Albert Molineux


Albert Molineux was a pioneer of South Australia agriculture and fishing. He encouraged use of artificial fertilizers based on research, and the promulgation of scientific advice by bureaux. He was a journalist for the South Australian Register and longtime agriculture editor for its sister publication The Adelaide Observer.

History

Molineux was born in Brighton, England, to Martha and Edward Molineux, and left for South Australia at six years of age with his parents in the barque Resource, arriving in January 1839, and for a year lived on Buffalo Row.
His father was a bootmaker who hoped to make a living at his trade, but was forced by circumstances to take a position at the makeshift prison behind Government House. They later had a farm on the River Gilbert, near Riverton.
His first employment on leaving school was on a farm at Klemzig, after which he was apprenticed as a compositor to George Dehane. In 1851 he joined the great exodus to the goldfields of Bendigo, where he made a modest living, after which he took up farming in the region of Riverton. He began contributing to the gardening pages of the Adelaide newspapers, and in 1875 he established the magazine The Garden and the Field, as a successor to Edward William Andrews' The Farm and Garden.
The venture was successful, and he developed a devoted readership, continuing as editor until around 1893,
when he accepted the position of general secretary to the Central Agricultural Bureau. He helped develop tomato growing in South Australia, also oyster harvesting, having developed a trawl net for studying their habits. In 1890 Molyneux and J. Orchard presented a paper "Harvesting of Wheat Crops" to the Agricultural Bureau Congress.
He retired from the public service in 1902 and was appointed to the Council of Agriculture, and its successor, the Advisory Board of Agriculture, where his wealth of knowledge and experience was appreciated by practical farmers.
He was prominent in urging development of forests for future timber requirements.
He was an advocate for the use of fertilsers, fallowing, and mixed farming. He recommended Bordeaux mixture to prevent fungus diseases such as scab in apples and pears and shothole in apricots; and arsenical sprays to combat codlin moth.

Recognition

In 1891, Molineux was elected a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London in recognition of his work on Echidna hystrix and a "new marsupial". He had some years earlier been elected Fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society of England.
In 1909 the Advisory Board of Agriculture resolved to establish a permanent "Albert Molineux Scholarship" at Roseworthy Agricultural College.
In 1988 a new breed of wheat resistant to "eelworm", developed by Tony Rathjen and Dr Alan Dube of Waite Institute, was named Molineux in his honor.

Family

Molineux married Mary Ann Harris on 7 March 1861. They had one son:
  • Albert Edward Molineux married Minnie Nicholas in 1897
He married again, to Eliza Ingham on 21 August 1897. She had two adult daughters, Mrs H. Dyer and Mrs A. S. Lilburne.
His siblings include
  • Edward Molineux
  • Leonard Molineux
  • Augustus Leppard Molineux married Janie Main on 30 August 1884
  • William John Molineux married Mary Ann O'Connell on 29 January 1890
  • Eugene Leppard Molineux
  • Blanche Annette Leppard Molineux married John H. Champness on 7 March 1876