Robert Gwydir Booth Morrison, CF (born 14 November 1942) is an Australian zoologist and science communicator. He co-hosted ''

The Curiosity Show ''The Curiosity Show'' is an Australian educational children's television show produced from 1972 to 1990 and hosted by Rob Morrison and Deane Hutton. The show was produced by Banksia Productions in South Australia for the Nine Network. 500 ep ...

'' which aired on television from 1972 to 1990. He has written or co-written 48 books about science for the general public. Morrison is a Professorial Fellow in the College of Education, Psychology and Social Work at

Flinders University Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator ...

. He is also a past President of the Royal Zoological Society of South Australia (now publicized as "Zoos SA"). His research has focused on comparative anatomy of the mammalian olfactory system, the identification of animals from tracks and traces, the design of artificial nesting boxes, and techniques to breed animals and birds which face extinction in their native habitats in order to reintroduce them in the wild. He was called as an expert witness concerning dingoes in the case of Azaria Chamberlain's death. He is a founding member of the

Friends of Science in Medicine The Friends of Science In Medicine (FSM) is an Australian association which supports evidence-based medicine and strongly opposes the promotion and practice of unsubstantiated therapies that lack a scientifically plausible rationale. They acco ...

, and he served as its Vice President for many years. He was awarded the Medal 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 ...

for his services to conservation and science communication. In 2008 he was named the Senior Australian of the Year for South Australia.

Academic career

As a child, Morrison says he wanted to be "a farmer, then zookeeper then vet — anything to do with animals". Morrison studied at

St Peter's College, Adelaide , other_name = The Collegiate School of St Peter , seal_image = St Peter's College, Adelaide Logo.svg , seal_size = 150 , image = SPSC chapel and memorial hall.jpg , image_size ...

, and he went on to study at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

, earning his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in zoology, physiology, and psychology in 1965, followed by

Honours Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...

in 1966, and his

Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

in neuroanatomy and neurophysiology in 1971. His PhD thesis was ''Comparative Studies on the Olfactory System of the Mammal'' (University of Adelaide, December 1969). In 1972 he 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 ...

to study in the UK, and in 1972–73 he was a post-doctoral Research Fellow in animal behaviour at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, working with the noted animal behavior expert and television presenter Professor

Aubrey Manning Aubrey William George Manning, OBE, FRSE, FRSB, (24 April 1930 – 20 October 2018) On his return to Australia, he lectured at Sturt

College of Advanced Education The College of Advanced Education (CAE) was a class of Australian tertiary education institution that existed from 1967 until the early 1990s. They ranked below universities, but above Colleges of Technical and Further Education (TAFE) which offer t ...

, the South Australian College of Advanced Education, and Flinders University in zoology, animal behaviour and human biology and he introduced a course on field studies based on his experience during his Churchill Fellowship. Initially he combined his academic roles with writing books and radio and television work, but in 1995 he resigned from the university to focus on his career in writing and the media. In 2007 he was appointed a Professorial Fellow in the College of Education, Psychology and Social Work.

Research

Initially, Morrison's researches continued his PhD topic of mammalian olfactory systems. While at Flinders University, he developed an interest in researching nestboxes. He conducted a statewide project called "The Nestbox Project" in South Australian schools over 1992 and 1993, getting students to design, build and monitor nestboxes to see what used them. This supported the development of better designs, and educated children as to the value of the hollows in dead trees which were being cleared. The project's results were published in ''Nature Australia''. Its design suggestions were summarised in a joint publication with major ornithological groups, and thousands were made and deployed as part of Rotary's ROBIN project. From 2000 to 2006, Morrison was President of the Royal Zoological Society of South Australia (promoted as "Zoos SA"), where he oversaw both the smallest metropolitan zoo in Australia,

Adelaide Zoo Adelaide Zoo is Australia's second oldest zoo (after Melbourne Zoo), and it is operated on a non-profit basis. It is located in the parklands just north of the city centre of Adelaide, South Australia. It is administered by the Royal Zoologi ...

, and the largest,

Monarto Zoo Monarto Safari Park, formerly known as Monarto Zoological Park and Monarto Zoo, is a open-range zoo located in South Australia administered by the Royal Zoological Society of South Australia. It is located at Monarto, approximately from Ade ...

(now Monarto Safari Park). During this period, the Society membership grew three-fold. He chaired the Society's Research Committee and one of the major research projects during this period involved accelerated breeding programs for animals and birds which had become endangered or extinct in their native habitats in order to reintroduce them in the wild, including

Yellow-tailed black cockatoo The yellow-tailed black cockatoo (''Zanda funerea'') is a large cockatoo native to the south-east of Australia measuring in length. It has a short crest on the top of its head. Its plumage is mostly brownish black and it has prominent yello ...

s, the

Mongolian wild horse Przewalski's horse (, , (Пржевальский ), ) (''Equus ferus przewalskii'' or ''Equus przewalskii''), also called the takhi, Mongolian wild horse or Dzungarian horse, is a rare and endangered horse originally native to the steppes of C ...

and the bilby. Their vet (David Schultz) pioneered the surrogacy technique of using more common species of wallabies to foster the translated joeys of rarer species, allowing the rare mothers to bring on more joeys much faster and greatly increasing the number of individuals of that species.

