WomersleyJS

Career

Collecting localities

Collections

Literature

Womersley, John Spencer

(Source: Flora Malesiana ser. 1, 5: Cyclopaedia of collectors, Supplement I)

(Source: Flora Malesiana ser. 1, 8: Cyclopaedia of collectors, Supplement II)

Born: 1920, Bristol, England.

career:

Went to Australia in 1930 and was educated in Adelaide, graduating B.S. and Teaching Certificate in 1944 at the university. In June 1946 appointed Forest Botanist, Papua and New Guinea Administration, at Lae, New Guinea.
Author of some papers on collecting methods, etc.²
Hibiscus womersleyanus Borss. was named after him.

Collecting localities:

from 1946 onwards. NE. New Guinea. In the vicinity of Lae; at Morobe (Dec. 1947-Jan. 1948); at Aiyura and in other highland areas including Goroka and Nondugl on a number of occasions; the Upper Sepik River Distr. (July-Oct. 1949) up to the confluence of the October River and the Sepik River¹; Bulolo Valley area, c. 3500 ft; Sogeri region (Papua, June-Aug. 1951); Finschhafen-Sattelberg area (Apr. 1953); Keravat, New Britain (May 1953); Aiyura, Eastern Highlands (July 1954); collecting trip with N.W. Simmonds (Dec. 1954-Jan. 1955), along the N. coast from Sepik to Rabaul (New Britain), through the Central Highlands, and in Papua from the Oriomi River to Port Moresby and Sogeri; Baiyer River Valley in the Western Highlands (? first half of 1955). In the following years several local trips were made; in Nov. 1959 short visit to West New Guinea.-1966. Ramu Valley with E.E. Henty; Wau area, foothills of Giluwe, S. Highlands with K.R. Woolliams; Okapa area, E. Highland Distr. with Coode.-He will have certainly occasionally collected later.

collections:

Numbered in the N.G.F. (cf. New Guinea Forces) series, > 2000 nos; in Herb. Lae [LAE], Brisbane [BRI], Canberra [CANB] and where available dupl. to Arn. Arb. [A], Kew [K], Leiden [L], Bogor [BO], Sing. [SING], and Imp. For. Inst. Oxford [FHO].

literature:

(1) Cf. Australas. Herb. News no 6.
(2) E.g. ‘A brief history of botanical exploration of Papua and New Guinea’ (The Papua and N.G. Agricultural* Gazette 8, no 2, Oct. 1953, p. 32-39). with J.B. McAdam: ‘The Forests and Forest Conditions in the Territories of Papua and New Guinea’ (prep. for the Brit. Commonwealth For. Conf. in Austr., 1957, Port Moresby).
* Dr. Robin Hide, Australian National University, Canberra.

	Career Collecting localities Collections Literature
	Womersley, John Spencer
	(Source: Flora Malesiana ser. 1, 5: Cyclopaedia of collectors, Supplement I) (Source: Flora Malesiana ser. 1, 8: Cyclopaedia of collectors, Supplement II)
	Born: 1920, Bristol, England.
	career: Went to Australia in 1930 and was educated in Adelaide, graduating B.S. and Teaching Certificate in 1944 at the university. In June 1946 appointed Forest Botanist, Papua and New Guinea Administration, at Lae, New Guinea. Author of some papers on collecting methods, etc.² Hibiscus womersleyanus Borss. was named after him.
	Collecting localities: from 1946 onwards. NE. New Guinea. In the vicinity of Lae; at Morobe (Dec. 1947-Jan. 1948); at Aiyura and in other highland areas including Goroka and Nondugl on a number of occasions; the Upper Sepik River Distr. (July-Oct. 1949) up to the confluence of the October River and the Sepik River¹; Bulolo Valley area, c. 3500 ft; Sogeri region (Papua, June-Aug. 1951); Finschhafen-Sattelberg area (Apr. 1953); Keravat, New Britain (May 1953); Aiyura, Eastern Highlands (July 1954); collecting trip with N.W. Simmonds (Dec. 1954-Jan. 1955), along the N. coast from Sepik to Rabaul (New Britain), through the Central Highlands, and in Papua from the Oriomi River to Port Moresby and Sogeri; Baiyer River Valley in the Western Highlands (? first half of 1955). In the following years several local trips were made; in Nov. 1959 short visit to West New Guinea.-1966. Ramu Valley with E.E. Henty; Wau area, foothills of Giluwe, S. Highlands with K.R. Woolliams; Okapa area, E. Highland Distr. with Coode.-He will have certainly occasionally collected later.
	collections: Numbered in the N.G.F. (cf. New Guinea Forces) series, > 2000 nos; in Herb. Lae [LAE], Brisbane [BRI], Canberra [CANB] and where available dupl. to Arn. Arb. [A], Kew [K], Leiden [L], Bogor [BO], Sing. [SING], and Imp. For. Inst. Oxford [FHO].
	literature: (1) Cf. Australas. Herb. News no 6. (2) E.g. ‘A brief history of botanical exploration of Papua and New Guinea’ (The Papua and N.G. Agricultural* Gazette 8, no 2, Oct. 1953, p. 32-39). with J.B. McAdam: ‘The Forests and Forest Conditions in the Territories of Papua and New Guinea’ (prep. for the Brit. Commonwealth For. Conf. in Austr., 1957, Port Moresby). * Dr. Robin Hide, Australian National University, Canberra.