Dianne Davidson , commonly known as Di Davidson, is an Australian agricultural scientist and author. Davidson is the current Chair of the South Australian Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board.

Career

The primary focus of Di's career has been

viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...

, culminating in her authorship of two books: ''A Guide to Growing Winegrapes in Australia'' (1992) and ''The Business of Vineyards'' (2001). She owns properties at Langhorne Creek and in the Adelaide Hills and manages a consultancy firm called Davidson Consulting. Davidson has served on a number of boards throughout her career. Previously she has been a director Horticulture Australia Limited, which manages research and development funding for Australia's horticultural sector, and has also served on the

Premier's Climate Change Council The Premier's Climate Change Council is a South Australian state government body within the Department for Environment and Water. It was established in 2008 and is chaired by Martin Haese. The Council provides independent advice to the Minister r ...

in South Australia. She has worked closely on water policy reform since 2006, having served as a member of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority for 9 years, with responsibility for crafting the Basin Plan, and being a Presiding Member of the former South Australian Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resources Management Board in 2019-20. Davidson has had strong involvement in higher education administration. She has been a Fellow of both the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and the Australian Institute of Agriculture, Science and Technology. She was a councillor of the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

for 12 years, four of which she was Deputy Chancellor. In 2015, she was appointed a

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 ...

for her services to the wine industry, horticulture management, and higher education administration.

Education

Davidson obtained her Bachelor of Agricultural Science Degree from the University of Adelaide in 1969. She holds a Master of Science from

James Cook University James Cook University (JCU) is a public university in North Queensland, Australia. The second oldest university in Queensland, JCU is a teaching and research institution. The university's main campuses are located in the tropical cities of Cair ...

where she previously worked in the

botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

department. She also holds a Graduate Diploma in

Business Administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

from the

South Australian Institute of Technology The University of South Australia is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1991, it is the successor of the former South Australian Institute of Technology. Its main campuses along North Terrace are ...

. She was a student of

Seymour College Seymour College is an independent, Uniting Church, day and boarding school for girls, located at Glen Osmond, Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1922 as Presbyterian Girls' College, and renamed for the Rev. J. A. Seymour, Seymour has ...

where she later served on the Board in her adulthood.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Di Academic staff of James Cook University Living people Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Year of birth missing (living people) University of Adelaide alumni James Cook University alumni Members of the Order of Australia Australian women scientists Australian viticulturists