The Farrer Memorial Trust was established in 1911 in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 in memory of William Farrer. The trust initially provided study scholarships to Agricultural Scientists

Agricultural science

Agricultural science is a broad multidisciplinary field that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. -Agriculture and agricultural science:The two terms are often confused...

, in 1941 the Trust became responsible for the presentation of the Farrer Memorial Oration and awarding the Farrer Medal.

William Farrer and the Farrer Memorial Trust

William Farrer was a surveyor who turned his hand to farming in 1886 near where Canberra

Canberra

Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...

 now stands. Initially he planted grape vines but the conditions were not suitable, he then decided to plant wheat. Due to weather conditions his first two harvests where damaged by rust

Rust

Rust is a general term for a series of iron oxides. In colloquial usage, the term is applied to red oxides, formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the presence of water or air moisture...

, this spurred Farrer to develop strains that were resistant to rust. In 1900 he was successful with a variety he named Federation after the imminent Federation of Australia

Federation of Australia

The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...

. Farrer died suddenly in 1906 a committee was created to raise funds needed to establish a Memorial Trust. On 16 October 1911 the Trust received the funds with a set of instructions, the instructions enabled the Trust to provide research grants and scholarships to further Agricultural Science

Agricultural science

Agricultural science is a broad multidisciplinary field that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. -Agriculture and agricultural science:The two terms are often confused...

 in Australia.

Farrer Medal

In 1935 Frank Gallagher formed a committee to create Farrer Memorial Oration, this was to be given by a person with an agricultural background. The first oration was by Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

n farmer and Australian Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Australia

The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...

 Joseph Lyons

Joseph Lyons

Joseph Aloysius Lyons, CH was an Australian politician. He was Labor Premier of Tasmania from 1923 to 1928 and a Minister in the James Scullin government from 1929 until his resignation from the Labor Party in March 1931...

 at the Star Theatre, Queanbeyan, on 3 April 1936 the birthday of William Farrer. At the end of the oration children from the Queanbeyan Intermediate High School presented Lyons with a silver medallion, this medallion is on display at Adolph Basser Library

Basser Library

The Basser Library is the library of the Australian Academy of Science, established in 1960 following the donation of £25,000 , by philanthropist Sir Adolph Basser...

, Canberra. In 1941 Gallagher handed over the organisation of the Farrer Memorial Oration to the Farrer Memorial Trust.

Recipients

1936 — J.A. Lyons Joseph Lyons Joseph Aloysius Lyons, CH was an Australian politician. He was Labor Premier of Tasmania from 1923 to 1928 and a Minister in the James Scullin government from 1929 until his resignation from the Labor Party in March 1931... 1937 — Dr G.L. Sutton George Lowe Sutton George Lowe Sutton was an Australian agricultural scientist and breeder of wheat.Sutton was born in Lancashire, England. In 1882 his widowed mother took him to New South Wales where he studied at Sydney Boys High School... 1938 — Dr W.L. Waterhouse Walter Lawry Waterhouse Walter Lawry Waterhouse MC was an Australian agricultural scientist, a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and Clarke Medallist.-Early life:... 1939 — not awarded 1940 — not awarded 1941 — not awarded 1942 — not awarded 1943 — Dr S.L. Macindoe 1944 — Mr J.T. Pridham 1945 — not awarded 1946 — Mr H. Wenholz 1947 — Prof S.M. Wadham 1948 — Prof J.A. Prescott James Arthur Prescott James Arthur Prescott, CBE, FRS, was an agricultural scientist.Prescott was born in England, educated at the University of Manchester achieving Bachelor of Science with First Class Honours in 1911... 1949 — Prof W.L. Waterhouse 1950 — Prof R.D. Watt 1951 — Prof L.J.H. Teakle 1952 — Dr B.T. Dickson 1953 — Mr A.T. Pugsley Albert Pugsley Albert Tonkin Pugsley AM was an Australian agricultural scientist and wheat breeder.Pugsley was born in Mildura, Victoria and educated at Scotch College, the University of Melbourne, where he earned a Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree , and the University of Adelaide where he was awarded a... 1954 — Dr A.R. Callaghan 1955 — Mr E.A. Southee

1956 — Mr A.F. Bell 1957 — Mr J.G. Crawford 1958 — Dr I.A. Watson 1959 — Dr R.J. Noble 1960 — Mr H.J. Geddes 1961 — Prof H.C. Forster 1962 — Dr O.H. Frankel 1963 — Prof R.N. Robertson 1964 — Prof C.M. Donald 1965 — Prof J.R.A. McMillan 1966 — Dr G. Edgar 1967 — Prof E.J. Underwood 1968 — Dr E.M. Hutton 1969 — Mr C.S. Christian 1970 — Dr J. Melville 1971 — Mr E.E. Bond 1972 — Prof J.M. Vincent 1973 — Dr D.F. Waterhouse 1974 — Dr H. Newton Turner 1975 — Dr J.S. Gladstones

1976 — Dr R.A. McIntosh 1977 — Dr D.J. McDonald 1978 — Mr W. Ives 1979 — Dr L.T. Evans 1980 — Mr R.H. Martin 1981 — Mr N.F. Derera 1982 — Prof J.P. Quirk 1983 — Dr J.R. Syme 1984 — Dr W.V. Single 1985 — Dr C.M. Francis 1986 — Dr D.E. Byth 1987 — Prof J.L. Dillon 1988 — Dr A.N. Smith 1989 — Dr M.H. Campbell 1990 — Dr D.H.B. Sparrow 1991 — Prof J.W. Longworth 1992 — Dr E.F. Henzell 1993 — Dr D.E. Smiles 1994 — Dr B.S. Fisher 1995 — Mr E.N. Fitzpatrick

1996 — Prof C.D. Blake 1997 — Mr T.J. Flugge 1998 — Mr M.N. Kinsella 1999 — Dr W.J. Peacock 2000 — Mr W.A. Vertigan 2001 — Dr R.A. Hare 2002 — Prof Gil Hollamby 2003 — Dr L. Lewin 2004 — Dr B. Clements 2005 — Dr John Williams 2006 — Prof J.A.G. Irwin 2007 — Dr T. Fischer AM 2008 — Prof Philip Cocks