Joyce Winifred Vickery
Encyclopedia
Joyce Winifred Vickery was an Australian botanist who specialised in taxonomy
and became well known in Australian for forensic botany.
Joyce was born in the Sydney suburb Strathfield
. She attended the Methodist Ladies' College
, Burwood
, and went on to study at the University of Sydney
graduating B.Sc. in 1931. Following graduation she was made a botany demonstrator and worked on her Masters, which she received in 1933. She became a member of both the Linnean and Royal societies of New South Wales.
Vickery was offered the position of assistant botanist at the National Herbarium of New South Wales in August 1936, she refused the position on the grounds that she would not be paid the same wage as a man with her qualifications. After negotiations which increased the pay offered, she accepted the position and was the first female researcher appointed to the New South Wales Herbarium. At the herbarium she began work on plant taxonomy, her major project was the taxonomy of the large grass genus Gramineae and she received her D.Sc. in 1959 for her work on the taxonomy of Poa
.
In 1960 she came to wider public attention when she was called on the New South Wales Police
to identify plant fragments in the kidnap and murder of Graham Thorne in 1960. In 1961 Stephen Leslie Bradley was convicted, based largely on her analysis of crime scene plant matter and soil.
She was M.B.E. in 1962, and retired her position at the herbarium in 1968. She continued to research actively and was involved in several conservation projects, until she died from cancer in 1979.
The Linnean Society of NSW renamed a grant fund in her honour posthumously in recognition to her annual private contribution to the fund since 1971, a substantial donation to the fund from her estate, and her support for the Society which included council roles since 1969.
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
and became well known in Australian for forensic botany.
Joyce was born in the Sydney suburb Strathfield
Strathfield, New South Wales
Strathfield is an Inner West suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Strathfield is located 14 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of the Municipality of Strathfield...
. She attended the Methodist Ladies' College
MLC School
MLC School is an independent day school for girls, located in Burwood, Sydney. Founded in 1886, MLC admits students from pre-kinder age through to Year 12, and is a Uniting Church of Australia school.- History :...
, Burwood
Burwood, New South Wales
Burwood is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Burwood is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of Burwood Council....
, and went on to study at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
graduating B.Sc. in 1931. Following graduation she was made a botany demonstrator and worked on her Masters, which she received in 1933. She became a member of both the Linnean and Royal societies of New South Wales.
Vickery was offered the position of assistant botanist at the National Herbarium of New South Wales in August 1936, she refused the position on the grounds that she would not be paid the same wage as a man with her qualifications. After negotiations which increased the pay offered, she accepted the position and was the first female researcher appointed to the New South Wales Herbarium. At the herbarium she began work on plant taxonomy, her major project was the taxonomy of the large grass genus Gramineae and she received her D.Sc. in 1959 for her work on the taxonomy of Poa
Poa
Poa is a genus of about 500 species of grasses, native to the temperate regions of both hemispheres. Common names include meadow-grass , bluegrass , tussock , and speargrass. "Poa" is Greek for fodder...
.
In 1960 she came to wider public attention when she was called on the New South Wales Police
New South Wales Police
The New South Wales Police Force is the primary law enforcement agency in the State of New South Wales, Australia. It is an agency of the Government of New South Wales within the New South Wales Ministry for Police...
to identify plant fragments in the kidnap and murder of Graham Thorne in 1960. In 1961 Stephen Leslie Bradley was convicted, based largely on her analysis of crime scene plant matter and soil.
She was M.B.E. in 1962, and retired her position at the herbarium in 1968. She continued to research actively and was involved in several conservation projects, until she died from cancer in 1979.
The Linnean Society of NSW renamed a grant fund in her honour posthumously in recognition to her annual private contribution to the fund since 1971, a substantial donation to the fund from her estate, and her support for the Society which included council roles since 1969.