Order Of Australia Research Articles

A protected flow breaks the drought for golden perch (Macquaria ambigua) spawning along an extensive semi‐arid river system

AbstractFreshwater ecosystems are under extreme stress due to anthropogenic influences including changing climate, river regulation and water abstraction. Improving our understanding of the hydrological determinants of key life‐history processes of fish, as well as the spatial scales over which these processes occur, is fundamental to inform effective recovery actions. We monitored the spawning response of native fish to a drought‐breaking long‐distance flow pulse that was protected from extraction by a legal intervention order in Australia's northern Murray–Darling Basin. Sampling sites were distributed across >1600 km of the Barwon–Darling River and three of its major tributaries. Larvae of the pelagophilic golden perch (Macquaria ambigua) were captured at all sites, with the size and age distribution indicative of both mainstem and tributary spawning. A mismatch between estimated hatch dates and river discharge at some locations suggested substantial flow‐assisted dispersal from upstream spawning sites, although this was site‐specific and more prevalent at downstream locations. Early life growth rates were the highest at tributary sites compared with mainstem sites, and within mainstem sites, golden perch grew faster in upper reaches compared with lower reaches. The present study provides insight into the environmental benefit of a post‐drought protected flow event whereby connected lotic habitats promoted fish spawning and dispersal over a large spatial scale. Protection of future flow events should occur to support the conservation of golden perch and other pelagophil species, particularly following future drought periods which are forecast to become more intense and frequent.

Michael Alexander Smith, BA Hons, MA, PhD, FAHA, FSA, Rhys Jones Medal (2006), Verco Medal (2010), Order of Australia (AM, 2013), UNE Distinguished Alumni (2015), born England 1955, died Canberra 16 October 2022

Michael Alexander Smith, BA Hons, MA, PhD, FAHA, FSA, Rhys Jones Medal (2006), Verco Medal (2010), Order of Australia (AM, 2013), UNE Distinguished Alumni (2015), born England 1955, died Canberra 16 October 2022

George Ernest Rogers 1927–2021

George Rogers (1927–2021) was elected to Fellowship of the Academy in 1977 for his outstanding contributions to our knowledge of the molecular structure of keratins and the biochemistry of keratinisation. He was a pioneer in the application of electron microscopy to hair and wool ultrastructure and to that of the hair follicle. He discovered citrulline in keratin proteins, and the enzymes, roles, and histochemical localisation of transglutaminase and peptidylarginine deiminase (PAD). He was the first to demonstrate ribosomal-dependent keratin protein synthesis in 1965 followed by detailed studies of the biosynthesis of hair keratin proteins. His research initiated studies on the molecular events in the development of the feather follicle and later led to the cloning and characterisation of the clustered genes of feather and related avian keratins. He also cloned and characterised genes for the three classes of wool keratin proteins and studied the transcription of keratin genes. In 1977, he was awarded a DSc by the University of Adelaide in recognition for his work. In 2013, he was made an Officer in the Order of Australia.

A Tribute to Gary Bouma

Emeritus Professor Gary Bouma was many things to many people. He was Australia's pre-eminent scholar of the sociology of religion. As an ordained Anglican priest, Gary was noted for his pastoral care of his parishioners and others who sought his counsel and spiritual support. He was a loving husband, father and grandfather. Moreover, his deep commitment to social justice and harmony greatly influenced Gary's participation in interfaith dialogue. Gary contributed so much to scholarship and building bridges between religious communities that he was justly rewarded with an Order of Australia as a Member (AM) in recognition for his services to sociology, to the Anglican Church of Australia, and to interreligious relations in the 2013 Australia Day Honours.

Tribute: John Alexander Ware

I was very sorry to hear of the death of my distinguished friend and colleague John Ware, Order of Australia (OAM). Although a Fellow of the Society, John was far better known in Australian and international pharmacy than he was in Britain. A community pharmacist, dually qualified in Australia and Great Britain, he distinguished himself […]

Interview: Robyn Sheahan-Bright, IBBY Australia President and Recently Appointed Member of the Order of Australia

Interview: Robyn Sheahan-Bright, IBBY Australia President and Recently Appointed Member of the Order of Australia

Withdrawal – Knighthoods and the Order of Australia

Withdrawal – Knighthoods and the Order of Australia

David Roderick Curtis 1927–2017

David Curtis was a pioneer in the identification of excitatory and inhibitory transmitters released at synapses in the central nervous system. He made major contributions to the identification of gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) and glycine as inhibitory transmitters released at inhibitory synapses. His work laid the foundation for the subsequent acceptance that L-glutamate was the major excitatory transmitter. David’s scientific work led to him receiving many accolades and honours, including Fellowships of the Australian Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society and a Companion of the Order of Australia.

