SYDNEYSIDE WITH JANET PARR U.N. honours Aust. scientist

Press, 7 July 1977, Page 10

SYDNEYSIDE WITH JANET PARR U.N. honours Aust. scientist

Dr Helen Turner of Sydney retired four years ago from the Commission for Scientific and Industrial Research. But since then she has probably been busier' than ever for she has' been; working as an independent! researcher in her own sub-' ject — animal genetics —I and has spent great deal! of time travelling overseas. 1 Earlier this year she was I awarded the 0.8. E. Now she has been given an inter-j national honour and an un-| usual one. ■ I

She is the first Australian > to have her work com-1 • Imemmbrated by one of the 1 •(Ceres - medals, which are : issued.by .the United. Nations; ■'Food and Agriculture Organ-) nisafio’n. 1 :l F.A.O.- ■with- headquartersi 'in Rome, is concerned with! (food production and alleviating the world’s hunger. Ini 'the choice of ■ distinguished i (women to. be. represented on) . its Ceres medals there is aj, : strong emphasis on those* ! whose work is considered to | (be.a significant contributionp to agriculture, social justice r 'and Third ' World' 'deVdl-|. 'opment. I. ROMAN GODDESS ' I. .Ceres was .the. Roman god- j! ■dess of Agriculture and the J iWofneti ' ’whose ' portraits.

appear on the medals represent the goddess. Where a woman’s work has not been directly conIcerned with agriculture her (inclusion is for her active and public support of the 1F.A.0. ideal of world freejdom from hunger and j through a proven reputation -for personal kindness! I Dr Turner is the twenty- ‘ eighth woman to be represented on a medal. The pre-; ivious 27 have included the! American anthropologist, Dr! Margaret Mead, the former, (Indian Prime Minister, Mrs! (Indira Gandhi, who encour-l laged India's agricultural rev-! loiution aimed at producing’ I high-yielding cereals, the Al-! .banian missionary, Mother! (Teresa, whose order of nuns;

-;works for the poor and hunigry in 17 countries including {(lndia, and Jacqueline Auriol, ,i the French woman pilot who r ;was the first woman to »-break the sound barrier and .‘fly the Concorde. .' Three earlier medals i carried symbols of work by F.A.0., so the one i bearing Dr Turner’s portrait .(will actually be the thirtyfirst. Dr Turner has already .(given a two-hour sitting, in J Rome, for the portrait J engraving which has been .‘done by Marie-Louise Rad- ; ziwill, an American-born Polish princess. .! Dr Turner thinks the , 'medal will be ready for minuting later this year. It will Jbe minted in Canberra in , I gold, silver bronze, gilt and ’(bronze. Dr Turner specialised in research to improve (sheep breeding, and the reI verse of the medal will symibolise one of her achievej ments. Through selective -breeding she has been able (to increase the number of i ewes that produce twin (lambs. WOMEN’S STATUS Proceeds from the medals; (help to finance projects to improve the status of! women in various countries, i i Dr- Turner herself already has a set of the previous 30 ‘medals in something rather I different. A set of aluminium (reproductions was presented i to her by F.A.O. ( It finds a special place at (her home in Roseville along ;with a very large collection of slides taken during her many overseas trips over the last 10 years. When she is not busy with animal genetics she has a very keen interest in photography and lists her other leisure interest as music.

She already has yet another overseas trip lined up for this month. ‘She is going to Moscow at the invitation of the Russians to see an experimental programme on sheep and goat breeding. She (has been to Moscow beforeito contribute to a seminar ion sheep breeding.