Farrer Memorial Trust Explained

The Farrer Memorial Trust was established in 1911 in Australia in memory of William Farrer. Initially established to provide study scholarships to Agricultural Scientists, the Trust became responsible in 1941 for the annual presentation of the Farrer Memorial Oration and awarding the Farrer Medal.

William Farrer and the Farrer Memorial Trust

See main article: William Farrer. William Farrer was a surveyor who turned his hand to farming in 1886 near where Canberra now stands. Initially he planted grape vines but the conditions were not suitable, so he then decided to plant wheat. Due to weather conditions his first two harvests where damaged by rust, which spurred Farrer to develop strains that were resistant to rust. In 1900, he was successful with a variety he named Federation after the imminent Federation of Australia. When Farrer died suddenly in 1906 a committee was created to raise funds needed to establish a Memorial Trust. On 16 October 1911, the Trust received the funds with a set of instructions, enabling it to provide research grants and scholarships to further agricultural science in Australia.^{[1] [2]}

Farrer Medal

In 1935, Frank Gallagher formed a committee to create the Farrer Memorial Oration, to be given by a person with an agricultural background. The first oration was by Tasmanian farmer and Australian Prime Minister Joseph Lyons at the Star Theatre, Queanbeyan on 3 April 1936, the birthday of William Farrer. At the end of the oration children from the Queanbeyan Intermediate High School presented Lyons with a silver medallion, which is now on display at Adolph Basser Library, Canberra. In 1941, Gallagher handed over the organisation of the Farrer Memorial Oration to the Farrer Memorial Trust.^[3]

Recipients

Source: NSW Department of Primary Industries

• • 1936 – J.A. Lyons 1937 – G.L. Sutton^[4]
• 1938 – W.L. Waterhouse
• 1939 – not awarded
• 1940 – not awarded
• 1941 – not awarded
• 1942 – not awarded
• 1943 – S.L. Macindoe
• 1944 – John Theodore Pridham
• 1945 – not awarded
• 1946 – H. Wenholz
• 1947 – Samuel MacMahon Wadham
• 1948 – J.A. Prescott^[5]
• 1949 – W.L. Waterhouse
• 1950 – Robert Dickie Watt
• 1951 – Laurence J.H. Teakle
• 1952 – Bertram Thomas Dickson
• 1953 – A.T. Pugsley
• 1954 – Allan Robert Callaghan
  • 1955 – E.A. Southee 1956 – A.F. Bell
• 1957 – J.G. Crawford
• 1958 – I.A. Watson
• 1959 – R.J. Noble
• 1960 – H.J. Geddes
• 1961 – Howard Carlyle Forster
  • 1962 – O.H. Frankel 1963 – R. N. Robertson
• 1964 – Prof C.M. Donald^[6]
• 1965 – J.R.A. McMillan
• 1966 – G. Edgar
• 1967 – E.J. Underwood
• 1968 – E.M. Hutton
  • 1969 – C.S. Christian 1970 – J. Melville
• 1971 – E.E. Bond
  • 1972 – J.M. Vincent 1973 – D.F. Waterhouse
• 1974 – Helen Newton Turner
• 1975 – John S. Gladstones
• 1976 – R.A. McIntosh
• 1977 – D.J. McDonald
• 1978 – Walter Ives
• 1979 – L.T. Evans
• 1980 – R.H. Martin
• 1981 – N.F. Derera
• 1982 – J.P. Quirk
• 1983 – J.R. Syme
• 1984 – W.V. Single
• 1985 – C.M. Francis
• 1986 – D.E. Byth
• 1987 – J.L. Dillon
• 1988 – A.N. Smith
• 1989 – M.H. Campbell
• 1990 – D.H.B. Sparrow
• 1991 – John W. Longworth
• 1992 – E.F. Henzell
• 1993 – D.E. Smiles
• 1994 – B.S. Fisher
• 1995 – E.N. Fitzpatrick
• 1996 – C.D. Blake
• 1997 – T.J. Flugge
• 1998 – M.N. Kinsella
• 1999 – W.J. Peacock
• 2000 – W.A. Vertigan
• 2001 – R.A. Hare
• 2002 – Gil Hollamby^[7]
• 2003 – L. Lewin
• 2004 – R.J. Clements
• 2005 – John Williams
• 2006 – John A.G. Irwin
• 2007 – T. Fischer AM
• 2008 – Philip Cocks^[8]
• 2009 – R.J. Mailer
• 2010 – M.L. Poole
• 2011 – C.R. Wellings
• 2012 – Graeme Hammer
• 2013 – Andrew Inglis AM
  • 2014 – Elizabeth Dennis 2015 – Joe Panozzo
• 2016 – Ted Knights
• 2017 – John Kirkegaard
• 2019 – Tim Reeves

See also

• List of agriculture awards
• List of prizes named after people

Notes and References

1. Web site: Farrer, William. . Percival Serle. Angus and Robertson . 1949. 28 December 2007.
2. Web site: The Farrer Memorial Trust . 28 December 2007 . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071118213739/http://www.agric.nsw.gov.au/reader/farrer-memorial-trust . 18 November 2007 .
3. Web site: Farrer Memorial Trust . 28 December 2007 . The Farrer Memorial Trust.
4. Web site: Sutton, George Lowe (1872–1964) . 30 December 2007 . Bright Sparcs, Biographical entry.
5. Web site: Prescott, James Arthur (1890–1987) . 28 December 2007 . Bright Sparcs, Biographical entry.
6. Web site: Colin Malcolm Donald: 1910–1985 . 11 October 2010 . Donald Medal, Australian Society of Agromony . https://web.archive.org/web/20100701153501/http://www.agronomy.org.au/awards/donald-medal.htm . 1 July 2010 . dead .
7. Web site: Farrer medal awarded to wheat breeder . 28 December 2007.
8. Web site: Salinity expert named 2008 Farrer Memorial Medal . https://archive.today/20121230234713/http://nqr.farmonline.com.au/news_daily.asp?ag_id=47643 . dead . 30 December 2012 . 28 December 2007 .