William McBride: alerted the world to the dangers of thalidomide in fetal development

In December 1961, the Australian obstetrician William McBride warned in a letter to the Lancet that he had observed “multiple severe abnormalities” in babies delivered from women who had taken...

AFC first commercial hydrogen power gen order in Australia

UK-based alkaline fuel cell company AFC Energy has received its first commercial order in Australia for its proprietary hydrogen power generation unit, from Southern Oil Refining Pty Ltd. The hydrogen from a refinery that processes discarded lubricants and fuels will become a source of clean electrical energy in Queensland.

“Then in 1915”: Eric Bogle’s “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda”

ABSTRACTThe anti-war song “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda” has become a cultural icon in Australia, and elsewhere has been recorded over 130 times in 10 different languages. The song was written in 1971 by Eric Bogle, a Scottish immigrant to Australia, who has penned more than 250 powerful compositions, which, among other things, focus on the failure of history to impress upon youth the futility of war. Appropriately, Bogle was named Australian Humanist of the Year in 2001 for capturing “the ethos of humanism through his perceptive and individualistic songwriting with its exposure of racism, bigotry, warmongering and injustice of all kinds”. Additionally, he was awarded the United Nations Peace Medal (1986), and was made Member of the Order of Australia (1987). This article asks why a song written by a Scot in Australia, fifty-six years after the Dardanelles campaign, feels as if it has “always existed. That it belongs to culture and country”. It questions what the appeal imbued within the lyrics of those five short verses might be and recounts the story behind the creation of what Pete Seeger referred to as “one of the world’s greatest songs”. Through interviews with the writer, and an examination of the relevant historiography, this article presents a study of “the most potent ballad of the age”. It also examines what Bogle meant when he said that it was a song that “came into its time”.

Teoh and Visions of International Law

In 1995 the High Court of Australia handed down its decision in The Minister for Immigration v. Teoh. In this case the Court decided that international conventions that were not incorporated into Australian law could nevertheless give rise to a legitimate expectation that, in making administrative decisions, the government would either act in a manner consistent with its treaty obligations or give the person affected an opportunity to argue that the treaty provisions should be applied. The decision came under attack from the government (which issued an executive statement that attempted to undermine the effectiveness of the case) and in the parliament where there have been three unsuccessful attempts to pass legislation to overturn the effect of the case. This article explores the way in which the responses to Teoh illustrate four competing approaches to international law in Australia. The first vision sees international law as a clear, binding obligation on Australia, particularly in the area of human rights. The second sees international law as purely in the domain of States and thus irrelevant in the courts or to ordinary Australians. The third perceives international law as a threat that might have unpredictable consequences for the democratic, constitutional order of Australia. The final vision sees international law as entirely subversive of Australian values and rejects its entitlement to any role in Australian law. The passions that this debate has sparked in Australia and the strength of the negative visions of international law in Australia are compared to other common law jurisdictions that have taken a more moderate approach.

Lloyd Thomas Evans 1927–2015

Lloyd Evans, a leading plant scientist, published extensively on the regulation of flowering and on crop production during a lifetime spent in research at CSIRO. His significant achievements included: identification of a gibberellin plant hormone as a flowering regulator in the grass Lolium temulentum; discovery of a synthetic gibberellin growth retardant that blocked endogenous gibberellin synthesis; and discovery in Pharbitis of a novel biological flowering clock with a 12h (semidian) period. In crops, he established the impact on yield of photosynthate production and transport to competing sinks. Two of his books, Crop Evolution: Adaptation and Yield and Feeding the Ten Billion have had a major influence on agricultural research and policy. His ability to define research options led to many years of international advisory work. He was an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO), and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS), and of the Australian Academy of Science (FAA) (including a term as president).

Gongs, Gremlins and Glitches

On Australia Day 2013 Bonita Mabo, Eddie Mabo's widow, was awarded Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AO) for 'distinguished service to the indigenous community and to human rights as an advocate' for Indigenous peoples. Like her husband's posthumous Australian of the Year award, announced exactly 20 years earlier by The Australian newspaper, this recognition by a grateful nation was richly deserved. Bonita, now 70, lives near Townsville. Despite her age and failing eyesight, she is still an 'extremely vocal advocate for South Sea Islanders' from whom she is descended. Sadly, such admirable advocacy remains necessary in many areas, including the search for Indigenous land justice. the search for Indigenous land justice.

