P000702 revised AU-VU:EOAS Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation

All key entry types: Awards; Concepts; Corporate Bodies (Organisations); Cultural Artefacts; People; etc

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 English AACR2 Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules Person created 1993-10-20 human Gavan McCarthy [P004098] and Helen Cohn updated 2026-01-23 human https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P000702b.htm person Penfold Arthur de Ramon AACR2 4 August 1890 16 June 1980 Place of Birth Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Place of Death Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia Museum director Chemist Arthur Penfold was Curator and Director of the Technological Museum (later Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences) in Sydney between 1927 and 1955. Earlier he had been a research chemist with the eucalyptus oil distillers, Gillard Gordon Ltd 1915-1919 after which he became H.G. Smith's assistant at the Museum. He introduced a number of innovations in the way in which the Museum was managed, and was successful in his efforts to have the Museum placed under the management of a Trust with its consequent change of name. Penfold was known for his research into the volatile oils of the Australian flora, particularly the genus Eucalyptus. He was President of the Royal Society of New South Wales in 1935 and an active member in professional organisations. 1913 1948 Career position - Founder and inaugural Secretary, Sydney Technical College Chemical Society 1915 1919 Career position - Research chemist, Gillard Gordon Ltd 1919 1920 Career position - Research assistant, Technological Museum, Sydney 1920 1927 Career position - Economic Chemist, Research assistant, Technological Museum, Sydney 1923 1923 Career event - Elected Associate Member (Chemistry), Australian National Research Council 1927 1948 Career position - Director, Technological Museum, Sydney 1929 1939 Career position - Member of Council, Royal Society of New South Wales 1934 1934 Career event - Successfully proposed to the Rechnical Education Commission that the Technological Museum become a separate entity. 1934 1934 Award - H. G. Smith Memorial Medal, Royal Australian Chemical Institute 1935 1936 Career position - President, Royal Society of New South Wales 1937 1955 Career position - Secretary/Treasurer, Art Galleries and Museums Association of Australia and New Zealand 1946 1946 Career position - Foundation Chairman, Australian Section, Oil and Colour Chemists' Association 1948 1950 Career position - Director, Technological Museum, Sydney 1950 1955 Career position - Director, Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney 1951 1951 Award - Royal Society of New South Wales Medal 1954 1954 Award - Fritzsche Award, American Chemical Society 1955 1955 Life event - Retired 1961 1980 Award - Life Member, Plastics Institute of Australia Morrison, Frank Richard (1895 - 1967) Royal Society of New South Wales (1866 - )

President 1935 - 1936

 H. G. Smith Memorial Medal, Royal Australian Chemical Institute (1929 - )

Awarded the Medal by the Australian Chemical Institute 1934

 Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, State of New South Wales (1950 - )

Director 1950-1955.

 Royal Society of New South Wales Medal (1884 - )

Awarded the Medal 1951

 Technological Museum, Colony and State of New South Wales (1890 - 1950)

Curator (later Director) 1927-1950

 Australian National Research Council (ANRC) (1919 - 1955)

Associate Member (Chemistry) 1923 -

 Plastics Institute of Australia Inc. (PIA) (1944 - 1989)

Awarded Life Member 1961.

Wikidata

VIAF - Virtual International Authority File

 Penfold, Arthur de Ramon (1890-1980)

Trove

 'Penfold, Arthur de Ramon', in Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology Penfold, Arthur de Ramon Swinburne University of Technology, Centre for Transformative Innovation Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Journal Article: Obituaries. Arthur de Ramon Penfold Obituaries. Arthur de Ramon Penfold 1980 Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 113 3-4 100-101 Journal Article: The Chemists of Australia: Arthur de Ramon Penfold, 1890-1980 McKern, H. H. G. The Chemists of Australia: Arthur de Ramon Penfold, 1890-1980 1981 Chemistry in Australia 48 327-330 Book: Eucalyptus : the essence of Australia Penfold, Arthur de Ramon Eucalyptus : the essence of Australia Sydney Government Printer, 1930 Book: The eucalypts : botany, cultivation, chemistry, and utilization Penfold, Arthur de Ramon, and Willis, Jack Lehane The eucalypts : botany, cultivation, chemistry, and utilization London Leonard Hill 1961 Journal Article: The Essential Oil Industry of Australia Penfold, A.R.; and Willis, J. L. The Essential Oil Industry of Australia 1954 Economic Botany 8 4 316-336 Book: Guide to the extraction of Eucalyptus oil in the field Penfold, A. R.; and Morrison, F. R. Guide to the extraction of Eucalyptus oil in the field 4th rev. Sydney, NSW Technological Museum 1945 Journal Article: The good oil: eucalyptus oil distilleries in Australia. Pearson, Michael The good oil: eucalyptus oil distilleries in Australia. 1993 Australasian Historical Archaeology 11 99-107 Book: Commercial Eucalyptus oils Penfold, A. R. and Morrison, F. R. Commercial Eucalyptus oils 5th Sydney Technological Museum 1951 Book: 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 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 Melbourne CSIRO 1978

Source used to compile entry

 Arthur de Ramon Penfold - Records Powerhouse Museum Arthur de Ramon Penfold - Records MA 128, MRS 225 1897 - 1956 Laboratory notebooks and research files on essential oils of plants; addresses and articles on oils, plastics and science museums; correspondence; business diaries; reports on the Museum's Economic Chemistry Department, on field trips and on the plastics industry; overall dates 1897-1956 [MA 128]. Reprints of articles 1917-55 [MRS 225]. The Museum's collection contains a magnifying glass used by Penfold, a tray presented to him on his retirement from the Museum and a portrait bust. Artwork, Objects Arthur de Ramon Penfold - Records National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection Arthur de Ramon Penfold - Records MS 4515 1900 - 1956 Papers relating to Penfold's work as Director of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences and as Technical Director of the Plastics Institute of Australia as well as his researches into the chemistry of essential oils including correspondence (8 folders); typescript and roneoed notes; articles relating to essential oils, plastics and synthetic fibres; material relating to the William Ricketts Sanctuary, Mt Dandenong; newspaper cuttings; photographs of Canberra and Braidwood in the 1920s; a distinct group of papers relating to his visit to China in 1956 headed by C.P. Fitzgerald, including correspondence, notebooks, typescript articles and notes, newspaper clippings and photographs [MS 4515].