William Lowrie (18 October 1857 – 20 July 1933)Alan W. Black,

, ''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'', Volume 10, Melbourne University Press, 1986, pp 160-161. Retrieved 2009-09-16 was an Australian agricultural educationist. Lowrie was the son of John Lowrie, a shepherd, wife Christina, ''née'' Anderson. Lowrie was born near

Galashiels Galashiels (; sco, Gallae, gd, An Geal Àth) is a town in the Scottish Borders with a population of around 12,600. Its name is often colloquially shortened to "Gala". The town is a major commercial centre for the Borders region with extensive ...

Selkirkshire Selkirkshire or the County of Selkirk ( gd, Siorrachd Shalcraig) is a historic county and registration county of Scotland. It borders Peeblesshire to the west, Midlothian to the north, Roxburghshire to the east, and Dumfriesshire to the south. ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Lowrie was brought up on a farm ''Clarilaw'', one of the largest farms in

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and Berw ...

, and attended school at Blainslie; he later entered 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 ...

, where he graduated M.A. in 1883, and obtaining a Highland and Agricultural Society's bursary in 1884, studied agriculture and graduated B.Sc. in 1886 with a prize in mathematics and several first-class honours. Lowrie lectured on natural science and agriculture at

Gordon's College Robert Gordon's College is a co-educational Independent school (UK) for day pupils in Aberdeen, Scotland. The school caters for pupils from Nursery through to S6. History Robert Gordon, an Aberdeen merchant, made his fortune in 18th century ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

. In 1887 he was appointed Professor at the

Roseworthy Agricultural College Roseworthy Agricultural College was an agricultural college in Australia. It was north of Adelaide and west of Roseworthy town. It was the first agricultural college in Australia, established in 1883. It is now part of the University of Adela ...

, South Australia, after the sacking of

John D. Custance John Daniel Custance FCS FRAS (c. 1842 – 14 December 1923) was an agricultural scientist, founder of Roseworthy College, South Australia, but was sacked by a Minister with whom he had mutual antipathy. History Custance was a Professor of Agr ...

, and continued his research into the virtues of

fallow Fallow is a farming technique in which arable land is left without sowing for one or more vegetative cycles. The goal of fallowing is to allow the land to recover and store organic matter while retaining moisture and disrupting pest life cycles ...

ing and the use of water-soluble

phosphate In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid . The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phospho ...

s as

fertilizer A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...

. Following this Lowrie travelled throughout the

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

-growing districts of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, addressing farmers and endeavouring to persuade them to adopt his methods. He resigned his position as principal of Roseworthy Agricultural College after criticism of him in Parliament. He was urged to reconsider by the Agricultural and Horticultural Society and others. W. C. Grasby was appointed as Head Master, freeing Lowrie to concentrate on research and promulgation of modern farming methods and the resignation was withdrawn. He was contracted by the Victorian government to report on the Longerenong and Dookie agricultural colleges. His reports, which were constructive though highly critical, were not welcomed. He was made an honorary and contributing member of the R.A.& H.S.S.A. in 1898 as a show of confidence in him. In 1901 he left for a position in

Canterbury, New Zealand Canterbury ( mi, Waitaha) is a region of New Zealand, located in the central-eastern South Island. The region covers an area of , making it the largest region in the country by area. It is home to a population of The region in its current f ...

as principal of the Lincoln Agricultural College, then in 1908 became Director of Agriculture in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

where his brother-in-law,

Newton Moore Major General Sir Newton James Moore, (17 May 1870 – 28 October 1936) was an Australian politician, businessman and army officer. He served as the eighth Premier of Western Australia from 1906 to 1910 and, following service in the First World ...

, was premier. In 1909 he declined the offer of the chair of agriculture at 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 ...

. Lowrie returned to South Australia in 1911 as Director of Agriculture, following the resignation of Professor William Angus (and acting directorship of

A. E. V. Richardson Arnold Edwin Victor Richardson MA, BSc., (12 September 1883 – 5 December 1949) was an Australian scientist noted for dry farming research, who became founding director of Waite Research Institute then director of the organisation now known as ...

). Lowrie resigned in 1914 owing to differences of opinion with the Minister for Agriculture regarding the reorganization of the department. After his retirement Lowrie took up farming on 'Battunga', near

Echunga, South Australia Echunga ( ) is a small town in the Adelaide Hills located south-east of Adelaide in South Australia. The area was settled by Europeans during the period of British colonisation of South Australia in 1839, with the town laid out in 1849. The na ...

and specialized in farming and breeding pure-bred

Border Leicester The Border Leicester is a British breed of domestic sheep, sheep. It is a Polled livestock, polled, long-wool sheep and is considered a dual-purpose breed as it is reared both for meat and for wool. The sheep are large but docile. They have bee ...

sheep. Lowrie died at Echunga on 20 July 1933 and was buried at St George's cemetery, Magill. Lowrie had married twice, firstly to Mary Longbottom on 24 June 1891; she died four months later after an ectopic pregnancy. On 23 March 1903 Lowrie married Alice Longbottom (Mary's sister) who survived him. There were no children. Lowrie did excellent work, especially in South Australia; no one else in his time did more to make farming profitable. A bust of him, by Marguerite Richardson, is at Roseworthy Agricultural College.

References

External links

History of South Australian Agriculture (SA Government)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowrie, William 1857 births 1933 deaths Australian agronomists Australian educational theorists Australian people of Scottish descent Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Lincoln University (New Zealand) faculty