Athelstan Laurence Johnson Beckwith 1930 - 2010

Athel Beckwith was an organic chemist whose research was concerned with free radicals, the reactive intermediates that play important roles in many organic chemical reactions. After studies and junior appointments at Australian universities, at Oxford University he worked with W. A. Waters and completed his doctorate at a time when scepticism about the very existence of free radicals was being rolled back by a small group of experimentalists. Returning to Australia, where he occupied chairs at the University of Adelaide and the Australian National University, Beckwith used studies of organic structure and mechanisms, revealed by kinetic methods and electron spin resonance spectroscopy, to become a world leader in this field of chemistry. He was honoured by election to Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science (1973) and the Royal Society of London (1989), by several awards from the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, and by membership of the Order of Australia (2004). His extensive travels, often accompanied by his wife Kaye and their children, to work in overseas chemical research laboratories and to give presentations at international meetings, helped him to secure his place in networks at the highest levels of his profession. Several those who studied with him now hold important positions in Australian chemistry.

RONALD N. BRACEWELL: AN APPRECIATION

Ronald Newbold Bracewell (1921-2007) made fundamental contributions to the development of radio astronomy in the areas of interferometry, signal processing, and imaging, and also to tomography, various areas of data analysis, and the understanding of Fourier transforms. He was born in Sydney, Australia, and received a B.Sc. degree in mathematics and physics, and B.E. and M.E. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Sydney, and his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, U.K., for research on the ionosphere. In 1949 he joined the Radiophysics Laboratory of CSIRO, where he became interested in radio astronomy. In 1955 he moved to Stanford University, California, where he became Lewis M. Terman Professor of Electrical Engineering. He retired from teaching in 1991, but continued to be active in radio astronomy and other applications of imaging techniques, etc. During his career he published ten books and more than 250 papers. Honors that he received include the Duddell Premium of the Institute of Electrical Engineers, London, the Hertz Medal of the IEEE, and the Order of Australia. For his work on imaging in tomography he was elected to Associate Membership of the Institute of Medicine of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.

Reconstructing Violent Rural Masculinities: Responding to Fractures in the Rural Gender Order in Australia

Men's violence against women is higher in rural communities compared to urban areas and many writers have identified the increased vulnerability of women in rural areas when addressing men's violence. This article will explore the implications of the emerging scholarship on rural masculinities for understanding how rurality invokes different modes of masculinity associated with men's violence in the context of rural restructuring. While the socio-cultural aspects of rural areas generate stronger enforcement of gender roles that perpetuate gender inequality, rural restructuring challenges dominant forms of masculinity, and this has contradictory consequences for reconstructing masculinities. Consequently, while many rural men are endeavouring to preserve traditional masculinity in the face of the rural crisis, other men are exploring alternative masculinities that are incompatible with men's violence against women.

Robert Alexander McIntosh Officer of the Order Of Australia (AO)

Robert Alexander McIntosh Officer of the Order Of Australia (AO)

Geoffrey Malcolm Badger 1916 - 2002

Geoffrey Malcolm Badger was Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Adelaide from 1955 to 1964 and, after serving briefly as a member of the CSIRO Executive, Vice-Chancellor from 1967 to 1977. Elected to Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science in 1960, he served on the Council and was President of the Academy from 1974 to 1978. He was President of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute in 1965 and Chairman of the Australian Science and Technology Council (ASTEC) from 1977 to 1982. During the Second World War, while working as a Lieutenant Instructor for the British Navy, he developed an interest in maritime navigation, and especially in Captain James Cook. Later, he edited the book Captain Cook: Navigator and Scientist and, in retirement, he wrote two books, Explorers of the Pacific (1988) and The Explorers of Australia (2001). He was admitted to the order of Australia (AO) in 1975 and knighted in 1979.

Christopher Charles Heyde 1939 - 2008

An account of the Heyde family is followed by a description of Chris's childhood, schooling and university training at Sydney and the ANU. Chris spent most of his academic career at the ANU, CSIRO and Columbia University. He made an outstanding contribution to probability theory and its applications. His theoretical work focused mainly on the laws of large numbers, branching processes, martingale theory, estimation theory and, most recently, financial mathematics. He also had a lasting interest in the history of probability and statistics. Chris received considerable recognition, including Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science and of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, as well as Membership of the Order of Australia.