Soil Scientist Explains Reasons For Leaving N.Z.

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28630, 5 July 1958, Page 14

Soil Scientist Explains Reasons For Leaving N.Z.

When Dr. T. W. Walker, professor of soil science at Canterbury Agricultural College, Lincoln, for the last six years and a half, sails from Wellington next Friday on the Southern Cross New Zealand will lose a soil scientist of international repute who is loath to leave this country, but for whom the doors of opportunity have virtually been closed.

Dr. Walker is going to King’s College, Newcastle-on-Tyne, as professor of agriculture (crop production) under the noted New Zealander Professor M. M. Cooper. He said yesterday that when he was restricted in his research work by a shortage of finance and the opportunities of accepting positions of higher responsibility, which would have allowed him to make a greater contribution to agricultural science, were limited, it was in his view reasonable that he should ask what were his chances in Britain, his homeland. His keenness to stay in New Zealand had been shown by his interest in two vacancies in leading agricultural posts, one of which was a senior appointment in a Government department, he said. Had he secured this latter post he would certainly have stayed in the country, but if someone from outside the Public Service was to be appointed to such a job he had to be proved better in great degree than an applicant from inside the service. He had been told that he would have been given the job had not the Public Service Commission “sat on it.” “This is a weak feature in this country, as it is very difficult for a man outside the public service to take up a post of responsibility in the service, whether he is a New Zealander or from abroad.’’ he said. More Responsibility Dr. Walker said that at King’s College he would have more responsibility, more degree students and a chance of building up a really effective school of soil research, opportunities for which at Lincoln, as far as he could see, had been limited by finance and the number of

students. While student numbers might increase, when his department was dependent on a grant from the Department of Scientific and Industrial Re. search and, it did not seem likely to increase then the prospects of getting enough money to build up a strong research school seemed too remote. Even taking into account that he would be receiving an extra £6OO a year, Dr. Walker said he believed he would have been prepared to stay had he been given the opportunity of sufficient financial backing for facilities for research. In his opinion, these facilities were available in Government departments but not in the University. Research Grant At Lincoln, Dr. Walker said, he had been prepared to begin with as little as possible to initiate a good research programme, but in time as work developed there was need for more staff and money. For his own particular research interests less than £lOOO a year had been allotted to cover expenses including techniciani* salaries. “You cannot do much on that,” he commented. For a research programme on soil, plant and animal relationships he said it would be necessary to have several thousand pounds a year, “Mind you, I think that if thia problem had been put to the farmers of the South Island we could probably have got them to provide the financial support,” added Professor Walker. “I think that is one feature that ia not sufficiently stressed here—that farmers I am quite sure would be prepared to back what they considered to be reasonably profitable lines of research.”