Lumen Waite 100 - Flipbook - Page 35
John W. Holmes
meteorological variables and agricultural
yields. During a leave of absence in 1937,
Cornish worked with Sir Ronald Fisher at
the University College, London, which led
to the publication of the widely cited paper,
Moments and cumulants in the specification of
distributions. Following his appointment as
Statistician upon his return to the Waite in
1938, Cornish led the CSIR’s newly created
section of Mathematical Statistics. Cornish’s
work became incredibly influential, and he
was appointed Chief of the Division in 1954.
of the University of South Australia. Webb
is regarded highly as both a businessman
and a mining geologist. Following his death
in 2000, the Geological Society of Australia
created a medal in his honour, awarded
annually for distinguished leadership in the
earth sciences in South Australia.
JW Holmes Building
J.W. Holmes was a soil physicist whose work
in the field led to Soil Physics (co-authored
with T. J. Marshall), a highly regarded and
widely used book by students and researchers
alike. Through the successful implementation
of his research into vertical movement of
soil at various depths, Holmes determined
suitable depths of footings for foundations
on clay soils – instrumental in the design of
housing foundations. In its inception during
the 1980s, Holmes was appointed Chief of
the Water Resources Division at the CSIRO.
Professor James Arthur Prescott
Prescott Building
Upon Professor James A. Prescott’s
appointment as Chair of Agricultural
Chemistry at the newly established Waite
Agricultural Research Institute in 1924, he
travelled widely to familiarise himself with
the soil beneath his feet. Born in Lancashire,
England, Prescott’s fascination and affinity
for chemistry brought him to Australia,
where his research determined the effect that
climate, vegetation and other factors had on
soils. Prescott served as Director of WARI
from 1938 until 1955.
Charles Allan Seymour Hawker
Charles Hawker Centre
Sir Walter James Young
Walter Young Avenue
Working at Elder Smith & Co from age
15, Sir Walter James Young worked up to
become Managing Director in 1929. Peter
Waite, who was Chairman of the company
at the time, had a close association with
Young. After Waite’s death in 1922, Young
was instrumental in the establishment of
the Waite Agricultural Research Institute,
serving as one of two representatives of the
Waite benefaction. He provided financial
expertise to the state and commonwealth
governments throughout the First World
War and Great Depression, and served as an
advisor to Prime Minister Stanley Bruce on
intra-imperial exchanges. He was a member
of the University of Adelaide’s Council from
1924—1937.
Dr Bryan Coombe AM
Coombe Vineyard
Bruce Phillip Webb AM
Bruce Webb Crescent
Edmund Alfred Cornish
Cornish Building
Edmund Alfred Cornish began with the
Waite in the 1930s as a junior agrostologist,
researching
the
relationship
between
Charles Allan Hawker was a highly
regarded pastoral pioneer, politician, soldier
and student, and was Australia’s first Minister
for Commerce. A war hero, Hawker lost an
eye and was, for a period, paralysed from
the waist down. Hawker regained the use of
his legs and wore surgical irons for the rest
of his life. The C.A.S. Hawker Scholarship
was established after his tragic death in
the 1938 Kyeema air crash. It is one of the
most generous privately funded residential
scholarships available to undergraduate and
postgraduate students in Australia.
From conducting one of the first
geochemical surveys in Australia to becoming
Chancellor of the University of Adelaide,
Bruce Webb’s career and success stemmed
from his interests in geology. As Director
General of the SA Department of Mines,
Webb was integral to opening the Cooper
Basin oil and gas field. He chaired the
South Australian Gartrell School of Mining,
Metallurgy and Applied Geology, which
eventually integrated into the establishment
LUMEN
Specialising in the growth and development
of the grape vine and grape berry, Dr Bryan
Coombe had 152 publications to his name –
106 of them being refereed journal articles.
After graduating from the University of
Adelaide in 1948, Coombe began his academic
career at the University of California before
returning to Adelaide to become a horticultural
lecturer and researcher. Coombe was a world
leader in the field of grape berry development,
and nationally recognised for his service to the
development of the Australian grape and wine
industry by being awarded a Member of the
Order of Australia.
