| AdminHistory | Walter Gill (1851-1929) was the son of Rev. Walter Gill, Independent minister, of Parkstone, Dorset, England, and was born at Welford, Northamptonshire. He came of a line of tree-growers. The basis of his study of forestry he attributed to the early teaching given him by his mother, who was an enthusiastic botanist, and taught her son to love plants.
In December 1876 Gill went to South Australia, at a station property owned by an uncle. After gaining pastoral experience he became overseer for Mr John Howard Angas at Mount Remarkable, a famous station in those days and for years later, but now cut up for the settlement of soldiers. In 1884 Gill was appointed inspector of credit lands. During his travels, covering many thousands of miles throughout the State, he was invariably on the lookout for botanical specimens to send to the then Conservator of Forests, Mr J.E. Brown. In 1886 he was given the position of chief forester at Wirrabara, and four years later, on the departure of Mr Brown for New South Wales, Gill was appointed Conservator of Forests in his stead. Gill was the first in South Australia to utilise successfully the Remarkable pine (Pinus Insignis) for commercial purposes. This tree matures in South Australia in half the time that it takes in Europe, and makes excellent timber, especially for the manufacture of fruit-packing cases. He gave special attention to the cultivation of eucalypts, pines, and other trees in this State. Being a practical photographer, he applied the art to illustrate the operations of the Woods and Forests Department in annual reports and in lectures on forestry. This widely increased the public interest on the subject.
In December 1890 Gill was elected to the fellowship of the Linnean Society, and six months later was made a Fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society of England. Gill was connected with the Malvern Methodist Church for many years, and was for some time a trustee. He was a justice of the peace, and consulting forester to South Australian Perpetual Forests, Limited. He died in 1929. He and his wife (died 1916) had 4 children together: 1 daughter, Hilda Gill, the well-known singer; and 3 sons, F. Gill (Somerville, Victoria), E. A. Gill (Sydney), and W. E. Gill (Keith). |