Ian Murray Mackerras (19 September 1898 – 21 March 1980) was an Australian
zoologist.
Mackerras was born in
Balclutha,
New Zealand to James Murray Mackerras, and Elizabeth Mary (née Creagh), both farmers. His parents separated and Ian and brother Alan lived with their mother in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
. Ian was educated at
Sydney Grammar School
(Praise be to God)
, established =
, type = Independent, day school
, gender = Boys
, religious_affiliation = None
, slogan =
, headmaster = R. B. Malpass
, founder = Laurence Hynes Halloran
, chairman = ...
, matriculating in 1915.
On 17 December 1915 Mackerras enlisted in the
Australian Imperial Force after advancing his age. He was designated laboratory attendant in IHS ''Karoola'' on 19 December 1915. He later saw action in
France and was gassed on 28 May 1918. He returned to Australia, arriving in
Melbourne on 13 April 1919.
Mackerras studied medicine at the
University of Sydney in April 1919 but soon switched to zoology. In March 1924 Mackerras graduated MB, ChM, BSc, with First Class Honours in Zoology, the University Medal in Zoology, and shared the John Coutts Scholarship).
Mackerras was awarded the Linnean Macleay Fellowship in Zoology in 1925. He wrote papers on the flies
Nemestrinidae and
Mydaidae
The Mydidae (sometimes misspelled as Mydaidae), or Mydas flies, are a cosmopolitan family of flies. It is a small family, with about 471 species described. They are generally large in size, including the largest known fly, ''Gauromydas heros'' (s ...
. From January 1927 he worked at the Bureau of Microbiology of the New South Wales Department of Public Health.
In 1928 the newly founded
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is South Africa's central and premier scientific research and development organisation. It was established by an act of parliament in 1945 and is situated on its own campus in the cit ...
was looking for
entomologists. Mackerras joined the new organisation on 1 December 1928 and soon moved his family to
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
. He worked on the
buffalo fly and
sheep blow-fly problems.
Mackerras served in the
Middle East and
Guinea
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
in
World War II, advising on sanitation and
malaria.
On 2 June 1947 Mackerras became the first Director of the newly established
Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) in
Brisbane. One of his students was
June Halliday.
In 1950 Mackerras was awarded the
Clarke Medal by the
Royal Society of New South Wales
The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. The Governor of New South Wales is the vice-regal patron of the Society.
The Society was established as the Philosophical Society of Australasia on 27 June ...
; was elected a
fellow of the Australian Academy of Science at its first election in 1954, and served on its Council from 1955 to 1957; he and wife
Josephine were both appointed as Research Fellows in the Division of Entomology, in the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in August 1961.
Mackerras edited a textbook, ''The Insects of Australia''; it includes some of his own drawings.
References
Ian Murray Mackerras 1898-1980Australian Academy of Science Biographical memoirs
External links
Bright Sparcs Bio
ADB bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackerras, Ian Murray
1898 births
1980 deaths
20th-century Australian zoologists
Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science
People from Balclutha, New Zealand