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Max Whitten receives the Goodacre Award.
The award has historically been recognised as the peak national award bestowed upon individuals who have provided exemplary service to the Australian beekeeping industry. The award was first bestowed on Morris Morgan in 1956. Since then, 29 people have been honoured with this award.
Max has a long association with honey bees, since 1957 in fact. Some years ago I sat next to Max at a dinner in Canberra and I asked him about when he first came into contact with bees. He became very animated and reminiscent, providing me with details of his youth and various encounters with bees.
As far as the Australian beekeeping industry is concerned, Max came onto the radar screen when a young lady went to see him in Canberra. In 1975 Gretchen Wheen describes her encounter with Max:
“The Metropolitan Branch of the Commercial Apiarists’ Association decided it was necessary to have a proper quarantine centre for bees, so that good stock could be imported safely. To that end, the Committee sent me to Canberra to talk to various people. The Chief of CSIRO Entomology was away, also his deputy, so by chance Max Whitten and I ended up talking bees on either side of a conference table. Max’s comment during this conversation was that ‘not enough has been done about bees’”.
“Subsequently at the meeting with the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, when the First Secretary said ‘the CSIRO is not interested in bees’, I made the comment ‘if you talk to Max Whitten, I think you will find they are.’ The comment was recorded”.
The encounter with Gretchen prompted Max, while he was Professor of Genetics at the University of Melbourne (1976-81), to work with a small group from the industry to prepare and successfully argue the case for the construction of the Eastern Ck Honeybee Quarantine Facility. This facility has served the industry well since 1981. And Max is again active in seeking a new Facility to replace the Eastern Creek station, which is currently closed ‘due to Colony Collapse Disorder’ and scheduled for decommissioning before 2015.
Later, in the early 1980’s CSIRO was looking to introduce biological control agents for Paterson’s Curse. Max, by then, was back at CSIRO Entomology as its Chief (1981 – 1995). He had also become the inaugural Chairman of the Honey Bee Research & Development Council (HBRDC) and served in this position from 1985-1992. Wearing these two competing hats, Max worked closely with the industry, especially Linton Briggs and the FCAAA, to shape the Biological Control Act, a world first, so that the wider public good could be served, while recognising the need to compensate beekeepers if their economic interests were harmed by the effective control of Paterson’s Curse. One aspect of the dispute did go to Court, and CSIRO won. Damages were awarded to CSIRO. Apparently, Max set this money aside, to be used later for research, identified by the HBRDC, in support of the beekeeping industry in Australia.
As Chairman of the HBRDC Max played a key role in identifying key issues pertinent to the beekeeping industry. He achieved this by organising a series of workshops that brought together industry representatives from around Australia. These included:
“Commercially managed honey bees in the Australian environment” – April 1989.
“Honey bee diseases” – April 1990.
“Economic viability of the Australian beekeeping industry” – May 1991.
“Pollination workshop” – April 1992.
The workshops encompassed the key issues of the time for apiculture in Australia. The outcomes were reports that provided guidelines for researchers and industry members to develop apiculture in Australia. As Chairman, Max also provided excellent leadership and guidance in assessing research proposals which were to be funded by the HBRDC. His links with the CSIRO and contacts with other industries and scientists provided considerable benefits in promoting the beekeeping industry.
More recently, Max has been a force in the formation of Pollination Australia. He has attended and given evidence at two recent Enquiries by the Federal Government House of Representative’s Standing Committee for Primary Industry. The first investigated ‘Rural Skills, Training and Research’. It recognised the serious problems facing beekeepers, and primary producers who grew crops dependent on honeybee pollination. This Enquiry prompted a second Enquiry specifically on beekeeping and pollination services. Its Report “More than Honey” is a powerful statement in support of beekeepers and pollination services. His continuing role at that time advising senior Federal Ministers was also of advantage. That the industry achieved the many positive recommendations by these two Enquiries in no small way reflects Max’s input.
Max’s input has been completely altruistic, continuing well into his retirement; at personal time and financial cost for no reward except the possible satisfaction of achieving a worthwhile outcome for the industry and the community. Max’s academic and practical skills are able to be presented to their full value because of his extraordinary ability to communicate with all people and, in particular, with people in a position to make significant decisions affecting our industry.
Max, the beekeeping industry is extremely fortunate to have you as a friend and ally.
Congratulations on receiving the Goodacre Award.
