George ChippendalePrint Page

The plaque commemorates the contribution to Australian botany by George Chippendale (1921 - 2010).

Chippendale moved to Canberra in 1966 to take up the position of senior botanist in the then Forestry Research Institute, which became the Division of Forestry Research, CSIRO. He chose the position over a possible stint as the Director of the Botanic Gardens in Canberra due to his preference to continue with pure botany rather than administrative tasks. His main specialisation became the genus Eucalyptus.

For twelve months during 1972-73 Chippendale became the Botanical Liaison Officer at Kew Gardens in England where he examined type material of Eucalypts, also travelling to several European herbaria to examine similar material. This helped him prepare a technical note, Herbarium Specimens of Eucalyptus Photographed in Europe as well as a record of those who had collected the material.

He is noted in particular for his work on Eucalyptus, having published a number of books on the subject (Eucalyptus Buds and Fruits (1968), Eucalypts of the Western Australian Goldfields and Adjacent Areas (1973) and Flora of Australia Vol. 19 Myrtaceae - Eucalyptus, Angophora (1988)). He also prepared a Check List of Northern Territory Plants (1972), a handbook on fodder trees and shrubs of the Northern Territory (1960), and contributed to the updating of several forestry handbooks. His main herbarium is to be found in CANB and DNA, with duplicates in many other institutions.

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