Obituary Dr Lucy Moore

Press, 12 June 1987, Page 4

Obituary Dr Lucy Moore

Dr Lucy Moore, a former senior botanist in the Botany Division of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research at Lincoln, died earlier this week. She was 80. Dr Moore, who was born in Warkworth, Auckland, was a distinguished botanist who contributed greatly to the botanical knowledge of New Zealand. . -

She was the co-writer of two volumes of the “Flora of New Zealand” and the author of “The Oxford Book of New Zealand Plants.”

She was also a prolific writer for scientific journals and other publications.

Dr Moore worked in the D.S.I.R. in Christchurch and earlier in Wellington for 33 years, before retiring in the 1970 s and returning to her original Warkworth home.

A former colleague of Dr Moore at the Lincoln

botany division, Mrs Margaret Bulfin, described her friend as having a “great rapport with amateur botanists.”

She was also a good teacher, and during her retirement continued to encourage persons who wanted to learn about botany, said Mrs Bulfin. While in Christchurch, Dr Moore was made an honorary life member and patron of the Canterbury Botanical Society. Dr Moore graduated master of science from Auckland University and later gained a doctorate at the University of Canterbury. Before starting work at the D.S.I.R. in 1938 she also taught in the zoology department of the University of Auckland.

In 1968 she received a doctorate from Cambridge University. During World War 11, Dr Moore helped locate

seaweeds in the North Island for the extraction of agar, and organised early collections of these at first with the help of Maori schools. The jelly-like substance used for growing cultures was needed to replace the supplies previously obtained from Japan. . Dr Moore was also .involved in recording changes in the vegetation on Molesworth station in the central South Island. She later wrote a book with information gained during her research. Dr Moore’s contribution to botany was recognised throughout her career. She was made a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, and was also awarded the Hutton Memorial Medal. Dr Moore was awarded the M.B.E. in 1959 for her services to botany.