Harold Burnell Carter

Harold Burnell Carter, BVSc, DVSc (Hon), FRSE, AM; (3 January 1910 – 27 February 2005) was an Australian scientist whose work in the middle decades of the twentieth century at the CSIR (now CSIRO) – Australia's national scientific research organization – laid foundations for the scientific understanding of the biology of Merino fine wool – upon which much of Australia's economy depended at the time. As an author, he has been collected by libraries.[1]

Harold Burnell Carter
Born(1910-01-03)3 January 1910
Mosman, Sydney, New South Wales
Died27 February 2005(2005-02-27) (aged 95)
Somerset, England
NationalityAustralian
OccupationVeterinary scientist (sheep)
Known forScientific study of the merino wool follicle, scientific history of the Merino, the life and work of Sir Joseph Banks
Spouse(s)Mary (née Brandon Jones)
ChildrenThree sons: Brandon, Richard, Nigel
Academic background
Alma materSchool of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney

Research

Carter's investigations were focussed upon the histology of the wool fibre, its embryonic development and the genetic and environmental factors that caused variability in wool quality. His aim was to establish the necessary scientific knowledge by which the economic value of the Merino could be improved. Through this work he conceived the idea of an Australian national Sheep and Wool laboratory. In the early 1940s he drafted a plan for such laboratories which he developed in discussion with his senior colleagues Lionel B. Bull and Ian Clunies Ross.[2][3][4][5] In 1945, as part of Australia's post War economic development plan, an Act of the Australian Parliament was passed for their construction (Wool Uses Promotion Act, 1945).[6][3] The laboratories, built at Prospect Hill near Sydney under Carter's supervision, were opened in 1953 as the "Sheep Biology Laboratory" of the CSIRO (renamed the "Ian Clunies Ross Animal Research Laboratory" in 1959 following the death of Clunies Ross, the Director of CSIRO).[7]

Following completion of the Sheep Biology Laboratory Carter resigned from the CSIRO and took a position at the Animal Breeding Research Organisation in Edinburgh, Scotland.[4] In the later decades of his life he devoted himself increasingly to primary historical scientific research on the origins of the Merino as a producer of fine wool. This work culminated in a major biography of Sir Joseph Banks, a founder of Australia's Merino fine wool economy.[8]

Honours
  • Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1960)[9]
  • Honorary Degree of Doctor of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney (1996)
  • Member of the Order of Australia (1999)[10]

Major publications
  • H.B. Carter "The Development and General Histology of the Follicle Group in the skin of the Merino" C.S.I.R. (Australia) Bulletin No. 164, 1-21, 1943
  • H.B. Carter "His Majesty’s Spanish Flock" Angus & Robertson Ltd, 1964
  • H.B. Carter "Sir Joseph Banks, 1743-1820" British Museum (Natural History), 1988

Bibliography
  • R. Carter "A review of the life, work and influences of Harold Burnell Carter, August 2013" Files of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
  • H.B. Carter "Notes on the Development of Sheep and Wool Research in Australia 1934-1954" Files of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
  • Brad Collis "Fields of Discovery: Australia’s CSIRO" (CSIRO Publishing) 2002
  • Charles Massy "The Australian Merino" (Random House) 2007
  • "Wool Uses Promotion Act" Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, 1945
  • Marjory Collar O’Dea "Ian Clunies Ross a biography" (Hyland House, Melbourne) 1997

References
  1. "Carter, Harold B. (Burnell)". worldcat.org. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  2. "The Ian Clunies Ross Animal Research Laboratory, Prospect,New South Wales", Ian W. Macdonald, Nature, 1960, vol 187, no.4742, (1960) pgs 980-982
  3. Minutes of Evidence to Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works, The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia [Monday 20th June and Saturday 25th June 1949] "Wool Biology Laboratory, Prospect, New South Wales" By Authority: L.F. Johnston, Commonwealth Government Printer, Canberra. F.3639
  4. Massy, Charles; Ferguson, Ken (2007). "Forward". The Australian Merino: The Story of a Nation (2, illustrated, revised ed.). Random House Australia. pp. viii & ix. ISBN 1741666929. ISBN 9781741666922.
  5. "Fields of Discovery: Australia’s CSIRO" by Brad Collis (CSIRO Publishing), 2002
  6. "The Ian Clunies Ross Animal Research Laboratory, Prospect,New South Wales", Ian W. Macdonald, Nature, 1960, vol 187, no.4742, (1960) pgs 980-982
  7. "The Ian Clunies Ross Animal Research Laboratory, Prospect, New South Wales" Ian W. McDonald, Nature, 1960, vol 187, no. 4742, pages 980 -982
  8. "Sir Joseph Banks" by Harold Burnell Carter (British Museum (Natural History), London) 1988
  9. "Dr Harold Burnell Carter FRSE". The Royal Society of Edinburgh. 28 October 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  10. "Dr Harold Burnell Carter: Member of the Order of Australia (Award Extract)". honours.pmc.gov.au. 26 January 1999. Retrieved 26 March 2019. Citation: for service to the wool industry, particularly the study of factors affecting wool growth, and for research into the life and work of Sir Joseph Banks. Yeo Bank, Congresbury, N. Somerset BS49 5JA UK. AM S16 1999

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