Ethelbert Ambrook Southee (6 August 1890 – 27 December 1968), invariably referred to as E. A. Southee or Bert Southee, was an Australian educator.

Biography

Southee was born in

Cootamundra, New South Wales Cootamundra, nicknamed Coota, is a town in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia and within the Riverina. It is within the Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council. At the 2016 Census, Cootamundra had a population of 6,782. ...

to Frederick Southee, a baker, and his wife Catherine Charlotte Southee, née McCutcheon; his older siblings were Fred, Ernest and Arthur and Alice. He was educated at Cootamundra Superior Public School, Sydney Boys' High School and the University of Sydney, graduating B.Sc. in 1912. A "brilliant academic and sportsman" (he was NSW long-jump champion) Southee won a

Rhodes scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Established in 1902, it is ...

in 1913 and proceeded to

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

. His academic career was "put on hold" by the outbreak of the First World War: he enlisted immediately and received a commission in the British Army, serving on the Western Front and in Italy, rising to the rank of Acting Major and was appointed O.B.E. in 1919. He resumed his studies in 1919 and was elected a representative for the Oxford University Athletic Club. He finished third behind William Petersson in the long jump event at the

1919 AAA Championships The 1919 AAA Championships was the 1919 edition of the annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association (AAA). It was held on Saturday 5 July 1919 at the Stamford Bridge Stadium in London, England. The C ...

. He graduated BSc.Agr in 1919 and was elected a fellow of the

Linnean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature collec ...

of London. Southee and his wife Charlotte moved to

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

, Ithaca, New York State, to undertake research and further studies, but she suffered a miscarriage, losing twin sons. He cut their stay short to accept the post of principal of the

Hawkesbury Agricultural College Hawkesbury Agricultural College was the first agricultural college in New South Wales, Australia, based in Richmond. It operated from 1891 to 1989. History It was established on 10 March 1891, and formally opened by Minister for Mines and Agric ...

Richmond, New South Wales Richmond is a historic town in northwest Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. Richmond is in the local government area of the City of Hawkesbury and is part of the Sydney metropolitan area. It is located 19 metres above sea level on the alluvia ...

, serving from 1921 to 1954 as "one of Australia's foremost agricultural educators".

Other interests

He was a longtime member of the NSW Royal Agricultural Society and a vice-president of the Society 1939—1968.

Personal

On 23 June 1918 in Sydney Southee married Charlotte Elizabeth "Lottie" Lappin (died 10 July 1944). Their children included: *Joyce Elizabeth Southee (15 November 1921 – 28 June 2021), married Gordon Marshman on 29 January 1949 *Colin Ethelbert Southee (9 March 1928 – 7 November 2015)

Recognition

*Southee horticultural pavilion at the Sydney Showground was named for him, as was *E. A. Southee Primary School in Cootamundra. *Southee Rd, Richmond is named in his honour, running along the southern edge of town from the gates of the old Hawkesbury Agricultural College (now Western Sydney University), to Castlereagh Rd.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Southee, Ethelbert 1890 births 1968 deaths Australian headmasters Australian Rhodes Scholars