This biography has been shared from The Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, published by the Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology, under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Born: 9 July 1909, Australia
Died: 12 January 2008
Country most active: Australia
Also known as: NA
Isobel Bennett was a highly respected marine biologist, particularly as a pioneer of coral reef biology. With no formal training, her path was set by a meeting with William Dakin, Professor of Zoology at the University of Sydney. Bennett was his research assistant for 40 years. Dakin’s book Australian seashores (1952), widely regarded as an essential guide to intertidal zones, was prepared for publication after his death by Bennett and Elizabeth Pope. From the 1940s Bennett was a frequent visitor to the Great Barrier Reef. She participated in the 1954 University of Queensland Expedition to the Low Isles, which enabled an assessment of faunal changes since the Great Barrier Reef Expedition of 1928 – 1929. Other expeditions in which she participated included in 1952 in Galatea along the Australian coast between Sydney and Adelaide, and in Stanford University’s research vessel Te Vega in 1963. Bennett’s book The Great Barrier Reef (1971) was the first book to give a general picture of the whole of the Reef. She was one of the first women to visit Macquarie Island, making four trips between 1959 and 1968 to study intertidal ecology in cold climates. One genus and five species of marine animals have been named after her. Geographic features named in Bennett’s honour include Isobel Bennett Reef 21-505 on the Great Barrier Reef near Heron Island, and Lake Bennett on Macquarie Island. Her papers and a collection of her photographs were deposited in the National Library of Australia.
Chronology
1925 – 1928
Career position – Secretary at the Patent Attorney’s Office
1928 – 1932
Career position – Secretary of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music
1932 – 1933
Career position – Research work for Professor W.J. Dakin
1933 – 1971
Career position – Working variously as Secretary to the Departmental Librarian and Demonstrator at the University of Sydney
1942 – 1945
Career position – Research Assistant to Dakin at Department of Home Security
1945 – 1948
Career position – Continued work with Dakin until his retirement
1948 – 1970
Career position – Made expeditions to the Great Barrier Reef
1954
Career event – Participated in University of Queensland Expedition to the Low Isles
1959 – 1968
Career event – Made four visits to Macquarie Island
1959 – 1971
Career position – Professional Officer at the University of Sydney
1962
Award – Honorary Master of Science (MSc) received from the University of Sydney
1962 – 2002
Career position – Foundation Member, Australian Marine Sciences Association
1963
Career position – Visiting Associate Professor, Stanford University, Sranford Californoa, U.S.A.
1973 – 1979
Career position – Member of Council, Great Barrier Reef Committee
1974 – 1979
Career position – Co-opted to the New South Wales Fisheries Department
1982
Award – Whitley Memorial Award received from the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
1982
Award – Mueller Medal, Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science
1984
Award – Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in recognition of service to marine science
1988
Award – Whitley Memorial Award received from the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
1995
Award – DSc honoris causa, University of New South Wales
1995
Award – Honorary Doctor of Science (DSc (Hon)) received from the University of Sydney
2002 – 2008
Award – Honorary Life Member, Australian Marine Sciences Association