Norman Arthur Wakefield (28 November 1918 – 23 September 1972) was an Australian teacher, naturalist, paleontologist and

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

, notable as an expert on ferns. He described many new species of plants. Wakefield was born in

Romsey, Victoria Romsey is a town in the local government area of the Shire of Macedon Ranges in the state of Victoria, Australia. The town is north of Melbourne. At the , Romsey had a population of 4,412. History The original location for the settlement kn ...

, and educated at state schools in

Orbost Orbost is a historic early settlers town in the Shire of East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, Victoria, east of Melbourne and south of Canberra where the Princes Highway crosses the Snowy River. It is about from the surf and fishing seaside t ...

and at Scotch College, Melbourne with a BSc in biology. He joined the Victorian Education Department in 1934 and served as a teacher in various parts of East Gippsland.Clode, Danielle. (2002). 'Wakefield, Norman Arthur (1918-1972)'. ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (Volume 16, p. 461). Melbourne University Pres

accessed 6 January 2008 During the Second World War Wakefield served with the Australian Army in Papua and New Guinea (1943–1944) and on Bougainville (1944–1945). He returned from his war service with a collection of ferns now housed in the British Museum and the National Herbarium of Victoria. From 1955 to 1965 he lectured in natural history and science at the Melbourne Teachers' College. In 1960 he graduated as a Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne, and in 1969 completed an

MSc MSC may refer to: Computers * Message Sequence Chart * Microelectronics Support Centre of UK Rutherford Appleton Laboratory * MIDI Show Control * MSC Malaysia (formerly known as Multimedia Super Corridor) * USB mass storage device class (USB MSC ...

in paleontology at Monash University, as well as lecturing in biology at Monash Teachers' College.Wakefield, Norman A. (1967). ''Naturalist’s Diary''. Longmans: Melbourne. In the early 1960s he made broadcasts on school nature study for the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, as well as writing a regular column for the ''

Melbourne Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory ...

'' 1963–1971. He wrote numerous popular articles on natural history as well as many scientific papers in international and local journals. Books he wrote include: * 1955 – ''Ferns of Victoria and Tasmania''. (Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria: Melbourne. Revised edition published 1976). * 1967 – ''Naturalist’s Diary''. (Longmans: Melbourne).

FNCV

Wakefield was very active in the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria (FNCV), which he joined in 1938. He founded its Fauna Group and also edited its journal, the ''Victorian Naturalist'' 1953–1964, contributing 126 articles on ornithology, botany and history. In 1956 he was elected an Honorary Life Member of the FNCV, and in 1962 was awarded the

Australian Natural History Medallion The Australian Natural History Medallion is awarded each year by the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria (FNCV) to the person judged to have made the most meritorious contribution to the understanding of Australian Natural History. The idea origina ...

. Wakefield was killed at the age of 53 in a fall from a tree, while lopping branches, in his garden at his home in

Sherbrooke, Victoria Sherbrooke is a settlement in Victoria, Australia, 35 km east of Melbourne, located within the Shire of Yarra Ranges local government area. Sherbrooke recorded a population of 294 at the . Permanent European settlement began with Robert W. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wakefield, Norman Arthur 20th-century Australian botanists Australian naturalists 1918 births 1972 deaths Australian paleontologists Paleobotanists 20th-century naturalists Australian Army personnel of World War II