P000844 revised AU-VU:EOAS Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation

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 English AACR2 Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules Person created 1993-10-20 human Gavan McCarthy [P004098] and Helen Cohn updated 2026-04-28 human https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P000844b.htm person Turner John Stewart OBE FAA AACR2 9 September 1908 9 May 1991 Place of Birth Middleborough, England Place of Death Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Botanist Plant physiologist University Administrator John Turner was botanist and plant physiologist who in 1938 was appointed Professor of Botany at the University of Melbourne. On arrival in Melbourne he found a Department focussed mainly on plant physiology. At the time of his retirement the greatly-expanded Department of Botany taught a much wider range of subjects. He continued his research in plant respiration and photosynthesis, but also initiated ecological projects. These ranged from an investigation of soil erosion in the Hume catchment to vegetation surveys on the Bogong High Plains (both led by Maisie Fawcett), and included studies for Victorian government agencies such as the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works and the State Electricity Commission. During World War II Turner was in charge of a team at the University of Melbourne working on tropic proofing optical instruments using a fungicide. He also helped to instigate a new science degree in forestry. Turner's interests and influence extended beyond the University. He became a leader in the conservation movement in Victoria. He was a foundation member of both the Victorian National Parks Association (VNPA) and the Australian Conservation Foundation. His work in association with the VNPA was critical in the early work of Victoria's Land Conservation Council; Turner was a foundation member of the Council from 1971 to 1978. He was heavily involved in teaching of science in secondary schools as the first President of the Science Teachers' Association of Victoria and chairman for 25 years of the Schools Board General Science Standing Committee. He chaired the Australian Academy of Science Committee on Biological Education. The Committee published Biological science: the web of life (1967), resulting in a radical change in the way biology was taught in Australia. Turner was a talented artist, using the medium of scraperboard. He is commemorated by John S. Turner Postgraduate Scholarship, Department of Botany, University of Melbourne. 1934 1934 Education - Master of Arts (MA), University of Cambridge 1934 1935 Career position - Demonstrator, Botany School, University of Cambridge 1935 1935 Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Cambridge 1936 1938 Career position - Senior Demonstrator, Botany School, University of Cambridge 1938 1939 Career event - Leader, excursion to Sunday Island, Corner Inlet, Victoria, McCoy Society for Research and Investigation 1938 1973 Career position - Professor of Botany and Plant Physiology, School of Botany, University of Melbourne 1945 1952 Career position - Member, Maud Gibson Trust Committee, Melbourne Botanic Gardens 1951 1952 Career position - President, Royal Society of Victoria 1952 1952 Career position - Foundation Member, Australian Society of Plant Physiologists 1952 1973 Career position - Chairman, Maud Gibson Trust Committee, Melbourne Botanic Gardens (later Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne 1956 1991 Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science (FAA) 1960 1960 Career position - Foundation Chairman, Landscape Classification Committee, National Trust of Australia (Victoria) 1961 1964 Career position - President, Australian Society of Plant Physiologists 1962 1962 Career position - President, Wallaby Club 1963 1973 Career position - Chairman, Board of Management, Melbourne University Press 1965 1973 Career position - Chairman, Member, Maud Gibson Trust Committee, Melbourne Botanic Gardens 1965 1974 Career position - Chairman, Committee on Biological Education, Australian Academy of Science 1966 1973 Career position - Foundation member, Australian Conservation Foundation 1971 1978 Career position - Foundation member, Land Conservation Council of Victoria 1974 1974 Award - Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) - Botany 1987 1987 Award - Doctor of Laws (LLD), honoris causa, University of Melbourne Royal Society of Victoria (1859 - )

President 1951 - 1952

 Australian Society of Plant Physiologists (1958 - c. 2000)

President 1961 - 1964

 Land Conservation Council of Victoria, State of Victoria (1971 - 1997)

Member 1971 - 1978

 Australian Conservation Foundation (1966 - )

Foundation Member 1966 - 1973

 Victorian National Parks Association Inc (1952 - )

Foundation Member 1952 -

 Australian Academy of Science (1954 - )

Fellow 1956 - 1991; Chairman, Committee on Biological Education 1965 - 1974

 School of Botany, The University of Melbourne (1880s - )

Professor of Botany and Plant Physiology 1938 - 1973

 McCoy Society for Research and Investigation (1935 - 1999?)

