Louise Crossley (1942 – 30 July 2015) was an Australian scientist and environmentalist who was closely involved in the establishment of the Tasmanian Greens and the Global Greens.

Early life and education

Crossley was born in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

, the second daughter of a colonial civil servant. Crossley attended boarding school in South Africa from the age of four. In 1963 she graduated with a science degree from

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, and around the same time married her husband, Clive, a fellow scientist. They moved to Australia, where Crossley earned a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in the history and philosophy of science 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 ...

in 1980.

Career

Scientific

In 1991 she was station leader at

Mawson Station The Mawson Station, commonly called Mawson, is one of three permanent bases and research outposts in Antarctica managed by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). Mawson lies in Holme Bay in Mac. Robertson Land, East Antarctica in the Austra ...

for the Australian Antarctic Division, the second woman to hold an equivalent position. She returned to work in the Antarctic again in 2000 and 2003.

Political

Returning to Australia, she became the first convenor of the Tasmanian Greens after its foundation in 1992, and later served as federal convenor of the Australian Greens. She contested

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

in the 1993 federal election, the equivalent state seat in

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

and was the Greens' lead

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

candidate in Tasmania in 1998. Crossley drafted the

Global Greens Charter The ''Global Greens Charter'' is a document that 800 delegates from the Green parties of 72 countries decided upon a first gathering of the Global Greens in Canberra, Australia in April 2001. The first part contains six guiding principles, whereas ...

, the foundational document for 80 Greens parties across the world, adopted in Canberra in 2001. Dr Crossley lived in Bruny Island, Tasmania, towards the end of her life and died in Hobart on 30 July 2015.

References

1942 births 2015 deaths Australian Greens candidates Australian Antarctic scientists Alumni of the University of Cambridge University of New South Wales alumni South African people of English descent Women Antarctic scientists {{Australia-scientist-stub