Science media

Morrison is a passionate science communicator, telling an interviewer: "Science should be as much a part of the spectrum of civilised people’s interests as art, music and politics." For over thirty years, he was a regular contributor and columnist for works including ''The New Inventors'', ''Science'' Magazine, ''Chemistry in Australia'', ''Ockham’s Razor'', and ''The Science Show'' on ABC Radio National. On television, in addition to ''The Curiosity Show'', he was the Channel Ten News science correspondent for ten years, and made regular appearances on shows including ''

The New Inventors ''The New Inventors'' was an Australian television program, that was broadcast on ABC1 and hosted by broadcaster and comedian James O'Loghlin. Each episode featured three Australian inventions and short video tape packages. IP Australia, a supp ...

'', as producer and presenter of science segments for ''Nexus'', a program which was produced by the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

for the Australian government and broadcast to more than 40 countries in the Asia Pacific region via the

Australia Network ABC Australia, formerly Australia Television International (or just Australia Television), ABC Asia Pacific, Australia Network and Australia Plus, is an Australian pay television channel, launched in 1993 and operated by the Australian Broadca ...

, and ''Science Magazine''. He has written or co-written 48 books for the general public about science and natural history. Nowadays, he jokingly observes that "It's a bit daunting when some middle-aged, bald bloke comes up and says 'you were a great influence when I was young.'"

''The Curiosity Show''

In 1971, Morrison was invited onto the Channel 9 children's show ''

Here's Humphrey ''Here's Humphrey'' was an Australian children's television series produced by Banksia Productions for the Nine Network, which first aired on 24 May 1965 and last went to air in 2009. It features an anthropomorphic brown bear character (a per ...

'' to talk about a possum which he was hand-rearing. The day after that shoot, the network offered him the job as presenter for their new show, which became ''The Curiosity Show''. Morrison and scientist

Deane Hutton Deane Winston Hutton (born 30 April 1941) is an Australian television presenter and futurist. His work on television has included 18 years as a co-writer-presenter with Rob Morrison of the ''Curiosity Show'', and as science presenter on '' Hey ...

co-hosted over 500 episodes of ''The Curiosity Show'' which aired between 1972 and 1990, in 14 countries. The emphasis was on science and nature, with a strong emphasis on practical demonstrations, and it also included general craft and music. ''The Curiosity Show'' won many national and international awards, including the Prix Jeunesse International in 1984, voted by peers from around the world as the best factual program for children. In 2013, the show's former hosts, Hutton and Morrison, announced they had purchased the remaining rights to the show and around 5,000 segments. The show was repackaged as an online

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel and launched in 2014. the channel has over 330,000 subscribers. His books on science and natural history included 10 written with Deane Hutton which featured material from ''The Curiosity Show'', including companion books containing scientific explanations and instructions for experiments for children to perform at home themed on the four Western

classical element Classical elements typically refer to earth, water, air, fire, and (later) aether which were proposed to explain the nature and complexity of all matter in terms of simpler substances. Ancient cultures in Greece, Tibet, and India had simil ...

s of earth, air, fire and water.

Community engagement

In addition to his formal academic roles and media work, Morrison has been involved with bodies that champion scientific literacy, evidence-based medicine and policies. He is cited in the media as an expert on fields including the role of the

Therapeutic Goods Administration The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is the medicine and therapeutic regulatory agency of the Australian Government. As part of the Department of Health and Aged Care, the TGA regulates the quality, supply and advertising of medicines, pa ...

, government restrictions on dangerous "alternative health" practices and the risks of university courses in health-related subjects which are not backed by appropriate standards of evidence. He is also a commentator on matters of the balance between the economy and ecology. In 2010 when the federal Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research conducted a review of science communication as a step towards a "national strategy", his evaluation was a supplement. He chaired the Anti-Rabbit Research Foundation of Australia (ARRFA) from 1995 to 1998, investigating ways to reduce this introduced pest so that native animals and plants can get re-established. This organization was renamed in 1998 to The Foundation for Rabbit Free Australia (RFA). In the 1990s they introduced chocolate " Easter Bilbies" as an alternative to conventional Easter rabbits, to publicise the plight of native animals brought about by rabbits. In addition, some chocolate makers have helped to raise funds by donating part of the sales of chocolate bilbies to the Foundation. In 2007 he jointly established ''SciWorld'', a mobile not-for-profit science education organization in Adelaide which runs education programs and regional science fairs and shows, and he was its inaugural chairman. SciWorld came after the closure of The Investigator Science and Technology Centre in Adelaide; Morrison and three co-founders bought the assets and formed SciWorld to keep interactive science going in the state. In 2015, SciWorld partnered with the

