Elsa Pooley
Encyclopedia
Elsa Pooley is a South African botanist, landscaper, tour guide, and artist.
She lived in and explored the game reserves Ndumu
and Mkuzi for about 20 years, where she became inspired by the flora of the region. She collected plants, painted them, wrote about them, and gardened with them. Her work has been exhibited throughout South Africa which has led to commissions, both local and abroad. Her paintings have appeared in the series Flowering Plants of Africa
and her limited edition portfolio 'Palms of Africa' (1988) has been sold worldwide. She was commissioned to do paintings for the Blue Train
in 1999.
Pooley has lived at Clansthal on the KwaZulu-Natal
South Coast since 1984, and spends her time painting, writing and conducting painting tours of KwaZulu-Natal and Lesotho. She is a founder member of BAASA, the Botanical Artists' Association of Southern Africa.
Elsa Pooley was married to Tony Pooley
(1938-2004), a game ranger and renowned authority on crocodiles. She had three sons from the marriage - Simon, Justin and Thomas.
She lived in and explored the game reserves Ndumu
Ndumo Game Reserve
Ndumo Game Reserve is a game reserve in Maputaland, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is situated on the border with Mozambique where the Pongola River joins the Great Usutu River...
and Mkuzi for about 20 years, where she became inspired by the flora of the region. She collected plants, painted them, wrote about them, and gardened with them. Her work has been exhibited throughout South Africa which has led to commissions, both local and abroad. Her paintings have appeared in the series Flowering Plants of Africa
Flowering Plants of Africa
Flowering Plants of Africa is a series of illustrated botanical magazines akin to Curtis's Botanical Magazine, initiated as Flowering Plants of South Africa by I. B. Pole-Evans in 1920 and currently published by the South African National Biodiversity Institute in Pretoria...
and her limited edition portfolio 'Palms of Africa' (1988) has been sold worldwide. She was commissioned to do paintings for the Blue Train
Blue Train (South Africa)
The Blue Train travels an approximately journey in South Africa between Pretoria and Cape Town. It is one of the most luxurious train journeys in the world...
in 1999.
Pooley has lived at Clansthal on the KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....
South Coast since 1984, and spends her time painting, writing and conducting painting tours of KwaZulu-Natal and Lesotho. She is a founder member of BAASA, the Botanical Artists' Association of Southern Africa.
Elsa Pooley was married to Tony Pooley
Tony Pooley
Tony Charles Pooley was a South African naturalist, award-winning conservationist and one of the world's foremost authorities on the Nile crocodile.Born in Amanzimtoti, KwaZulu-Natal, Pooley was a keen ornithologist as a youth...
(1938-2004), a game ranger and renowned authority on crocodiles. She had three sons from the marriage - Simon, Justin and Thomas.
Books
- Flowers, Grasses, Ferns and Fungi (Southern African Green Guide) with Vincent Carruthers
- 1992 Mashesha - The Making of a Game Ranger with Tony PooleyTony PooleyTony Charles Pooley was a South African naturalist, award-winning conservationist and one of the world's foremost authorities on the Nile crocodile.Born in Amanzimtoti, KwaZulu-Natal, Pooley was a keen ornithologist as a youth...
- 1993 The Complete Field Guide to the Trees of NatalNatal ProvinceNatal, meaning "Christmas" in Portuguese, was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. The Natal Province included the bantustan of KwaZulu...
, ZululandKwaZuluKwaZulu was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government as a semi-independent homeland for the Zulu people. The capital, formerly at Nongoma, was moved in 1980 to Ulundi....
& TranskeiTranskeiThe Transkei , officially the Republic of Transkei , was a Bantustan—an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity—and nominal parliamentary democracy in the southeastern region of South Africa...
(photographic illustrations) - 1997 The Wildlife of Southern Africa. A field guide to the animals and plants of the region (paintings and sketches)
- 1998 A Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of KwaZulu-NatalKwaZulu-NatalKwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....
& the Eastern Region ISBN 0-620-21500-3 - 1999 Trees of Southern Africa ISBN 9781868722914
- 2003 Mountain Flowers, a field guide to the flora of the DrakensbergDrakensbergThe Drakensberg is the highest mountain range in Southern Africa, rising to in height. In Zulu, it is referred to as uKhahlamba , and in Sesotho as Maluti...
and LesothoLesothoLesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...
(photographic illustrations) ISBN 0-620-30221-6 - 2006 Forest Plants, in the forest and in the garden with Geoff Nichols
Papers
- Pooley, A.C., E.S. Pooley, Wayne F. Hadley and Carl Gans (1973) Ecological aspects of the subsoil herpetofauna in Ndumu Game Reserve. Annals of Carnegie Museum vol. 44 Article 8.
- Anderson J.L. and E.S. Pooley (1977) Some plants identified in the rumina of Nyala antelope Tragelaphus angasi in Ndumu Game Reserve. Lammergeyer, Journal of Natal Parks Board, 23:40-45.
- De Moor, P.P., E.S. Pooley, G. Neville and J. Barichievy (1977) Vegetation of Ndumu Game Reserve, Natal. A Quantitative Physiognomic Survey. Annals Natal Museum. 23(1): 239-272
- Pooley, E.S. (1978) A Checklist of the Plants of Ndumu Game Reserve, North-eastern Zululand. J.S. Afr. Bot. 44(1) : 1-54
- Pooley, E.S. (1980) A report on a study of Smilax kraussiana in the St Lucia Resort Game Park. Internal report,Natal Parks Board.
- Pooley, E.S. (1980) Some notes on the utilization of natural resources by the tribal people of Maputaland. IN Studies on the Ecology of Maputaland, edited by M.N. Bruton & K.GH. Cooper, Wildlife Society of SA pp 467–479
- Pooley, E.S. (1989) Palms of Southern Africa. In: Veld and Flora, magazine of the Botanical Society of SA.
- Smedley, L.N. J.L. Ribeiro-Torres (E.S. Pooley, research contributor) (1979) Man and the Pongola Floodplain: a preliminary study. HSRC report no. S-62
Awards
- 1996 Conservationist of the Year from the Wildlife & Environment Society (Natal Branch)
- 1999 Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Contribution to Botany from the South African Association of Botanists
- 2000 Bronze Medal at the Inaugural Kirstenbosch Exhibition of Botanical Art
- 2004 Marloth Medal from the Botanical Society of Southern Africa
- 2008 Honorary Doctor of Science by the University of KwaZulu-NatalUniversity of KwaZulu-NatalThe University of KwaZulu-Natal or UKZN is a university with five campuses all located in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2004 after the merger between the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville.-History:-University of...