Judy Messer (1933–2023) was an Australian conservationist.

Biography

Judy Messer was born in 1933 in

Armadale, Western Australia Armadale is a suburb of Perth within the City of Armadale, located on the south-eastern edge of the Perth metropolitan region. The major junction of the South Western and Albany Highways, which connect Perth with the South West and Great South ...

. Her early life was marked by a close connection to nature due to her upbringing in a rural setting. She pursued

nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

as a career and, in the 1970s, obtained a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

from the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

(UNSW). In 1957, she married Michael Messer, a

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

professor known for his research on marsupial milk. By 1970, she was involved in the establishment of the Lane Cove Bushland and Conservation Society in Greenwich. From 1984 to 2000, Messer led the Nature Conservation Council (NCC), during which the council addressed various environmental issues in Australia. She served as a non-executive director of Sydney Water from 1988 to 2002. Messer participated in several global conservation events, including the World Conservation Assemblies and the World Congress on National Parks. In 1993, she was awarded a

Churchill Fellowship Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts (WCMT) are three independent but related living memorials to Sir Winston Churchill, based in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. They exist for the purpose of administering Churchill Fellowships, a ...

in the U.S. to study conservation funding mechanisms. In 2000, Messer received the Serventy Conservation Medal from the Australian Wildlife Society. In 2003, Messer became a member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

. Her papers are held in the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Messer, Judy 1933 births 2023 deaths Australian conservationists Members of the Order of Australia