Australian Science and Mathematics School The Australian Science and Mathematics School (ASMS) is a coeducational public senior high school for Years 10 - 12 located on the Sturt campus of Flinders University in Bedford Park, a southern suburb of Adelaide, the capital of South Austra ...

to offer cadetships for young people in the field of science communication. He was Patron of National Science Week SA for 13 years. Morrison was for many years Vice-President of the organisation "

" (FSM), which he jointly founded in 2011, described by the

as "a public health watch dog group ... concerned about honesty in medical claims and the need for evidence-based medicine". He created the

Lesueur Conservation Park __NOTOC__ Lesueur Conservation Park, formerly the Cape Hart Conservation Park and the Cape Hart National Park, is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located on the Dudley Peninsula on Kangaroo Island. It was dedicate ...

(part of which was previously called Cape Hart Conservation Park), a reserve including a length of coastline on

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island, also known as Karta Pintingga (literally 'Island of the Dead' in the language of the Kaurna people), is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest ...

. Morrison was called as an expert witness in the third trial looking into the

death of Azaria Chamberlain Azaria Chantel Loren Chamberlain (11 June 1980 – 17 August 1980) was a nine-week-old Australian baby girl who was killed by a dingo on the night of the 17 August 1980 during a family camping trip to Uluru in the Northern Territory. Her body ...

. He had been in the area of

Uluru Uluru (; pjt, Uluṟu ), also known as Ayers Rock ( ) and officially Gazette#Gazette as a verb, gazetted as UluruAyers Rock, is a large sandstone geological formation, formation in the centre of Australia. It is in the southern part of the ...

several months before that incident, filming and collecting materials for his book ''A Field Guide to the Tracks and Traces of Australian Animals'', and he had presented for Curiosity Show on dingoes at Uluru. He testified at the Morling enquiry into the Chamberlain Convictions about why local trackers had given conflicting evidence about dingo tracks, and he conducted forensic tests to show that dingoes had the strength, the gape, and the dexterity needed to take the baby and remove her clothes. His collection of specimens and artefacts from the trial have since been acquired by the

National Museum of Australia The National Museum of Australia, in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''National Muse ...

Personal life

Morrison and his wife Penny have two sons, James and Callan. His hobbies include being a jazz musician, ship-bottler, and silversmith. He also has an interest in maritime history, and he was involved in bringing the clipper ship ''

City of Adelaide The City of Adelaide, also known as the Corporation of the City of Adelaide and Adelaide City Council is a local government area in the metropolitan area of greater Adelaide, South Australia and is legally defined as the capital city of South ...

'' back to South Australia. He also produced a simplified model of that ship, aimed at allowing primary school children to build the ship in a bottle.

Awards and recognition

In the 2004 Australia Day honours, Morrison was awarded the Medal of the

(OAM) in recognition of his "service to conservation and the environment, and to the fields of science education and communication". In 2008, he was South Australia's "Senior Australian of the Year" and a finalist for the national "Senior Australian of the Year". Other awards and recognitions include: * 1972: Awarded a

to study in the UK. * 1994: Michael Daley Award for Science Journalism. * 1995–2017: Councillor of

Nature Foundation SA Nature Foundation, formerly The National Parks Foundation and Nature Foundation SA Inc. (NFSA), is the largest non-government nature conservation organisation based in South Australia. It was founded in October 1981, and is supported by the Go ...

* 2002: Eureka Prize for critical thinking awarded by the

Australian Skeptics Australian Skeptics is a loose confederation of like-minded organisations across Australia that began in 1980. Australian Skeptics investigate paranormal and pseudoscientific claims using scientific methodologies. This page covers all Australian ...

* 2003: Awarded Honorary Research Associate,

Royal Zoological Society of South Australia Adelaide Zoo is Australia's second oldest zoo (after Melbourne Zoo), and it is operated on a non-profit basis. It is located in the parklands just north of the city centre of Adelaide, South Australia. It is administered by the Royal Zoologic ...

* 2005: inaugural winner of the South Australian Premier's Award for Science Communication Excellence * 2007: Won the Australian Museum

Eureka Prize The Eureka Prizes are awarded annually by the Australian Museum, Sydney, to recognise individuals and organizations who have contributed to science and the understanding of science in Australia. They were founded in 1990 following a suggestion ...

for promoting understanding of science, after being a finalist for the same prize the previous year and in 1999. * 2006–2012: National Vice President, Australian Science Communicators * 2010: Australia Day Ambassador for South Australia. * 2012: Jointly with the other founding members of Friends of Science in Medicine, named as the "Skeptics of the Year" by the

. * 2015: Inaugural winner; Bert Davis Spoken Word Award and People's Choice. * 2015: Delivered the Golden Jubilee Address at the University of Adelaide * 2017: Elected a Lifetime Fellow of

Nature Foundation Nature Foundation, formerly The National Parks Foundation and Nature Foundation SA Inc. (NFSA), is the largest non-government nature conservation organisation based in South Australia. It was founded in October 1981, and is supported by the Gove ...

