Wakefield, Norman Arthur (1918 - 1972)

Born in Romsey, Victoria, on 28 November 1918, died in Sherbrooke, Victoria, on 24 September 1972.

Norman Wakefield was recognised as an authority on the flora of Gippsland.

He was a teacher with the Victorian Department of Education for over 30 years, and looked on his postings to remote Gippsland schools as an opportunity to explore inaccessible parts of the region.

His particular interest in pteridophytes resulted in the publication of the first comprehensive book on the ferns of southern Australia, The ferns of Victoria and Tasmania (1955).

After moving to Melbourne in 1951 his attention shifted more to zoology.

His discoveries included identifying a living mountain Pygmy Possum, Burramys parvus, previously known only from fossils, and footprints over 355 million years old near the Genoa River, Victoria.

Wakefield was an active member of the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria which awarded him the Australian Natural History Medallion in 1962.

He deposited most of his plant collections, including the type specimens, in the National Herbarium of Victoria: the balance was donated by his widow.

Source: Extracted from: https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P006077b.htm
Portrait Photo: Vic.Nat. Vol.101, No.1, p.19 (1984)

Collecting localities for 'Wakefield, N.A.' from AVH (2025)

Data from 5,308 specimens