UQ Gatton Past Students Association Inc

MEN AT THE TOPE.M. Shelton

Edward Mason Shelton graduated from the Michigan Agricultural College in 1871 and in 1874 joined the Kansas State Agricultural as the Director of Experimental Stations.

From there he came to Queensland in 1890 as the Instructor in Agriculture. Over the next seven years he travelled throughout the State delivering lectures and reporting on potential agricultural areas. An advocate of Rural Research, he established State Farms at Hermitage, Westbrook and Roma and with Peter McLean selected the site of the College from part of the Rosewood Estate.

He became the fi rst Principal in 1897, resigned in 1898 and returned to America.

Shelton House, constructed in 1936 was named in his honour. This building is still standing and was renamed Morrison Hall in 1989.

© UQ Gatton Past Students Association Inc. 2009 OMCGatton-167/Oct09 (21)

T.M. Morrison

Thomas Malcolm Morrison was appointed the second Director of the College from 1979-1988 and had a signifi cant infl uence on the landscape environment of the College. He was formerly the Professor and Head of the Department of Horticulture, Landscape and Parks at Lincoln University, New Zealand. Soon after arrival, Dr. Morrison introduced a restructure of the Academic Departments.

Other signifi cant changes which occurred during his tenure were a major re-organisation of the College farms, a restructuring of the Agricultural Degree Courses to be presented from a systems approach and to include a “sandwich” semester, the introduction of new areas of study and the presentation of existing agricultural courses by the external mode of study.

The central campus area was upgraded by renovating some of the physical facilities and landscaping other areas.

D.E. Byth

Donald Edward Byth graduated from the Queensland Agricultural High School and College with Honours in 1954 and in 1958 was awarded a Degree in Agricultural Science from The University of Queensland and later an M.Sc.

He joined the CSIRO in Brisbane with responsibility for genetic improvement of pulse crops, particularly soy bean, for tropical Australia. In 1965 Donald Byth was awarded a Ph.D. from Iowa State University where he studied Quantitative Genetics and Soy Bean Improvement under a CSIRO Scholarship.

In 1967 he joined The University of Queensland where he served as Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural Science before taking up the position as the third Director of the College in September 1988.

Shortly after his appointment as Director, Donald Byth reluctantly faced the need to amalgamate with another institution. This amalgamation happened on the 1st January 1990 with The University of Queensland. A new era for the former College began.

After resigning in December 1990, Donald Byth served as Inaugural Chair of the Australian Sugar Research and Development Corporation. In 1992 he joined the International Crops Research Institute for the semi-arid tropics at Hyderabad, India where he was Associate Director General for Research.

H.R. Lovell

Harold Roger Lovell grew up during the War years in England. At 24 he won a Scholarship to University and studied for a National Diploma of Dairy Technology. Later, he won an Industrial Scholarship and was awarded a Master in Food Science at the University of Reading.

In 1972 he joined Blackpool College of Technology as Head of the Department of Food Technology. In 1978 he and his family moved to Australia where he became Head of the Department of Food Technology at the Queensland Agricultural College, Gatton.

H.R. Lovell was one of the fi rst two Deans of the College and the fi rst Pro Vice-Chancellor (Gatton) of The University of Queensland.

After 17 years of service, Dr. Lovell retired on the 7th April 1995.

C.J. Pearson

Craig John Pearson studied for his B.Sc. (Agric.) at the University of Western Australia while managing a stud farm and as co-founder of the Devon Breeder’s Society Western Australia.

In 1971 he gained an M.Sc. at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada and in 1974 a Ph.D. at Macquarie University, New South Wales.

After positions as District Advisor in the Western Australian Department of Agriculture and as a Research Assistant at the University of Guelph, he held academic posts at Macquarie University and at the University of Western Australia.

Prior to arriving at Gatton in 1995, C.J. Pearson was Professor of Agronomy at the University of Sydney and a Visiting Professor at the Charles Sturt University.

He was elected a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science in 1992.

C.J. Pearson, as Pro Vice-Chancellor at Gatton, concentrated on guiding the College in a position as a key node in an international learning network.

During his tenure at the Queensland Agricultural College, he was also involved in the organisation of the Centenary Celebrations and was co-author of the book “One Hundred Years of Science with Practice” which was produced to mark the Centenary of the College.

Craig Pearson resigned in September 1999.

R. Swift

Roger Swift is currently the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Natural Resources, Agriculture and Veterinary Science at The University of Queensland and a Professor of the University. He was appointed to this position in September 2000 following the resignation of Professor Craig Pearson. He is also the Director of the Gatton Campus.

As a soil scientist his major research interests lie in the areas of soil chemistry, including nutrient behaviours, trace elements and he is widely recognised for his expertise in soil organic matter and carbon cycling. These studies have been undertaken in agricultural, forestry and natural systems in a number of countries.

