Obituaries Australia

The Farrer Memorial Medal commemorates the life and work of wheat breeder, William James Farrer.

The medal was originally presented to prime minister, Joseph Lyons, as a ‘memento’ after he delivered the inaugural Farrer Memorial Oration in 1936. The oration was devised by the Farrer Memorial Council and initiated by Frank. J. Gallagher, M.A., principal of Queanbeyan Intermediate High School. It was intended to be a memorial that would ‘revive’ interest in Farrer’s work.

Gallagher had a passionate interest in maintaining the legacy of Farrer. Prior to the oration, Gallagher proposed the establishment of a bursary fund in Farrer’s name to support the education of rural children and campaigned for the commissioning of a bust of Farrer by sculptor Raynor Hoff which stands in a section of Monaro Street, renamed Farrer Place, in Queanbeyan. Gallagher was transferred to Tamworth High School in 1937. In his absence the oration fell into abeyance and was not awarded from 1939 to 1942.

In 1941, at Gallagher’s request, the Farrer Memorial Trust (established in 1911 to administer a research scholarship fund) took over responsibility for the presentation of the medal and the oration. Over time, presentation of the medal, rather than delivery of the oration, became the focus of the award. The bronze medal struck by the Trust features border text ‘Farrer Memorial Medal 1845-1906’ around a stylised profile of Farrer. On the reverse, border text ‘For Distinguished Service in Agricultural Science’ surrounds a sheath of wheat and bears the name of the recipient and the year of presentation.

Under the Trust, the medal is presented to a person who has ‘rendered distinguished service in agricultural science in Australia in the fields of research, education or administration’. The recipient of the medal is also invited to give an oration on a ‘topical’ subject. While the earliest orations were delivered in Queanbeyan, later settings include universities, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and at agricultural or scientific conferences. Orations have been published in the Australian Journal of Science, the Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales, and the Journal of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science. Currently, the oration is published in the annual report of the Trust.

The inaugural silver medal presented to Lyons is held at the Adolph Basser Library at the Australian Academy of Science.