Norman Arthur Wakefield (28 November 1918 – 23 September 1972) was an Australian

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

paleontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

and

botanist 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 ...

, notable as an expert on

fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

s. He described many new species of plants. Wakefield was born in

Romsey, Victoria Romsey is a town in the Local government in Australia, local government area of the Shire of Macedon Ranges in the state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The town is north of Melbourne. As of the 2021 Census, Romsey had a populati ...

, and educated at state schools in

Orbost Orbost is a town in the Shire of East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne and south of Canberra where the Princes Highway crosses the Snowy River. It is about from the surf and fishing seaside town of Marlo on the coast of Ba ...

and at

Scotch College, Melbourne Scotch College is a private, Presbyterian day and boarding school for boys, located in Hawthorn, an inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The college was established in 1851 as The Melbourne Academy in a house in Spri ...

with a BSc in biology. He joined the Victorian Education Department in 1934 and served as a teacher in various parts of

East Gippsland East Gippsland is the eastern region of Gippsland, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia covering (14%) of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It has a population of 80,114. Australian Bureau of Statistics2006 Census Community Profile Series: Ea ...

.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 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Wakefield served with the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

in Papua and

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

(1943–1944) and on Bougainville (1944–1945). 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 A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

at 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 ...

, and in 1969 completed an MSc in

paleontology Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure ge ...

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

, 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. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

, 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). The majority of the herbarium specimens collected by Wakefield are held by the

National Herbarium of Victoria The National Herbarium of Victoria (Index Herbariorum code: MEL) is one of Australia's earliest herbaria and the oldest scientific institution in Victoria. Its 1.56 million specimens of preserved plants, fungi and algae—collectively known ...

(MEL),

Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria (RBGV) are botanical garden, botanic gardens across two sites–Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, Melbourne and Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne, Cranbourne. Melbourne Gardens was founded in 1846 when land w ...

. The ferns collected during his war service are also housed in the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

FNCV

Wakefield was very active in the

Field Naturalists Club of Victoria The Field Naturalists Club of Victoria (FNCV) is an Australian natural history and conservation organisation. The club is the oldest of its kind in Australia and is unique in having existed continuously since its foundation. Since its founding, ...

(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 origin ...

. 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 locality 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. G ...

References

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