In his role as Director of the Gatton Campus, Roger has been responsible for the overall stewardship and direction of the Campus. In particular, he has formulated strategies to: vertically integrate education in agriculture and natural resources and training at all levels from certifi cate to PhD qualifi cations; and to attract other major research and education partners to the Campus. In this context he has been responsible for developing, leading, or overseeing a number of major initiatives at the Gatton Campus including:

• a major $125M construction project for new buildings for the School of Veterinary Science and relocation of staff to the Campus at the beginning of 2010;

• construction of the Centre for Advanced Animal Science (CAAS); a $33M project carried out in conjunction with QPIF to create state-of-the-art facilities for aimal science research;

• construction of a modern equine precinct for use by the Schools of Animal Studies and Veterinary Science;• development of Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI between UQ and QPIF) to carry out research in

agriculture and food more effectively. Some of this work will be located at the Gatton Campus.

J. Mahon

John Mahon’s previous experience commenced in 1879 when appointed Assistant in the fi rst butter factor in Victoria. Six months later he became Manager until 1883. He moved to Queensland in 1889 and was Manager of the Department of Agriculture Travelling Dairy No.2 until 1896.

In July 1897 he was appointed Chief Dairy Instructor in the Department and one year later, on the resignation of E.M. Shelton, he became the second Principal of the College.

During his tenure he introduced special courses for those students not wanting to undertake the three year Diploma course, added stock to the dairy herd, and introduced sheep to the College in 1900. Short courses in Dairy Manufacturing began in 1903-4 and External Examiners were used for student assessment. Mahon has been credited with siting many of the buildings at that time, including Farm Square.

John Mahon died suddenly in 1911 and is buried at the Laidley Cemetery.

The John Mahon Food Studies Complex is named in his honour.

J. Brown

After the death of Mahon in 1911, Harold Quodling became Acting Principal until January 1913 when John Brown was appointed as the third Principal.

John Brown graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from Glasgow University in Scotland in 1907. He held positions in New Zealand and South Australia before arriving at Gatton.

He formulated new courses, advocated the affi liation of the College with The University of Queensland and the recognition of certain College courses as part of a Bachelor of Agricultural Science Degree. This did eventuate in 1990 when amalgamation occurred with the University. A two year Diploma in Dairying was fi rst issued in 1915 at Brown’s insistence.

John Brown resigned in 1915 and returned to New Zealand.

C. Potts

Cuthbert Potts graduated with an Arts Degree from Sydney University in 1898 and studied further as a Mining Engineer for another two years. He lectured at Hawkesbury Agricultural College in Chemistry and Physics from 1902-1915 before being appointed as the fourth Principal at Gatton in 1915.

He introduced scientifi c courses and stressed the importance of theoretical teaching of the principles of agriculture. He was also instrumental in providing short courses for returned soldiers after World War I.

From 1920-21 he was associated with the incorporation of the Agricultural High School into the College structure. This occurred in September 1923.

Cuthbert Potts retired in 1923.

In 1916 he donated a silver cup for the Senior Champion Athlete at the Annual Sports Day Competition. This beautiful trophy is now on display at the UQ Gatton Past Students Association Historical Collection.

J.K. Murray

Jack Keith Murray obtained Degrees in Agricultural Science and Arts as well as a Diploma in Military Science from the University of Sydney. He served in the A.I.F. during World War I.

He lectured in Bacteriology at Hawkesbury Agricultural College before coming to Queensland when appointed as the fi fth Principal of the recreated Queensland Agricultural High School and College in 1923. While at the College he instituted the fi rst Hybrid Maize project in Queensland in 1927 and was instrumental in establishing a unit of C.S.I.R. Division of Plant Industry within the College grounds. With his military background he introduced military training and formed the 1st Cavalry Mobile Veterinary Section in 1925.

In 1927 he was appointed the fi rst Professor of Agriculture within the newly created Faculty of Agriculture at The University of Queensland.

In 1940, during World War II, he was granted leave to accept appointment of G.S.O. Northern Command, and in 1945 became Administrator of the Provisional Administration of the Territory of Papua New Guinea until 1952.

Jack Keith Murray was elected Emeritus Professor of The University of Queensland in 1975, awarded an OBE in 1959, and in 1977 was made a Knight of the British Empire.

The College Library, built in 1973, is named in his honour.

N.W. Briton

Neil William Briton obtained a Bachelor of Veterinary Science at the University of Sydney and afterwards acted as Senior House Surgeon at its Veterinary School before being appointed Senior Lecturer in Animal Husbandry at Gatton College on 5th January 1938.

After serving as Acting Principal in the absence of J.K. Murray, he was appointed the sixth Principal in 1946, and in the tertiary period, its fi rst Director in 1971.

Great credit must be extended to him for his foresight in advocating the need to maintain agricultural education in Queensland during World War II. He can also be credited with the transformation of the College during the 1960’s and 1970’s with the building programme and the introduction of new courses.

In 1965 he undertook a world tour for the Agricultural Education Advisory Council to investigate developments in agricultural education. As a consequence he helped formulate the policies which led to the introduction of tertiary courses at the College in 1967.

Neil Briton served on the Faculty Boards of Agriculture and Veterinary Science at The University of Queensland.

He became a Member and then a Fellow of the Australian College of Education and in 1970 a Member of the Australian College of Veterinary Scientists.

In recognition of his services to education, he was made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1978.

N.W. Briton retired on the 6th November 1978.

An Honourary Doctor of Law Degree was conferred upon him posthumously by The University of Queensland in 1981.

The N.W. Briton Building was named after him on the 24th July 1976.