Irene Crespin (12 November 1896 – 2 January 1980) was an Australian

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, alt ...

and

micropalaeontologist Micropaleontology (American spelling; spelled micropalaeontology in European usage) is the branch of paleontology ( palaeontology) that studies microfossils, or fossils that require the use of a microscope to see the organism, its morphology and i ...

. Irene's interest in geology brought her attention to

Frederick Chapman Fred, Frederic or Frederick Chapman may refer to: * Frederic Chapman (1823–1895), English publisher with Chapman & Hall * Frederick Chapman (British Army officer) (1815–1893), British Army officer and colonial official * Frederick Chapman (pal ...

, who was a palaeontologist at the

National Museum of Victoria National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

. Irene became his assistant and later replaced his role as a palaeontologist in the Department of the Interior where she received half his salary, equipment and office space because she was a woman. Crespin began her research by examining and locating fossils across Australia.

Early life

Geologist Irene Crespin was born in Australia in the town of

Kew, Victoria Kew (;) is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km east from Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Boroondara local government area. Kew recorded a population of 24,499 at the 2021 census. A city in ...

. Crespin was born to Victorian parents, her father Godwin George Crespin an auctioneer and her mother was Eliza Jane. Originally, Crespin dreamed of becoming a musician, but after attending the Mansfield Agricultural High School she found her inspiration to become a

. She took her B.A. from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb n ...

in 1919, in which she studied to become a teacher. Here, she fell under the influence of

, whose assistant she became in December 1927. From here she assisted Chapman in his study and search to discover oils and minerals in the area.

Career

On 1 January 1936 she succeeded Chapman as a palaeontologist in the Department of the Interior. It was a high honor to continue with Chapman's work, but unfortunately Crespin was severely underpaid: her salary was half that of Frederick Chapman, and had to continue on working with insufficient tools and lesser than desirable working environment. A driving desire to continue her geological studies resulted in Crespin moving to Canberra to be in contact with the Commonwealth's geological adviser Walter George Woolnough. During her career she published some ninety papers—including notable work on

foraminifera Foraminifera (; Latin for "hole bearers"; informally called "forams") are single-celled organisms, members of a phylum or class of amoeboid protists characterized by streaming granular ectoplasm for catching food and other uses; and commonly ...

—as sole author and more than twenty in collaboration with other scientists.Margaret E. Bartlett
Crespin, Irene (1896 - 1980)
Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 13, MUP, 1993, pp 532–533. In 1939, Crespin traveled to Java and Sumatra, Indonesia, to discuss with micro-palaenontologists who were in government service and industry, regarding the problems that existed with Tertiary correlation in the Indo-Pacific region. Crespin was invited to visit the US in 1951 to address the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and engage in a three-month tour, the first time an Australian had been asked to speak to this group. It was reported that opposition to her taking up this offer was strong from within the government. She was warmly welcomed by geologists across the United States. A fire broke out in 1953 in the Canberra offices of the Bureau of Mineral Resources resulting in many of Crespin's books and work being destroyed. In 1961, Crespin had to retire at the age of 65.

Later life

Crespin died in Canberra, on 2 January 1980. She recorded some of her history of work within micropalaeontology in Australia, in ''Ramblings of a Micropalaeontologist'', in 1975.

Bibliographies of Australian Foraminifera

* ''The Sorrento Bore, Morington Peninsula, With a Description of New or Little Known Fossils.'' (1928) - Irene Crespin & Chapman, F. * ''Rare Foraminifera From Deep Borings in the Victorian Tertiaries- Victoriella, Gen. Nov., Cycloclypeus Communis Martin, and Lepidocylina Burneensis Provale.'' (1930) - Irene Crespin & Chapman, F * ''Rare Foraminifera From Deep Borings in the Victorian Tertiaries; Part II.'' (1930) - Irene Crespin & Chapman, F. * ''Rare Foraminifera From Deep Borings; Part III.'' (1932) - Irene Crespin & Chapman, F. * ''Arenaceous Forminfera From the Permian Rocks of New South Wales.'' (1940) - Irene Crespin & W. J. Parr * ''The Genus Cycloclypeus in Victoria.'' (1941) - Irene Crespin * ''The Genus Lepidocyclina in Victoria.'' (1934) - Irene Crespin * ''Some Lower Cretaceous Forminfera From Bores in the

Great Artesian Basin The Great Artesian Basin (GAB), located in Australia, is the largest and deepest artesian basin in the world, stretching over , with measured water temperatures ranging from . The basin provides the only source of fresh water through much o ...

, Northern New South Wales''. (1944) - Irene Crespin * ''Some Permian

Foraminifera Foraminifera (; Latin for "hole bearers"; informally called "forams") are single-celled organisms, members of a phylum or class of amoeboid protists characterized by streaming granular ectoplasm for catching food and other uses; and commonly ...

From Victoria, Australia.'' (1945) - Irene Crespin * ''Some Tertiary

From Victoria, Australia.'' (1950) - Irene Crespin * ''Two New Species of Lepidocyclina From Cape Range, North Western Australia.'' (1952) - Irene Crespin * ''Lower

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

From the

, Australia.'' (1953) - Irene Crespin

Awards

* Crespin received he Bachelor of Arts (BA) in 1919 from the University of Melbourne. * In 1953, Crespin received the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal. * In 1956, Crespin received the Royal Society of New South Wales Clarke Medal. * Crespin was awarded the

Clarke Medal The Clarke Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of New South Wales, the oldest learned society in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere, for distinguished work in the Natural sciences. The medal is named in honour of the Reverend William Branw ...

by the

Royal Society of New South Wales The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. The Governor of New South Wales is the vice-regal patron of the Society. The Society was established as the Philosophical Society of Australasia on 27 June ...

in 1957. * In 1960, Crespin received her Doctor of Science (DSc) from the University of Melbourne. * In 1962, Crespin received the Award of Merit from the Commonwealth Professional Officers' Association. * In 1969, Crespin received the award of Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). * In 1973, Crespin received a career position - Honorary member of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science.

Legacy

A street in the Canberra suburb of

Banks A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

is named ''Crespin Place'' in her honour. The Irene Crespin Prize for Palaeontology is awarded by the Faculty of Science at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

for excellence in undergraduate palaeontology.

Geoscience Australia Geoscience Australia is an agency of the Australian Government. It carries out geoscientific research. The agency is the government's technical adviser on all aspects of geoscience, and custodian of the geographic and geological data and knowle ...

in Canberra have named a room in Irene's honour. The Irene Crespin Innovation Lab was opened on 24 September 2019 with members of her family in attendance.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crespin, Irene 1896 births 1980 deaths Australian women geologists Australian paleontologists Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Geologists from Melbourne Women paleontologists 20th-century women scientists 19th-century Australian women 20th-century Australian women People from Kew, Victoria