Elizabeth Joan Batham (2 December 1917 – 8 July 1974) was a New Zealand marine biologist and university lecturer. A past president of the New Zealand Marine Sciences Society and a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Batham directed the Portobello Marine Biological Station at the University of Otago for more than 23 years.

Biography

Batham was born in Dunedin, New Zealand on 2 December 1917. She graduated from the University of Otago, where she later taught and conducted research. She went to the University of Cambridge for doctoral studies, where she researched the

sea anemone Sea anemones are a group of predation, predatory marine invertebrates of the order (biology), order Actiniaria. Because of their colourful appearance, they are named after the ''Anemone'', a terrestrial flowering plant. Sea anemones are classifi ...

and worked as an assistant to zoologist

Carl Pantin Carl Frederick Abel Pantin FRS (30 March 1899 – 14 January 1967) was a British zoologist. He was educated at Tonbridge School and Christ's College, Cambridge. In 1937, he won the Trail Medal of the Linnean Society, was elected a Fellow of ...

. In 1947, Batham won the Royal Society of New Zealand's

Hamilton Memorial Prize Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilton ...

, which recognises outstanding work by an early-career researcher. In 1951, after the University of Otago took over the fisheries facility that became known as the Portobello Marine Biological Station, Batham was named its director and served there for 23 years. She was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 1962.2000 Academy Yearbook
Royal Society of New Zealand. Retrieved 11 December 2014. and served a term as president of the New Zealand Marine Sciences Society. Batham began scuba diving later in her career, believing it to be important to her work. Shortly after stepping down from her post at Portobello due to poor health, she disappeared near the shore of

Seatoun Seatoun, an eastern suburb of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand, lies on the east coast of the Miramar Peninsula, close to the entrance to Wellington Harbour (Port Nicholson), some seven kilometres southeast of the CBD. The suburb sit ...

in July 1974. She is presumed to have drowned in a scuba diving accident.

Legacy

In 2004, the University of Otago Department of Marine Science established the Elizabeth Batham Prize in Marine Science. In 2017, she was selected as one of the Royal Society of New Zealand's "

150 women in 150 words Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...

". In 1965, malacologist

Winston Ponder Winston Frank Ponder (born 1941) is a noted malacologist born and educated in New Zealand who has named and described many marine and freshwater animals, especially micromolluscs. Education and career Ponder graduated with an MSc, PhD (1968) ...

named the gastropod species ''

Eatoniella bathamae ''Eatoniella bathamae'' is a species of marine gastropod mollusc in the family Eatoniellidae. It was first described by Winston F. Ponder in 1965. It is endemic to the waters of New Zealand. Taxonomy The species was originally identified by ...

'' after Batham, as thanks for her assistance when Ponder stayed at the

Portobello Marine Laboratory The Portobello Marine Laboratory is located on the end of a short peninsula close to the township of Portobello, within the limits of the city of Dunedin in New Zealand's South Island. It is run as part of the University of Otago, the main campu ...

References

External links

Dr Batham discussing Portabello aquarium
{{DEFAULTSORT:Batham, Betty 1917 births 1974 deaths New Zealand marine biologists University of Otago faculty Scientists from Dunedin New Zealand women academics University of Otago alumni Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand 20th-century New Zealand zoologists