Ian Clunies Ross
Encyclopedia
Sir Ian Clunies Ross, CMG
(1899–1959) is described as the 'architect' of Australia's scientific boom, for his stewardship of Australia's scientific organisation the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
- CSIRO.
, New South Wales
on 22 February 1899. His father's father, Robert Clunies Ross, was a brother of John Clunies-Ross who settled with his family and crew on Cocos (Keeling) Islands
in 1826-7 and proclaimed a kingdom
.
(1912–1916) and in 1917 he entered the University of Sydney
, in the Agriculture Faculty, and transferred to Veterinary Science at the beginning of 1918, graduating with honours in 1920.
and the School of Tropical Medicine in London
. He also spent time in the United States
, mainly in Texas
and Louisiana
, where he looked at methods of field control of parasitic diseases. When he returned to Sydney he set up a veterinary practice, lectured at the University and continued his own research on hydatid parasite (Echinococcus granulosus
), the liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica
), and the dog-tick (Ixodes holocyclus). He developed an immunization
for dogs to protect against the dog-tick.
, and he was the Australian representative at the International Wool Secretariat in London
from 1937–1940. He enjoyed this administrative role. He also served as a member of Australia's Delegation to the League of Nations
Assembly in 1938. He and his family returned to Australia when World War II
broke out, he returned to the Veterinary school at the University of Sydney. He was president of the Australian Institute of International Affairs
from 1941–1945. He was a vocal commentator on international affairs throughout the remainder of his career.
-textile research. In 1946 he was appointed a full-time member of the CSIR Executive Committee, which was situated in Melbourne
. He served as the executive officer of the CSIR until 1949 when it was renamed the CSIRO. He was chairman of the CSIRO until his death in 1959. During this time he oversaw the release of myxomatosis
for rabbit
control in Australia
.
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
(1899–1959) is described as the 'architect' of Australia's scientific boom, for his stewardship of Australia's scientific organisation the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation is the national government body for scientific research in Australia...
- CSIRO.
Family
Ian Clunies Ross was born in BathurstBathurst, New South Wales
-CBD and suburbs:Bathurst's CBD is located on William, George, Howick, Russell, and Durham Streets. The CBD is approximately 25 hectares and surrounds two city blocks. Within this block layout is banking, government services, shopping centres, retail shops, a park* and monuments...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
on 22 February 1899. His father's father, Robert Clunies Ross, was a brother of John Clunies-Ross who settled with his family and crew on Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
The Territory of the Cocos Islands, also called Cocos Islands and Keeling Islands, is a territory of Australia, located in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Christmas Island and approximately midway between Australia and Sri Lanka....
in 1826-7 and proclaimed a kingdom
King of the Cocos Islands
King of the Cocos Islands was a title given by the press to John Clunies-Ross, a Scottish sea captain, and other members of his family.He went to live on the Cocos Islands in 1827. Queen Victoria granted the islands in perpetuity to the Clunies-Ross family in 1886...
.
Education
He was educated at Newington CollegeNewington College
Newington College is an independent, Uniting Church, day and boarding school for boys, located in Stanmore, an inner-western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
(1912–1916) and in 1917 he entered the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
, in the Agriculture Faculty, and transferred to Veterinary Science at the beginning of 1918, graduating with honours in 1920.
Veterinary career
In 1921, Clunies Ross was given a temporary lectureship in veterinary anatomy, the following year he was made a Fellow of The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, allowing him to a travel overseas. He spent a year working on animal parasites at the Molteno Institute for Parasitology in CambridgeCambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
and the School of Tropical Medicine in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He also spent time in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, mainly in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, where he looked at methods of field control of parasitic diseases. When he returned to Sydney he set up a veterinary practice, lectured at the University and continued his own research on hydatid parasite (Echinococcus granulosus
Echinococcus granulosus
Echinococcus granulosus, also called the Hydatid worm or Hyper Tape-worm, is a cyclophyllid cestode that parasitizes the small intestine of canids as an adult, but which has important intermediate hosts such as livestock and humans, where it causes hydatid disease...
), the liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica
Fasciola hepatica
Fasciola hepatica, also known as the common liver fluke or sheep liver fluke, is a parasitic flatworm of the class Trematoda, phylum Platyhelminthes that infects the livers of various mammals, including humans. The disease caused by the fluke is called fascioliasis . F...
), and the dog-tick (Ixodes holocyclus). He developed an immunization
Immunization
Immunization, or immunisation, is the process by which an individual's immune system becomes fortified against an agent ....
for dogs to protect against the dog-tick.
CSIR
In 1926 Clunies Ross was appointed parasitologist to the newly established Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and was funded to continue research at the Sydney University Veterinary School. On October 6, 1927, Ian married Janet Carter. They had three sons: Anthony, Adrian and David. By mid-1931, three other researchers were working with him, and in November 1931 the team moved into CSIR's new McMaster Animal Health Laboratory, Clunies Ross was appointed as the Officer-in-Charge of the laboratory. In 1928, his thesis on the hydatid parasite was accepted by the University of Sydney for the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Science. Work at the McMaster Laboratory on the control of sheep liver-fluke, made a significant improvement to animal health and the returns from agriculture in the 1930s.Science administration
Following his time at the McMaster Laboratory, Clunies Ross spent times in AsiaAsia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, and he was the Australian representative at the International Wool Secretariat in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
from 1937–1940. He enjoyed this administrative role. He also served as a member of Australia's Delegation to the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
Assembly in 1938. He and his family returned to Australia when World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
broke out, he returned to the Veterinary school at the University of Sydney. He was president of the Australian Institute of International Affairs
Australian Institute of International Affairs
The Australian Institute of International Affairs is a non-profit think tank based in Australia. Established in 1924 and formed as a national body in 1933, the organisation endeavours to promote interest in and understanding of international affairs...
from 1941–1945. He was a vocal commentator on international affairs throughout the remainder of his career.
CSIRO
In 1943, Clunies Ross was appointed Director of Scientific Personnel in the Commonwealth Directorate of Manpower and also Adviser on the Pastoral Industry to the Department of War Organization of Industry. He held these positions until 1945 while continuing work connected with his university position. At the end of the war he left the university to assist the CSIR in planning sheep and woolWool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
-textile research. In 1946 he was appointed a full-time member of the CSIR Executive Committee, which was situated in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. He served as the executive officer of the CSIR until 1949 when it was renamed the CSIRO. He was chairman of the CSIRO until his death in 1959. During this time he oversaw the release of myxomatosis
Myxomatosis
Myxomatosis is a disease that affects rabbits and is caused by the Myxoma virus. It was first observed in Uruguay in laboratory rabbits in the late 19th century. It was introduced into Australia in 1950 in an attempt to control the rabbit population...
for rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
control in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Honours
- Companion of the Order of St Michael and St GeorgeOrder of St Michael and St GeorgeThe Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
(1 January 1954) as Chairman of the CSIRO. - Knight BachelorKnight BachelorThe rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
(10 June 1954) as Chairman of the CSIRO. - Clunies Ross National Science and Technology Award.
- Clunies Ross Street in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
- Clunies Ross Street in Prospect, New South WalesProspect, New South WalesProspect is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Prospect is located 32 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Blacktown and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region....
, Australia. - Clunies Ross Court in Brisbane Technology Park, Eight Mile Plains, Queensland, Australia.
- From 1973 until 1992 the Australian $50 banknoteBanknotes of the Australian dollarThe banknotes of the Australian dollar were first issued on 14 February 1966, when Australia adopted decimal currency.- Former series :The $5 note was not issued until 1967...
honoured Clunies Ross.