Valerie Todd Davies (born 29 September 1920 in Makirikiri, near

Wanganui, New Zealand Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whanganu ...

, died 29 October 2012 in

Brisbane, Queensland Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

) was an

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 ...

who described many species of

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

Early life

Valerie Ethel Todd (later Valerie Davies after her marriage) was born 29 September 1920 in Makirikiri, near Wanganui, in New Zealand. She attended Wanganui Girls' College and then studied her BSc at Victoria University in Wellington in 1939. She continued her studies toward a MSc at

Otago University , 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 ...

in Dunedin, graduating in 1943. Her thesis researched trap-door spiders. Upon graduation she worked as a research assistant and later an assistant lecturer in zoology at Otago University. Todd was awarded a post-graduate travelling scholarship in science to

Somerville College, Oxford Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, Ir ...

, where she completed her PhD. She returned to Dunedin in 1948 to marry George Davies, who was a lecturer in dentistry at the University of Otago.

Move to Australia

The Davies family moved to Brisbane in 1963 when George was appointed professor of social and preventive dentistry at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

. Valerie Davies tutored part-time in the department of zoology, at the University of Queensland from 1964–1972. They built a house in 1965, designed by architect Maurice Hurst, on the banks of the Brisbane River at Fig Tree Pocket – ''Awanui''. In 1972, Davies was appointed curator of arachnids at the

Queensland Museum The Queensland Museum is the state museum of Queensland, dedicated to natural history, cultural heritage, science and human achievement. The museum currently operates from its headquarters and general museum in South Brisbane with specialist m ...

. She worked as a senior research curator at the Queensland Museum until her retirement in 1985 but continued working as an honorary consultant at the museum until the age of 82.

Awards and legacy

* 1988 – Queensland Museum Medal * 2010 – Lifetime Achievement Award,

International Society of Arachnology The International Society of Arachnology (ISA) promotes the study of arachnids and the exchange of information among researchers in this field. It acts as an umbrella organisation for regional societies and individuals interested in spiders, and ...

*2010 - Simon Award, International Society of Arachnology The genera ''Toddiana'' and ''Daviesa'' as well as 15 new species of

arachnid Arachnida () is a class of joint-legged invertebrate animals (arthropods), in the subphylum Chelicerata. Arachnida includes, among others, spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, pseudoscorpions, harvestmen, camel spiders, whip spiders and vinegaroon ...

s, including ''Austrachaea daviesae'' were named for her. The spiders she collected and indexed during many expeditions to north Queensland form the basis of the arachnid collection at the Queensland Museum. 100 new species of spider and 17 new genera were collected during her many expeditions to Cape York, Mount Finnegan, Mount Bellenden and

Hinchinbrook Island Hinchinbrook Island (or Pouandai to the Biyaygiri people) is an island in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It lies east of Cardwell and north of Lucinda, separated from the north-eastern coast of Queensland by the narrow H ...

. Davies was a member of the International Federation of University Women (IFUW) and from 1978–1982 was deputy chair of the Queensland Rhodes Scholarship selection committee.

Personal life

Valerie Todd married George Davies, who she had known from girlhood in 1948. She died on 29 October 2012 and was survived by their three children.

Publications

References

1920 births 2012 deaths New Zealand arachnologists 20th-century New Zealand zoologists 20th-century Australian zoologists Victoria University of Wellington alumni University of Otago alumni Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford New Zealand emigrants to Australia {{Zoologist-stub