australian geomorphologist, geologist, and soil scientist known for his extensive research on the coastal geomorphology, dune sands, and soil landscapes of eastern Australia. He joined the CSIRO Division of Soils, Adelaide, in 1960 before spending time in Melbourne (1962-66) and then in Brisbane (1967-91). Following his retirement from CSIRO he was an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Environment and Science, Griffith University.

Details

William Thomas Ward was born on 2 February 1928 in Tuatapere, Southland, New Zealand to Thomas, a bootmaker, and Winifred Mabel 'May' Ward (née Stewart). He was the second of their three sons. William (or 'Bill' as he came to be known) received his early education at Tuatapere Primary School (1933-1936) and Riverton School (1937-1945).

The Ward family moved to Riverton at the end of 1936. In his final year of high school (1945), Bill also attended courses at the air force's bases at Taieri and Ohakea, (training as a bomber navigator). At the end of 1945 Bill moved to Wellington, where he worked for the Ministry of Supply, attending night classes in 1946, so that he could qualify for university.

In 1948 he took up part-time study at the Victoria University College (as it was then), Wellington, working towards a Bachelor of Science. Inspired by Professor Sir Charles Cotton, he shifted his concentration from Chemistry to Geology and Geomorphology, joining the Soil Bureau of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), New Zealand, as a cadet pedologist (soil scientist) on 26 May 1947. While employed at N.Z. Soil Bureau, Norman Hargrave Taylor (1900-1975), Assistant Director, instructed him in soil science and supervised field exercises. Ian Lawrence Baumgart (1920-2013), later Assistant Director-General of DSIR, helped train him in the field.

Ward was sent out to various active soils surveys during university vacations and when he graduated in 1950 he was posted to Alexandra where for the next five years he assisted with the soil survey of orchard lands. In 1955 he married Noeline Fay Russell. In early 1956 Bill was transferred to the Christchurch office of Soil Bureau where he completed the bulletin on the soils of Ellesmere County that had been left unfinished with the resignation, first of Charles Harris and later Pat Fox.

Ward's first paper, published in 1951 when he was just 23 years old, examined the distinctive schist tors (rock outcrops) found in the Central Otago landscape, and is cited in discussions regarding landscape evolution, schist topography, and geomorphology in New Zealand. It is regarded as a foundational study on the geological history of the Otago region. Other papers followed: Soils of Canterbury, 1956; Soils and forestry of Te Wera State Forest, (with G.H. Hocking), 1956; the Soils of Stephens Island, 1961; Soil type and land valuation in Ellesmere County, Canterbury, 1962.

While working in the Waikato (1958-1960), Ward studied the volcanic ash beds that were the parent material of the soils there. This study became the subject of his MSc. thesis. University of New Zealand (Auckland); presented in 1960; degree conferred [in absentia] 1961: (1960) W.T. Ward; Geology of the Glen Murray and Rotongaro Districts with particular reference to the volcanic ash beds. (University of Auckland library)

In July 1960, Ward joined the Division of Soils, CSIRO, Adelaide, South Australia, producing definitive studies of the landscapes around Adelaide. In 1963, Ward transferred to Melbourne, where he studied the coastal landscapes of
East Gippsland, Victoria. In 1967, Ward was transferred to Brisbane, where he studied Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island), Mulgumpin (Moreton Island), Bribie Island, K'gari (Fraser Island); and later the Edgeroi/Narrabri districts in New South Wales. His foundational mapping of the Quaternary sands on Bribie Island and Moreton Bay is heavily cited in regional geomorphology.

In 1975, he appeared before the Fraser Island Environmental Inquiry established by the Whitlam Government (December 1974) and provided evidence on behalf of the CSIRO regarding the Geology and Geomorphology of Fraser Island, (Parliamentary Paper No.333/1976 (pp 8-24; p247). Exhibit number 266, W. T. Ward, Geology and Geomorphology of Fraser Island, n.d. (ibid; p255).

His interest in determining the age of coastal strand plains led him to an extensive review of the scientific literature (rates of continental uplift; changing sea levels during periods of intense glaciation) to develop chronologies for interglacial high sea levels and an absolute chronology and correlation of sea level change in relation to glacial and post-glacial marine transgressions.

