Noel Charles William Beadle (20 December 1914 – 13 October 1998) was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

and plant ecologist who spent most of his working life at the University of New England in

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 24,504 as of June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. It ...

Early life

Noel Beadle was born in Sydney to parents Emma and Arthur Beadle and spent his early life in the suburb of Chatswood. Living close to bushland, he enjoyed exploring the bush. He developed an appreciation for horticulture in his boyhood, learning the Latin names of plants from his horticulturally trained father.

Education

Beadle was educated at North Sydney Boys’ High School. He then attended the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, studying chemistry with the aim of becoming an industrial chemist. Botany was an elective subject that captured Beadle’s imagination. It led to studying the biochemistry of tomatoes both in his honours year and in the Master of Science degree that followed.

Career

Employed as a demonstrator in the University of Sydney’s Department of Botany, Beadle was recruited for a plant collecting trip organised by the

Linnean Society of New South Wales The Linnean Society of New South Wales promotes ''the Cultivation and Study of the Science of Natural History in all its Branches'' and was founded in Sydney, New South Wales (Australia) in 1874 and incorporated in 1884. History The Society succe ...

in 1939. The trip collected botanical specimens from

Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...

Milparinka Milparinka is a small settlement in north-west New South Wales, Australia, about north of Broken Hill on the Silver City Highway. At the time of the 2016 census, Milparinka had a population of 77 people. Milparinka is on Evelyn Creek. Summer ...

Tibooburra Tibooburra (pronounced or ) is a town in the far northwest of New South Wales, Australia, located from the state capital, Sydney. It is most frequently visited by tourists on their way to Sturt National Park or on the way to or from Inn ...

Wanaaring Wanaaring is a remote outback village in north western New South Wales, Australia. Situated on the Paroo River, some 980 kilometres from Sydney, and 180 km west of Bourke. At the , Wanaaring had a population of 140. Wanaaring is on the "Cu ...

and Bourke. Beadle gained experience in drying, pressing and identifying plant specimens from the trip. This led to his employment as a research officer and botanist with the Soil Conservation Service, a newly-established New South Wales Government agency, in late 1939. Based in

Condobolin Condobolin is a town in the west of the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, on the Lachlan River. At the , Condobolin had a population of 3,486. History Prior to European settlement, the area was inhabited by the Wiradjuri pe ...

, Beadle was commissioned to conduct a soil survey of the region. This project evolved into a detailed survey of the vegetation of the western region, resulting in the publication of Beadle’s map, ''Vegetation Map of Western New South Wales''. The Soil Conservation Service published Beadle’s report in 1948. In 1946, Beadle left the Soil Conservation Service to begin teaching botany at the

. Having reached the position of senior lecturer there, he was appointed Foundation Professor of Botany at the University of New England in late 1954. This position he held until his retirement in 1979. Beadle was appointed Emeritus Professor at the University of New England in 1980, and was elected a Fellow of the University in 1993.

Death

Beadle died at Armidale Hospital on 13 October 1998, aged 83. Beadle’s funeral service was held at St Mark’s Chapel at the University of New England on 16 October 1998. He was interred at Armidale City Lawn Cemetery.

Legacy

A large block of land that Beadle donated to Armidale City Council, now

Armidale Regional Council The Armidale Region is a local government area in the New England and Northern Tablelands regions of New South Wales, Australia. This area was formed in 2016 from the merger of the Armidale Dumaresq Shire with the surrounding Guyra Shire. ...

, is named Beadle Grove in his honour. It is a public park that contains native plants representative of that region. The NCW Beadle Herbarium at the University of New England is a research collection of approximately 100,000 vascular plant specimens. ''

Grevillea beadleana ''Grevillea beadleana'', commonly known as Beadle's grevillea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a shrub with dissected leaves and grey to purplish flowers with a burgundy to scar ...

'' was named in honour of Beadle by Donald McGillivray.

Awards

* Royal Society of New South Wales, 1982

Clarke Medal The Clarke Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of New South Wales, the oldest learned society in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere, for distinguished work in the Natural sciences. The medal is named in honour of the Reverend William Bran ...

* Ecological Society of Australia, 1985 medal * Soil Conservation Service (NSW), 1988 50th Centenary Award

Works

Books

Beadle, N. C. W. (1948). ''The Vegetation and Pastures of Western New South Wales, with Special Reference to Soil Erosion.'' New South Wales Soil Conservation Service, Sydney. Beadle, N. C. W., Carolin, R. C., and Evans, O. D (1962). ''Handbook of the Vascular Plants of the Sydney District and Blue Mountains''. Brown Gem Print, Armidale. Beadle, N. C. W. (1981). ''The Vegetation of Australia''. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Beadle, N. C. W., Carolin, R. C., and Evans, O. D. (1986

972 Year 972 ( CMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Emperor John I Tzimiskes divides the Bulgarian territories, recent ...

. ''Flora of the Sydney Region''. Reed, Frenchs Forest. Beadle, N. C. W. (1989 971-1987. ''Students Flora of North Eastern New South Wales''. University of New England Dept. of Botany, Armidale. 6 vols. Beadle, N. C. W. (White, Gordon J., editor) (1995). ''Botany in the Backblocks: From 1939''. University of New England Dept. of Botany, Armidale.

Maps

Beadle, N. C. W. (1945). ''Vegetation Map of Western New South Wales''. New South Wales Soil Conservation Service, Sydney.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beadle, Noel 1914 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Australian botanists Scientists from Sydney People educated at North Sydney Boys High School