Joan Dingley

Joan Marjorie Dingley OBE (14 May 1916 – 1 January 2008)[2] was one of the pioneer women of New Zealand science. She worked for the DSIR Plant Diseases Division from 1941 to 1976, becoming the head of mycology. She was a major research scientist in New Zealand for both laboratory and field-based plant pathology, and for taxonomic mycology.

Joan Dingley

OBE
Born(1916-05-14)14 May 1916
Auckland, New Zealand [1]
Died1 January 2008(2008-01-01) (aged 91)
Auckland, New Zealand
AwardsHonorary DSc of Massey University
Scientific career
FieldsPlant pathology and taxonomic mycology
Author abbrev. (botany)Dingley

Early Life

Dingley was born in Parnell, Auckland on the 14 May 1916 to Harriet Griffiths and Captain Thomas Dingley. She was the second-youngest child in the family, who re-located to the Auckland suburb of Remuera in the early 1920s, where Dingley would live for the rest of her life. Her father died in 1925, when she was nine.[3]

Dingley's mother was an enthusiastic gardener and encouraged her daughter's interest in plants. This interest was also encouraged by Dingley's schools, including the Ladies' College of Remuera and Auckland Diocesan School for Girls.[3]

She studied science at Auckland University College, majoring in zoology and biology. She graduated in 1941 with an MSc.[3]

Life and career

Her research interests lay with the taxonomy of ascomycetes, especially the Hypocreales. She rapidly became a world authority on these fungi. About 30 species of fungi have dingleyae as their species name, and the genus Dingleya was also named after her.[4]

She wrote a major, comprehensive list of New Zealand plant diseases, Records of plant diseases in New Zealand, published in 1969.[5]

Dingley developed the New Zealand Fungal Herbarium, building specimen numbers from 4,000 to 35,000 by the time she retired.[6]

Dingley also had a love for horticulture and gardening. She was a prime mover in the establishment of the Auckland Regional Botanic Gardens, and became an honorary life member of the ‘Friends’ of the gardens.

Publications
  • Brien, R.M. et al. (1951) A revised list of plant diseases recorded in New Zealand / by R.M. Brien and Joan M. Dingley. Gisborne [N.Z.]: Te Rau Press (Bulletin (New Zealand. Department of Scientific and Industrial Research); no. 101).[7][5]
  • Dingley, Joan M (1960), "New records of fungous diseases in New Zealand 1958-59", New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research, 3 (3): 461-467, doi:10.1080/00288233.1960.10426630
  • Dingley, J.M. et al. (1969) Records of plant diseases in New Zealand / by J.M. Dingley. Wellington, N.Z.: Govt. Printer (Bulletin (New Zealand. Department of Scientific and Industrial Research); 192).[8][5]
  • Mckenzie, E. H. C.; Dingley, J. M. (1995), "New plant disease records in New Zealand: Miscellaneous fungal pathogens III", Mycology and Plant Pathology, 34 (2): 263-272, doi:10.1080/0028825X.1996.10410690

Honours and awards

Dingley was awarded an honorary DSc by Massey University in 1994.[1][9][10] She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1995 Queen's Birthday Honours, for services to botany.[11] In 2004, Landcare Research named one of its Auckland laboratories the JM Dingley Microbiology Laboratory in her honour. She attended the naming ceremony.

In 2017, Dingley was selected as one of the Royal Society Te Apārangi's "150 women in 150 words", celebrating the contributions of women to knowledge in New Zealand.[6]

References
  • Landcare Research newsletter Tamaki News, #50, January 11, 2008, unpublished.
  1. Bieleski, Rod; Ferguson, Ross (1994). "Miss Joan Dingley, DSc (honoris causa)" (PDF). Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  2. Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture awards
  3. Hannah, Kate (2022). "Dingley, Joan Marjorie". Te Ara. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  4. Trappe JM. (1979). "The orders, families, and genera of hypogeous Ascomycotina (truffles and their relatives)". Mycotaxon. 9 (1): 297–340.
  5. Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Dingley, Joan Marjorie". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  6. "Joan Dingley". Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  7. "A revised list of plant diseases recorded in New Zealand". natlib-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  8. "Records of plant diseases in New Zealand". natlib-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  9. Past Officers and Members of the Council and Honorary Graduates - Massey University Archived 2015-05-25 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  10. "Honorary doctorate citation, Joan Dingley, 1994". Massey University Library. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  11. "No. 54067". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 17 June 1995. p. 34.
  12. International Plant Names Index.  Dingley.
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