Leader, excursion to Sunday Island, Corner Inlet, Victoria, 1938 - 1939

 Advisory Council - CSIRO, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (1950 - 1986)

Member 1956 - 1962

 Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, State of Victoria (1958 - )

Chairman, Maud Gibson Trust Committee 1952 - 1973; Chairman, Botanic Gardens Research Committee 1965 - 1973

 Wallaby Club (1894 - )

President 1962 - 1963

Wikidata

VIAF - Virtual International Authority File

 Turner, J S (19080909-19910509)

Trove

 'Turner, John Stewart', in Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology Turner, John Stewart Swinburne University of Technology, Centre for Transformative Innovation Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Journal Article: No place for a woman?: Intersections of class, modernity and colonialism in the gendering of Australian Science, 1885-1940 Carey, Jane No place for a woman?: Intersections of class, modernity and colonialism in the gendering of Australian Science, 1885-1940 Penrith, New South Wales Australian Women's History Network 2001 Lilith: A Feminist History Journal 10 153-172 Resource: Honorary degree holders University of Melbourne Honorary degree holders University of Melbourne 2023 Edited Book: Cambridge - Castlemaine: a Tribute to John Stewart Turner on the Occasion of his 80th Birthday Clifford, Harold T. Cambridge - Castlemaine: a Tribute to John Stewart Turner on the Occasion of his 80th Birthday St Lucia Botany Department, University of Queensland 1988 Journal Article: John Stewart Turner 1908-1991 Ashton, D. H.; Ducker, S. C. John Stewart Turner 1908-1991 1993 Historical Records of Australian Science 9 3 278-290 Resource Section: Turner, John Stewart - Ms 114 Turner, John Stewart - Ms 114 Australian Academy of Science 1994 Listing of Adolph Basser Library holdings Book Section: The development of plant physiology in Australia Turner, J. S. The development of plant physiology in Australia Sydney Academic Press 1981 Plants and man in Australia Carr, D. J. and Carr, S. G. M. 10-34 Book Section: Australia's natural legacy Turner, John Australia's natural legacy South Melbourne Macmillan of Australia 1981 The Heritage of Australia : the illustrated register of the National Estate 35-49 Book: The tropic proofing of optical instruments Turner, J. S.; McLennan, Ethel I.; and Rogers, J. S. The tropic proofing of optical instruments Melbourne Ministry of Munitions, Ordnance Production Directorate, Scientific Instruments and Optical Panel 1947 Journal Article: The Development of Plant Physiology in Australia Turner, J.S. The Development of Plant Physiology in Australia 1977 Records of the Australian Academy of Science 3 4 27-46 Journal Article: John Stewart Turner Rowan, Kingsley, S.; and Ashton, David H. John Stewart Turner 1999 Australian journal of botany 47 4 iii-iv Journal Article: The Professor and the journalist: Crosbie Morrison and John Turner, scientists in popular conservation campaigns Robin, Libby The Professor and the journalist: Crosbie Morrison and John Turner, scientists in popular conservation campaigns 1994 Victorian Historical Journal 65 154-68 Journal Article: The University of Melbourne Herbarium, from McCoy to MELU: a broken paper-trail Gillbank, Linden The University of Melbourne Herbarium, from McCoy to MELU: a broken paper-trail 2007 University of Melbourne Collections 1 20-8 Journal Article: Professor John Turner: first President of the Science Teachers' Association of Victoria (obituary) Anon Professor John Turner: first President of the Science Teachers' Association of Victoria (obituary) 1992 LabTalk 6 1 3-5 Journal Article: John Stewart Turner 1908 - 1991: the man who loved plants Latreille, Anne John Stewart Turner 1908 - 1991: the man who loved plants 1991 Landscape Australia March 196-8 Book: Taking to the field: a history of Australian women in science Carey, Jane Taking to the field: a history of Australian women in science Clayton, Vic. Monash University Press 2023 Edited Book: Cambridge - Castlemaine : a tribute to John Stewart Turner on the occasion of his 80th birthday Clifford, H. T. Cambridge - Castlemaine : a tribute to John Stewart Turner on the occasion of his 80th birthday St Lucia, Qld Dept. of Botany, University of Queensland 1988 Journal Article: Professor John Turner and Victoria's first conservation survey Gillbank, Linden Professor John Turner and Victoria's first conservation survey Victorian National Parks Association 2009 Park watch 236 20-2 John Stewart Turner - Records The University of Melbourne Archives John Stewart Turner - Records 1991.0118 1925 - 1973 Lecture and laboratory notes 1925-36; papers relating to numerous committees and organisations with which he was connected including the CSIR/O 1945-71, the Victorian Department of Agriculture 1948-69, the Australian Society of Plant Physiologists 1957-74, the Institute of Marine Sciences 1968-71, and the Victorian Schools Examinations Board; general correspondence 1944-73 [7 m]. Further Turner correspondence appears in the records of the Botany School 1938-73. 7 m John Stewart Turner - Records Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science John Stewart Turner - Records MS 114 1977 - 1988 Reprint of 'The development of plant physiology in Australia' by J.S. Turner with related correspondence 1977; materials for 'The history of plant physiology in Australia' and reprints of other papers; correspondence relating to 'Cambridge-Castlemaine, a tribute to John Stewart Turner' two folders 1988 [closed until 1 January 2000]. 0.15 m, 1 box Turner, John Stewart Portrait Turner, John Stewart Portrait Royal Society of Victoria Presidential Portrait

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