Gretna Margaret Weste
Gretna Margaret Weste was a leading scientist noted for her work in plant pathology and mycology, specifically with ''Phytophthora cinnamomi.''
Biography
Gretna Margaret Weste was born in Dumfriesshire, Scotland in 1917 to Australian parents, Grace and Arthur Parkin. Her father was a volunteer chemist in the local munitions factory, H.M. Factory Gretna,which produced Cordite RDB, colloquially known as the "Devil's Porridge". The family lived at 24 the Ridge, Eastriggs during World War One and a brother Tom was also born during this time.The family returned to Australia when Gretna was two years old, and she grew up in Surrey Hills, an outer-suburb of Melbourne.
Her schooling was completed through scholarships, first at the Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne where she gained final-year honors at the botany exhibition, and won a government scholarship to the University of Melbourne. At the University of Melbourne, she obtained a Bachelor of Science in 1938 and Master of Science in 1939 on wood anatomy. She was awarded a PhD in 1969 and a University of Melbourne Doctor of Science in 1984 for her published papers. In 1989 she was awarded a Member in the Order of Australia for "service to science, particularly in the field of botany.
Weste was a foundation member of the Australian Conservation Foundation and an active member of numerous community natural history associations, including the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria, the Victorian National Parks Association, the Environmental Studies Association of Victoria, the Friends of Warrandyte State Park and the 100 Acres Reserve in Park Orchards, the Montrose Environment Group, the Ringwood Field Naturalists Club, and the Maroondah branch of the Society for Growing Australian Plants.