William James Ballantine (15 April 1937 – 1 November 2015) was a British-born New Zealand

marine biologist Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many scientific classification, phyla, family (biology), families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others th ...

. He has been called the "father of marine conservation in New Zealand".

Biography

Born in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

, England, on 15 April 1937, Ballantine was awarded an MA from

Downing College, Cambridge Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 650 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to Cambridge University between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the olde ...

and a PhD from

Queen Mary College, University of London , mottoeng = With united powers , established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College , type = Public researc ...

. His thesis was entitled ''The population dynamics of Patella vulgata and other limpets''. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1964 when he was appointed the inaugural director of the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

Leigh Marine Laboratory The Leigh Marine Laboratory is the marine research facility for the University of Auckland in New Zealand. The laboratory is situated in north eastern New Zealand, north of Auckland city. The facility is perched on the cliffs overlooking the Ca ...

. The Marine Reserves Act 1971 was the brainchild of Ballantine, and he initiated a "no take" marine reserve at

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staf ...

. Both of these initiatives were one of the first to be initiated in the world. Minister of Conservation Nick Smith described him as the "father of marine conservation in New Zealand''. Ballantine died at

Auckland City Hospital Auckland City Hospital is a public hospital located in Grafton, Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest hospital in New Zealand,Largest hospital in New Zealand...' - News-Medical.Net, Tuesday 29 June 2004 as well as one of the oldest medical fac ...

on 1 November 2015; his wife Dulcie had predeceased him.

Honours and awards

In 1990 Ballantine was awarded the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to approximately 3,000 people. Background The New Zea ...

. In the

1994 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1994 were appointments by most of the sixteen Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other c ...

, he was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services to marine biology and conservation. He was awarded the

Goldman Environmental Prize The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists, one from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. ...

in 1996, for his work on marine conservation and with New Zealand's ''Marine Reserve Act''. In the 2006 Queen's Birthday Honours, Ballantine was made a Companion of the

Queen's Service Order The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the pu ...

, for public services.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballantine, Bill 1937 births 2015 deaths Alumni of Downing College, Cambridge Alumni of Queen Mary University of London English environmentalists New Zealand marine biologists New Zealand environmentalists Companions of the Queen's Service Order New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire Scientists from Leicester English emigrants to New Zealand Academic staff of the University of Auckland Goldman Environmental Prize awardees 20th-century New Zealand zoologists