Raymond Robert Forster (19 June 1922 – 1 July 2000) was a New Zealand

arachnologist Arachnology is the scientific study of arachnids, which comprise spiders and related invertebrates such as scorpions, pseudoscorpions, and harvestmen. Those who study spiders and other arachnids are arachnologists. More narrowly, the study of sp ...

and museum director. He was a Fellow of the

Entomological Society of New Zealand Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

Biography

Forster was born in

Hastings, New Zealand Hastings (; mi, Heretaunga) is an inland city of New Zealand and is one of the two major urban areas in Hawke's Bay, on the east coast of the North Island. The population of Hastings (including Flaxmere) is (as of with a further people in H ...

in 1922, and was educated at

Victoria University College Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

, gaining BSc, MSc(Hons) and DSc degrees. Forster was an

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

at the

National Museum A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...

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 ...

from 1940 to 1947, with an interruption for military service during World War II. Between 1942 and 1945 he served first in the army and then as a naval radar mechanic.Ray Forster obituary
. International Society of Arachnology. Retrieved 14 February 2013. He was appointed zoologist and assistant director at Canterbury Museum in 1948, and in 1957 he moved to

Otago Museum Tūhura Otago Museum is located in the city centre of Dunedin, New Zealand. It is adjacent to the University of Otago campus in Dunedin North, 1,500 metres northeast of the city centre. It is one of the city's leading attractions and has one of t ...

to take up the position of director. He retired from that role in 1987. Forster wrote his first paper on spiders at the age of 17. Over the course of his career, more than 100 scientific papers and volumes were published bearing his name, including the definitive six-volume ''Spiders of New Zealand'', in co-authorship with international colleagues. He also published ''Small Land Animals'' and co-authored ''NZ Spiders, An Introduction''. Much of his work was accomplished in collaboration with his wife,

Lyn Forster Lyndsay McLaren Forster (née Clifford; 19 September 1925 – 20 January 2009) was a New Zealand arachnologist. Biography Forster was born in Upper Hutt and grew up on a small farm near Feilding. She enrolled at Victoria University College in ...

, a notable New Zealand arachnologist. He researched and classified many of New Zealand's thousands of native spiders, and was responsible for establishing

's spider collection. Forster died in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

in 2000.

Honours

In 1961, Forster was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of New Zealand Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

, and received two of that society's honours: the Hutton Medal in 1971; and the

Hector Medal The Hector Medal, formerly known as the Hector Memorial Medal, is a science award given by the Royal Society Te Apārangi in memory of Sir James Hector to researchers working in New Zealand. It is awarded annually in rotation for different science ...

in 1983. The

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

honoured Forster with the award of the degree of Doctor of Science, ''honoris causa'', in 1978. Forster was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'argent de la reine Elizabeth II) is a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The medal is p ...

in 1977, and was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the pu ...

for public services in the

1984 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1984 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

. Forster was also elected a Fellow of the Entomological Society of New Zealand.

Honorific eponym

A small valley in

Fiordland Fiordland is a geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the westernmost third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lakes, ...

, Forster Burn, is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forster, Ray 1922 births 2000 deaths New Zealand arachnologists Victoria University of Wellington alumni Companions of the Queen's Service Order People from Hastings, New Zealand Directors of museums in New Zealand Royal New Zealand Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century New Zealand zoologists People associated with Otago Museum New Zealand military personnel of World War II People associated with the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand Fellows of the Entomological Society of New Zealand