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John WrigleyPrint Page Print this page

The plaque commemorates the work of the former curator of the gardens, John Wrigley (1934 - 2014). 

John Wrigley started his professional career as an industrial chemist. He had a keen interest in the propagation and cultivation of Australian native plants and was involved in the establishment of the Society for Growing Australian Plants (SGAP) and the setting up of the Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Appointed Curator of the Canberra Botanic Gardens (now Australian National Botanic Gardens) in 1967. Landscaped the Australian Pavilion at Expo'70 in Japan. Undertook extensive field collecting 1967-81.

He retired from the Australian National Botanic Gardens in 1981 and moved to Coffs Harbour, NSW, to undertake private horticultural consulting and initiate a foliage export market for native plant leaves for the florist industry. He also designed botanic gardens in Coffs Harbour, Mildura and Tamworth and a nature park at Port Macquarie.

He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1983 for services to horticulture.

He published a landmark series of books, in collaboration with Murray Fagg, on the horticulture and general botany of the Australian flora, including Australian Native Plants - Propagation, cultivation and use in landscaping released in 6 fully revised editions (1979, 1983, 1988, 1996, 2003, 2013); Banksias, Waratahs and Grevilleas (1989) and Bottlebrushes, Paperbarks and Tea Trees (1993), and Eucalypts: a celebration (2010).

 

Location

Address:Clunies Ross Street, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Acton, 2600
State:ACT
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -35.277778
Long: 149.11
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

Monument Type:Plaque
Monument Theme:People
Sub-Theme:Science

Dedication

Actual Monument Dedication Date:Friday 21st October, 2005
Front Inscription

Australian Government
Australian National Botanic Gardens

To celebrate the work of 
John Wrigley AM
Curator of the 
Australian National Botanic Gardens
1967 - 1981

And honour his contribution to Australian horticulture

Source: MA
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au