Obituaries Australia

Peter Hawkins, n.d.

Peter Hawkins, Deputy Conservator of Forests in Queensland, died in Brisbane on 22 July 1982.

Peter was born in Brisbane on 3 February 1929. After attending secondary school at Brisbane Boys College he was appointed a cadet forester in the then Sub-Department of Forestry, Queensland, in 1946. He then attended Queensland University and the Australian Forestry School and graduated in 1951.

He spent his first year in soil surveys in the Gympie-Maryborough region and was then posted to Dalby to take over the research programme in western Queensland cypress pine and hardwood forests. He remained in this position until 1966. In 1961 he was awarded a Russell Grimwade Prize and studied at Oxford for 16 months for his Diploma of Forestry.

In 1966 he transferred to the Beerwah Research Station where he was involved in research on Queensland’s exotic pine plantation species until 1974. Then followed a rapid series of promotions to Officer-in-Charge, Beerwah Research Station; Assistant Silviculturist; Officer-in-Charge, Forest Research Branch; Director of Planning; Director of Marketing and then Deputy Conservator in 1981.

Peter joined the Institute in 1956 and was Chairman of the Queensland Division from 1969–71, following 2 years as a Committeeman from 1967–69. He was Chairman of the Organising Committee for the highly successful Triennial Conference at Caloundra in 1974, and represented the Queensland Division during the Cooloola land use controversy. In 1981 he was elected a Fellow of the Institute.

Throughout his career Peter maintained a deep interest in the silviculture and management of cypress pine and exotic pine species in subtropical and tropical Australia, but his great versatility is reflected in the many papers that he has written on various forestry subjects.

Peter was a popular and well respected forester, whose ability may best be judged by the immense standing which he had within the Department, the industry and the Institute. Peter had the rare talent of being able to mix freely at all levels and he will be sadly missed by his wide circle of friends. He is survived by his wife Evelyn, and three sons from a previous marriage Roderick, Andrew and Michael.

Vale Peter Hawkins.