Alick Lindsay Poole (4 March 1908 – 2 January 2008) was a New Zealand botanist and forester.

Academic career

Poole started at the

New Zealand State Forest Service New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

1926, then to Auckland University College on a scholarship. After various jobs during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, he joined the Botany Division of the

DSIR Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, abbreviated DSIR was the name of several British Empire organisations founded after the 1923 Imperial Conference to foster intra-Empire trade and development. * Department of Scientific and Industri ...

in 1937. He enlisted in 1940, and spent the war at the Scientific Liaison Office in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. After the war he worked for the

British zone in Germany Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and France ...

gaining valuable experience. In 1947 he was appointed Assistant Director of the Botany Division of DSIR. In 1951 he was appointed Assistant Director of the

New Zealand Forest Service The New Zealand Forest Service was originally established in 1919 as the State Forest Service. The State Forest Service changed its name to the New Zealand Forest Service in 1949, at about the same time that the Forests Act of 1949 passed through ...

and rose to Director-General, retiring in 1971. He was elected

Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

in 1962. In the

1971 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1971 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the ''Lond ...

, Poole was appointed a Companion of the Order of the British Empire, for services to the development of forestry and the forest industries. He died in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

in 2008.

Selected works

* ''Trees and shrubs of New Zealand'' * ''Wild animals in New Zealand'' * ''The use of vegetation'' * ''Southern beeches'' * ''Forestry in New Zealand; the shaping of policy''

References

20th-century New Zealand botanists 1908 births 2008 deaths University of Auckland alumni New Zealand foresters Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand People associated with Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (New Zealand) New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire {{NewZealand-academic-bio-stub