His work in this field also led to the study of sea-rafted pumice, which, where it can be found in the stratigraphy of coastal strand plains, can be radio-carbon dated. Ward's study of pumice exhumed by taking sand cores on K'gari (Fraser Island) underpins his work mapping the geomorphology of that island (1970-1980).

While undertaking this field work in 1976, Ward and his field crew (Mr Ian Little and Mr Grahame Roberts) made an unexpected discovery: a lead weight. The lead weight was found with Loisels Pumice in a deep sand layer (2.2-2.4m) at Hook Point, K'gari (Fraser Island), 175m inland from the beach, indicating a pre-European arrival of European-sourced material, between 1410 and 1627 AD. Lead isotope analysis (Gulson, O'Leary and Price) pointed to origins in French mines. The weight predates known European settlement of the east coast and suggests potential contact during the earlier Age of Exploration and is possibly the oldest European artifact in Australia. (The lead weight is currently in the care of the Museum of Anthropology at the University of Queensland.)

During the 1980s, the focus of Ward's field work shifted to studies of the soils and landscapes of the Narrabri and Edgeroi region. The data gathered during this period was examined using fuzzy k-means clustering to classify soil types, contributing to a detailed understanding of the landscape. This was made possible using software written by his son, A.W. Ward ( PhD Harvard) for the Macintosh: MacFUZZY.

MacFUZZY identifies similar records in data sets by using numerical pattern analysis. It tests a varied number of potential groups and indicates the number that best suits a particular data set. The program can be applied to any set of analytical data or other set of numerical observations natural or manufactured objects. It is a basic tool for data analysis and has potential applications in many disciplines. (As a legacy Macintosh application written for macOS 6, MacFUZZY is no longer natively supported on modern macOS systems.)

Ward retired from the CSIRO in 1991 and served as an Honorary Research Fellow at Griffith University, Nathan Campus, where he completed some unfinished projects, publishing several papers (15) up until 2006, when he suffered a massive stroke (at home on Friday 11 August 2006), losing mobility and the power of speech. Although he recovered significantly from this episode and returned home, he died just before dawn on Sunday 10 July 2011 at Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital, Herston.

Source: Michael Hamilton Barry Ward, 2026; Emeritas Professor, John Davidson McCraw, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Waikato, 2012

Chronology

1945 - 1948

Career position - Cadet, Ministry of Supply, Wellington, New Zealand

1948 - 1950

Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc), University of New Zealand (Wellington); degree conferred 1951

1948 - 1960

Career position - Pedologist, Soil Bureau, Department of Science and Industrial Research (DSIR),Wellingon, New Zealand

1958 - 1960

Education - Masters of Science (Geology) (MSc), University of New Zealand (Auckland); degree conferred 1961

1960 - 1962

Career position - Pedologist, Division of Soils, CSIRO, Adelaide

1962 - 1966

Career position - Research Scientist, Division of Soils, CSIRO, Melbourne

1967 - 1987?

Career position - Research Scientist, Division of Soils, CSIRO, Cunningham Laboratory, Carmody Road, St Lucia, Brisbane

1988 - 1991

Career position - Principal Research Scientist, Division of Soils, CSIRO, Cunningham Laboratory, Carmody Road, St Lucia, Brisbane

1991 - 2005

Career position - Honorary Research Fellow, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Nathan Campus, Queensland

Related entries

Archival resources

Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Library

• Ward, William Thomas (Bill) (1928 - 2011) - records, 2026-06-03 - 2026-06-08, BSAR03899; Documents from his son; Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Library. Details

Published resources

Articles

• McCraw, John, 'Obituary - Bill Ward (1928-2011)', New Zealand Soil News, 60 (1) (2012), 14, https://doi.org/10.7931/dl30-2012-vol60-1-ocr. Details

Books

• Lee, K. E., A history of the CSIRO Division of Soils: 1927- 1997 (Adelaide: CSIRO Land and Water, 1998), 58 pdf pp, http://hdl.handle.net/102.100.100/215556?index=1. Details