* 2018: Patron, Adelaide Hills Science Hub (Inspiring Australia)

Publications

Books

Morrison has written or co-written 48 books on science and natural history, including: * Morrison, Rob (1972). ''A stereotaxic atlas of the guinea-pig forebrain'', Adelaide: S.A. Dept. of Education. * Hutton, D.W. & Morrison, R.G.B. (1980). ''Exploring your world: Air'' Brisbane: Jacaranda Wiley. * Hutton, D.W. & Morrison, R.G.B. (1980). ''Exploring your world: Earth'' Brisbane: Jacaranda Wiley. * Hutton, D.W. & Morrison, R.G.B. (1980). ''Exploring your world: Water'' Brisbane: Jacaranda Wiley. * Hutton, D.W. & Morrison, R.G.B. (1980). ''Exploring your world: Fire'' Brisbane: Jacaranda Wiley. * Hutton, D.W. & Morrison, R.G.B. (1980). ''Super mindstretchers'' Gosford: Ashton Scholastic. * * * Hutton, D.W. & Morrison, R.G.B. (1984). ''What happens when .....'' Brisbane: Jacaranda Press. * Hutton, D.W. & Morrison, R.G.B. (1985). ''What happens ... and why?'' Brisbane: Jacaranda Press. * Hutton, D.W. & Morrison, R.G.B. (1985). ''Arrow book of things to make and do'', Gosford: Ashton Scholastic. * Hutton, D.W. & Morrison, R.G.B. (1986). ''Let’s experiment'', Brisbane: Jacaranda Press. * Morrison, Rob (1988). ''Experimenting with Science''. Melbourne: Horwitz Grahame. * Morrison, Rob (1989). ''Scientifically Speaking''. Melbourne: Horwitz Grahame. * Morrison, Rob (1989). ''Nature in the Making: Over 100 Things to Make and Do from The Curiosity Show''. Willoughby, N.S.W.: Weldon * * * Morrison, Rob (1991). ''It’s Raining Fish and Frogs'', Adelaide: Omnibus. * * * * * * * * Morrison, Rob (1996). ''Life in the Mangroves'', Melbourne: Rigby Heinemann. * * * * Morrison, Rob (1997). ''It’s Alive'', Port Melbourne: Rigby Heinemann. * * Morrison, Rob (1997). ''Flows and Quakes and Spinning Winds'', Melbourne: Rigby Heinemann. * Morrison, Rob (1997). ''Inventions Then and Now'', Melbourne: Rigby Heinemann. * Morrison, Rob (1997). ''How Does It Grow?'', Melbourne: Rigby Heinemann. * Morrison, Rob (1997). ''Caring for our Trees'', Melbourne: Rigby Heinemann. * * Also released as an audio book in 2008
Trove entry
* * Morrison, R.G.B. (2001). ''Clever and Quirky Creatures.'' Port Melbourne, Victoria: Rigby. * * Morrison, R.G.B. (2001). ''What's up There?'' Port Melbourne, Victoria: Rigby. * Morrison, Rob (2001). ''Our Earth, Our Future'', Melbourne: Rigby Heinemann. * * * Morrison, Rob (2007), ''Energy'' (Topic Book); New Literacy Series, Melbourne: Rigby Heinemann. * Morrison, Rob (2007), ''Machines and Their Parts'' (Topic Book); New Literacy Series, Melbourne: Rigby Heinemann. * Morrison, Rob (2008), ''Fuel for Thought: Our Energy Sources'', Melbourne: Rigby Blue Prints; Pearson Education Australia. * Morrison, Rob (2019), ''Curious Recollections; Life in The Curiosity Show'', South Australia: Wakefield Press.

Chapters

* "Edwardian Spin-offs" In ''All Us Apes, and Other Scientific Wisdom from Ockham's Razor''. ABC Books, Sydney, 1997, pp 152–9.

Selected journal articles

Morrison has published extensively in scientific journals. The following are, perhaps, of most interest to the general reader or led to prizes such as the Eureka: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Regular column "''Science <-> Society''" in ''Chemistry in Australia''.

References

External links

* official website *
SciWorld

Zoos SA
(Royal Zoological Society of South Australia)
Friends of Science in Medicine
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, Rob Living people 1942 births Australian health activists Australian sceptics Australian scientists Academic staff of the University of Adelaide Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia