Marg Friedel, Charles Darwin University, Alice Springs. Email: mhfriedel@outlook.com
Back in 2023, a number of former staff of CSIRO’s Central Australian Laboratory in Alice Springs published a two part history of the laboratory’s 64 years of arid zone research (https://www.publish.csiro.au/HR/pdf/HR22006 and https://www.publish.csiro.au/HR/pdf/HR22007). At the time, the influence of Ray Perry was apparent in so much of the work we did that it was clear his story also needed to be told – how his years of experience in CSIRO’s North Australian Regional Survey convinced him of the need for scientifically-based management of rangelands, and the importance of coordinated research by multi-disciplinary teams of scientists.
When CSIRO established a Rangelands Research Unit in 1969 with Ray as leader, he began working towards achieving this vision through close collaboration with key figures and institutions in Australia and internationally. He went on to become Chief of two CSIRO Divisions, Land Resources Management and Groundwater Research but, while the latter appointment meant he was no longer responsible for rangeland research, he never lost interest in it.
Long-established university rangeland science schools in the US introduced Ray to influential thinkers such as Harold Heady and Thad Box. Closer to home, he found like-minded colleagues such as our own David Wilcox – considered to be the father of the Australian Rangeland Society – who spoke out (at their peril) about the need for better rangeland management. If anyone can access the December 1999 issue of RMN celebrating the 25-year anniversary of the Society, David Wilcox and Alan Payne talk of the ‘heady days of the 1970s when money seemed to be no object’. This was the period when the Society was formed, the US-Australia Rangeland Panel was in full swing and the first IRC was held. The development of reliable methods for rangeland monitoring was also a major focus. Ray Perry was a keen contributor and took on various leadership roles as time went by.
In a recently published paper, I have detailed Ray’s 40-year CSIRO career, including not only his long commitment to rangeland science but also his leadership in groundwater research. What became clear to me as I investigated his working life was the affection with which he was held by many colleagues, as well as his visionary approach to resource management. Ray came from a modest background to contribute extensively to rangeland science nationally and internationally. In retirement he continued his commitment through rangeland consultancies, but also consulted for Kailis pearls, asserting that the principles of ecological management of the pearling industry were not so different to those of rangelands.
The paper is in Historical Records of Australian Science and is Open Access; it’s available at https://www.publish.csiro.au/hr. The Supplementary Material, which provides more information about Ray’s pre-CSIRO years, his retirement and his publication record, is currently not available on the HRAS website, but can be obtained on request from mhfriedel@outlook.com.