Home » People & achievements » Prominent People (A-Z) Prominent People A-Z Listing Search Department: All - Industry - Government This section lists industry people who have made a significant contribution to the achievements and success of agriculture in South Australia and Australia. Where information is available from a readily available source, a link is provided. C Cirami, Richard Melchior 1941 - 2015 Richard, a Californian by birth, was one of a small group of scientists who revolutionised the Australian viticulture industry. Trained at the University of California, Davis, Richard moved to Australia early in his career. He held viticulture positions in Victoria and South Australia. His research led to improved wine grape varieties, evaluation of rootstocks and vineyard architecture and vine management across Australia. Image: The Advertiser PIRSA Ag History Cole, Philip James 1949 - 2025 Phil established a national and international reputation as a scientist specialising in irrigation and salinity. Upon graduating from University of Adelaide in 1970, he was appointed to Loxton to lead the changes in irrigation and salinity management practices. Phil established strong collaborative arrangements with leading scientists in Israel, United States and Holland. Image: Cole Family PIRSA Ag History Cottle, Gregory Lister 1956 - 2014 Greg Cottle studied at Roseworthy Agricultural College and gained his teaching degree becoming a long standing agriculture and science teacher at Waikerie High School. His innovations in the course enthused many of his students to pursue agriculture as a career. Image: The Advertiser PIRSA Ag History Crawford, Dr Eric 1928 - 2021 Eric was an internationally recognised pasture scientist. Graduating from Urrbrae Agricultural High School and Roseworthy Agricultural college he quickly established himself as a specialist in legumes in low rainfall climates. In the mid 1950s Eric commence the collection and evaluation of pasture species at Parafield, collecting over 27 000 items from 60 countries during his working career. He was well known in most of the 60 countries for his work in collecting evaluating and conserving this important genetic material. Image: PIRSA Ag History PIRSA Ag History PIRSA Ag History Custance, John Daniel 1842 - 1923 Professor of Agriculture. In June 1881 John Custance was recruited from England and appointed as the Professor of Agriculture in the SA Department of Lands. He played a key role in the establishment of Roseworthy Agricultural College, which opened in February 1885. Custance developed the lecture program for students, and interacted widely with the farming community introducing the use of superphosphate to Australian farmers; although trials amply demonstrated his ideas on super, its use was slow to gain acceptance. Following a dispute with the Secretary of the Dept. of Lands in December 1886, he was suspended and returned to England. In 1906, Custance returned to SA managing properties at Georgetown and Angaston. Image: http://pir.sa.gov.au/aghistory People Australia Website Obituaries Australia Website Wikipedia D Deane, Cathy 1952 - 2018 Cathy’s early interests were in librarianship with appointments at the Waite Library then a number of leading libraries in South Australia before moving to the US. With an Economics degree in 1986 Cathy entered the international development projects area with SAGRIC International. She then set up her own company World Wide Project Management. Cathy had experience in the Asian region, the Pacific and US. Image: The Advertiser PIRSA Ag History Dillon, Trevor 1938 - 2006 Trevor was an Agronomist by training and a career. He trained at Roseworthy Agricultural College before working at a range of jobs in the agricultural sector across Australia. He joined the Department of Agriculture and held Agronomist positions at various locations across South Australia. He was a key member of the development team in Libya in the mid 1970s and of the project development team in Iraq in 1978. He was a great innovator in the way he engaged with the farming community and was often the link between farmers and research scientists in developing new projects. Image: PIRSA Ag History PIRSA Ag History PIRSA Ag History PIRSA Ag History Dolling (OAM), Charles Hoani Scott (Scott) 1925 - 2018 Scott was a leading national scientist in sheep genetics. After graduating from Roseworthy Agricultural college and Adelaide University he commenced his work at Cunnamulla in Queensland before returning to Adelaide. His main contribution was the development of large scale recording systems for sheep genetics. This research contributed the technical input to Woolplan and Lambplan. Image: The Advertiser PIRSA Ag History Association for the Advancement of Animal Breeding and Genetics Doolette, John Barton 1928 - 2015 John Doolette was an agronomist with the Dept of Agriculture who became a specialist on dryland farming. He took this expertise overseas to northern Africa and the Middle East to assist farmers in those countries. Image: The Advertiser PIRSA Ag History E Emerson, William Walcott (Bill) 1925 - 2012 Dr Bill Emerson was a distinguished soil scientist at the CSIRO. He made a major contribution to world soil science and agriculture, including the development of a dispersion test (named after him) for soil aggregate stability. Image: Australian Soil Science Society Inc PIRSA Ag History F Fawcett, Robert (Bob) 1927 - 2009 Bob’s major contribution while with the SA Department of Agriculture was the development of low till cultivation systems suitable for the trend towards continuous cropping. His early study was at Roseworthy Agricultural College before completing his PhD at Sydney University. During his career he worked at the CSIRO in Canberra and with an aid project in Thailand. Image: PIRSA Ag History PIRSA Ag History PIRSA Ag History PIRSA Ag History Feagan, John Temple 1927 - 2021 John Feagan was the principal Dairy Research Officer in the Dept of Agriculture and developed machine milking techniques. He also worked on making refrigerated butter more spreadable and later became chair of the SA Egg Board. Image: PIRSA Ag History PIRSA Ag History PIRSA Ag History PIRSA Ag History Finnis, Harold Jack 1889 - 1980 Administrator. Harold Finnis entered the SA public service as a junior clerk in 1905. In 1911 he moved from the Produce Department to the Agriculture Department, and in 1915 became assistant secretary of the Advisory Board of Agriculture, librarian and editor of the Journal of Agriculture. In 1925, Finnis was appointed secretary of the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society, a position he held until 1955, gradually upgrading the grounds, buildings and scope of Royal Adelaide Shows. He also played a key role in numerous state organisations including Adelaide Rotary Club, Library Board of SA, head of commissioners of National Parks, and was a governor of Adelaide Botanic Gardens. Image: ANU Press People Australia Website Australian Dictionary of Biography Website Fisher, John Malcolm 1932 - 2013 John Fisher was employed at the Waite Agricultural Research Institute in the 1950s as a pioneer nematologist. His work was instrumental in identifying plant parasitic nematodes and reducing their effects, particularly cereal cyst nematode. Image: The Advertiser PIRSA Ag History Fornachon, John Charles Macleod 1905 - 1968 Wine microbiologist. John Fornachon studied viticulture and oenology at Roseworthy Agricultural College. In 1934 he began research into diseases of wine and wine spoilage for the Wine Overseas Marketing Board (later the Australian Wine Board), with the project being subsequently administered by CSIR at Waite Agricultural Research Institute. A further major research project was examination of flor yeasts and led to improved sherry quality. The Australian Wine Research Institute was opened at Urrbrae in 1955 with Fornichon being the Director of Research until his death in 1968. In addition to wine judging and lecturing, John Fornichon was involved in numerous international wine research organisations. Image: trove.nla.gov.au: Chronicle Thursday 18 August 1938 p 40 People Australia Website Australian Dictionary of Biography Website Previous Page 2 of 4 Next Share this page
