Catherine Anne Money ( Menzies; born 18 August 1940) is an Australian biochemist whose discoveries have changed

leather making Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...

. By introducing a freezing process, she simplified the preparation of hides in Australian tanneries. Her simplified approach which minimizes tannery effluents and maximizes hide quality is now used globally.

Early life and schooling

Catherine Money (née Menzies) was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Victoria to Sir

Douglas Menzies Sir Douglas Ian Menzies KBE (7 September 190729 November 1974) was an Australian judge, serving as a Justice of the High Court of Australia. He was also Chancellor of Monash University from 1968 until his death in 1974. Early life Menzies was ...

, Justice of the High Court of Australia, and Helen Jean Borland, a community worker and kindergarten teacher, in 1940. Money grew up in

Balwyn Balwyn () is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Boroondara local government area. Balwyn recorded a population of 13,495 at the 2021 census. The sub ...

and attended Preshil (1943–1945) and

Fintona Girls' School Fintona Girls' School is a small, independent, non-denominational, day school for girls, located in Balwyn, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1896, Fintona is a non-selective school and currently caters for approximately 600 st ...

(1945–1957), in

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is ...

and

, respectively. Money spent time in isolation with

scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'', a Group A streptococcus (GAS). It most commonly affects children between five and 15 years of age. The signs and symptoms include a sore ...

at the Fairfield Infectious Diseases Hospital.

University

Money graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

in 1960 with an Exhibition in

Biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

. Thanks to a scholarship, she began a Masters of Science program, specialising in biochemistry, at the University of Melbourne which she completed in 1963. Her thesis, titled: "Studies on the

Thyroid Gland The thyroid, or thyroid gland, is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans, it is a butterfly-shaped gland located in the neck below the Adam's apple. It consists of two connected lobes. The lower two thirds of the lobes are connected by ...

", was supervised by Professor Victor Trikojus. She was a postgraduate research student engaged in research for a PhD at

St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, commonly known as Barts or BL, is a medical and dental school in London, England. The school is part of Queen Mary University of London, a constituent college of the federal University of L ...

, London, where she worked with Professor Eric M. Crook on immobilised enzymes. Due to her mother becoming ill, Money returned to Australia and sought work at

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency that is responsible for scientific research and its commercial and industrial applications. CSIRO works with leading organisations arou ...

CSIRO

The only job available was as an Experimental Officer in the CSIRO Division of Protein Chemistry – working with hides and leather. Until this time, the standard method for removing hair in the preparation of hides involved the extraction of a pulp, which has been described as "an intensive

effluent Effluent is wastewater from sewers or industrial outfalls that flows directly into surface waters, either untreated or after being treated at a facility. The term has slightly different meanings in certain contexts, and may contain various pol ...

system." Money and a fellow scientist discovered that freezing hides prior to tanning aided in the gentle removal of hair, without the use of toxic chemicals. The process does not damage the animal skins. The freezing preparation of hides is used by leather producers who supply to

Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier SAS, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ...

Gucci Guccio Gucci S.p.A., doing business as Gucci ( , ), is an Italian Luxury goods, luxury fashion house based in Florence. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and ...

Prada Prada S.p.A. (, ; ) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and branding ...

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

and

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

. By removing the waste pulp whole, which is rich in nitrogen and phosphorus – it becomes its own product, sold as an ingredient for composting or fertiliser pellets.

Retirement

Money retired from CSIRO in 2005 following the closure of its Leather Research Centre. She established her own company, Catherine Money Consulting, specialising in the

leather industry Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...

and environment. She continued to manage an extension of the

Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) is an Australian Government statutory agency that forms part of the overseas aid program in the Foreign Affairs and Trade Portfolio, reporting to the Minister of Foreign Aff ...

(ACIR) Project, Salinity Reduction in Tannery Effluents in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Awards

* 1991: John Arthur Wilson Memorial Lecturer – presented to the American Leather Chemists Association; lecture title: "Tannery Waste Minimisation" * 1995: Procter Memorial Lecture – presented to the Society of Leather Technologists and Chemists in the UK; lecture title: "Unhairing and Dewooling – Requirements for Quality and the Environment", British Section of the International Society of Leather Trades * 1998: Public Service Medal – for services to the leather industry * 2024:

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

2024 King's Birthday Honours The 2024 King's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of King Charles III to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part o ...

for "significant service to leather research, and to environmental conservation".

References