Collin & Dorothy WoolcockPrint Page

The seat and plaque commemorate Collin and Dorothy Woolcock for their contribution to the study of Australian plants.

Collin concentrated his attention on terrestrial orchids but following his retirement he broadened his interests and illustrated many other groups. Collin used pencil crayons for his coloured illustrations and perfected a very effective technique. Epacridaceae, Fabaceae and Proteaceae always appear to have been his favourites. Retirement marked the beginning of Collin's 'botanical years' and he often spoke of the pleasure that these years had afforded Dorothy and himself. During this period they travelled widely in western and eastern Australia.

Collin and Dorothy had a very keen eye for plants and many a botanist has benefited from specimens that they collected, often in response to a specific request. I was often informed of the proposed itinerary of an impending trip well in advance and asked to nominate any plants of which material would be particularly welcome. Collin and Dorothy enjoyed working with and for amateur and professional botanists. They worked as a team with Collin concentrating on collecting, drawing and taking photographs and Dorothy making notes and writing.

One outcome of their joint endeavours was marked in 1984 by the publication of 'Australian Terrestrial Orchids' with the art work by Collin and the text by Dorothy. Towards the end of 1989 'A Fieldguide to Native Peaflowers of Victoria and Southeastern Australia' appeared once again with text by Dorothy and illustrations by Collin. Still to appear in books being published by the Society for Growing Australian Plants are Collin's illustrations of the Grevillea species and of the mountain flora of the Kosciusko area.

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