Alfred Douglas Hardy (1870 – 1958) was an Australian amateur collector of freshwater algae specimens. He worked as a draftsman and botanical officer for the Victorian Forest Commission until his retirement in 1936. He was also an amateur naturalist, initially with wide interests but later specialising in freshwater algae. He sent many specimens to

George Stephen West George Stephen West (20 April 1876 – 7 August 1919), ARCS, FLS, was a British botanist, a specialist in phycology and protistology, a botanical illustrator and a writer. With his father. botanist William West (West, 1848–1914), he colla ...

, some of which were described as new species by West. In 1909, West published a major paper on the freshwater algae of

Yan Yean Reservoir Yan Yean Reservoir is the oldest water supply for the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. At the time of its completion in 1857 it was the largest artificial reservoir in the world. It is north of the city within the eponymous locality of ...

, based entirely upon specimens collected by Hardy. One of the new species published therein was named ''

Debarya hardyi Debarya may refer to: * ''Debarya'', a genus of algae in the family Zygnemataceae, synonym of '' Transeauina'' * ''Debarya'', a genus of fungi in the family Hypocreaceae, synonym of ''Hypocrea ''Hypocrea'' is a genus of fungi in the family Hypocr ...

'' in Hardy's honour. Also in 1909, the Melbourne & Metropolitan Board of Works appointed him "honorary algologist", a position that he held for the rest of his life. His position required him to provide reports listing the algae species found in the various reservoirs managed by the Board of Works. In addition to these unpublished reports, Hardy publishedat least 14 papers of the freshwater algae of Victoria, mostly in the ''

Victorian Naturalist ''The Victorian Naturalist'' is a bimonthly scientific journal covering natural history, especially of Australia. It is published by the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria and is received as part of the membership subscription of that club. From ...

''.

References

1870 births 1958 deaths Botanical collectors active in Australia Phycologists {{australia-botanist-stub