P008012 revised AU-VU:EOAS Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation

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 English AACR2 Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules Person created 2026-03-31 human Helen Cohn updated 2026-05-21 human https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P008012b.htm person Beard John Stanley AM AACR2 15 February 1916 17 February 2011 Place of Birth Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom Place of Death Perth, Western Australia, Australia Forester Botanic gardens director Plant geographer John Beard, who trained as a forester, spent the first 24 years of his career in the West Indies and Natal, South Africa. In Natal, as President of the Botanical Society of Natal, he had oversight of the botanic garden in Pietermaritzburg. This engendered an interest in botanic gardens and led him to apply for the position as Director of the King's Park and Botanic Garden in Perth. As the first Director, he successfully contended with inadequate facilities and a lack of trained staff. Although King's Park was founded to specialise in the study, display and cultivation of Western Australia native plants, Beard found an absence of information that would assist him. He set about filling this gap: the first result was the publication of Descriptive catalogue of West Australian plants (1965). In 1963 he initiated an extensive program of surveys which set the standards for understanding regional floristic zones and biogeographical areas for the whole state. The outcome was a series of 24 books, with maps, under the title Vegetation survey of Western Australia (1972 - 1980). These were published after Beard retired to Perth havng completing his term as Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. 1937 1937 Education - BA, School of Forestry, University of Oxford 1937 1947 Career position - Forester, British Colonial Service, Trinidad and Windward and Leeward Islands 1945 1945 Education - PhD, University of Oxford 1947 1961 Career position - Estates Research Officer, Natal Tanning and Extract Co. Ltd, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa 1955 1955 Career position - President, Botanical Society of Natal 1961 1970 Career position - Director, Kings Park and Botanic Garden, Perth 1970 1972 Career position - Director, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney 1972 1972 Life event - Retired 1983 1983 Award - Medal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 2003 2003 Award - Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for service to botany and ecology through the recording and mapping of plant vegetation types in Western Australia Medal of the Royal Society of Western Australia (1924 - )

Awarded the Medal 1983

 Kings Park and Botanic Garden (1872 - )

Director 1961 - 1970

 Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, Colony and State of New South Wales (1816 - )

Director 1970 - 1972

 'Beard, John Stanley', in Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology Beard, John Stanley Swinburne University of Technology, Centre for Transformative Innovation Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Edited Book: Descriptive catalogue of West Australian plants Beard, J. S. Descriptive catalogue of West Australian plants Sydney Society for Growing Australian Plants 1965 Book: Vegetation survey of Western Australia: the vegetation of the Kalgoorlie area (...) map and explanatory memoir 1:250.000 series Beard, J. S. Vegetation survey of Western Australia: the vegetation of the Kalgoorlie area (...) map and explanatory memoir 1:250.000 series Perth Vegmap Publications 1972 Book: Plant life of Western Australia Beard, J. S. Plant life of Western Australia Kenthurst, N.S.W Kangaroo Press 1990 Journal Article: The Botanists Diels and Pritzel in Western Australia: a Centenary Beard, J. S. The Botanists Diels and Pritzel in Western Australia: a Centenary 2001 Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 82 4 143-147 Journal Article: Celebration of a life in botany: Dr John Stanley Beard - on the occasion of his 90th birthday Dixon, Kingsley W. Celebration of a life in botany: Dr John Stanley Beard - on the occasion of his 90th birthday 2006 Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 89 3 93-7 Resource: Australian Plant Collectors and Illustrators Fagg, Murray Australian Plant Collectors and Illustrators Council of Heads of Australian Herbaria (CHAH) 2010 Edited Book: The Oxford Companion to Australian Gardens Aitken, Richard and Looker, Michael The Oxford Companion to Australian Gardens Melbourne Oxford University Press 2002