Allender, Marie Joyce   (1917 - 1995)

Born on 8 January 1917; died on 27 September 1995 at Rosanna, Melbourne, Victoria.

Parents: Evelyn Allender (1888-1932) and Henry Clement Allender (1886-1949).

Employed as a technical assistant by The National Herbarium of Victoria from 1957 until her retirement in 1980.

She was a naturalist who made a significant contribution to the Field Naturalists' Club of Victoria (FNCV).

Marie joined the FNCV in 1947 and became Excursion Secretary in 1954, a position she held for 35 years.

In this role she made all the arrangements for over 500 Club excursions ranging from monthly day trips to extended annual, interstate and overseas travel. Such travel included Western Australia (1963 and 1969), Queensland (1966 and 1978), New Zealand (1973) and Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands (1983).For many years Marie also carried responsibility for the finances relating to these excursions.

Her other roles in the FNCV Club included Secretary of the Botany Group from 1957 to 1963, and 40 years as a member of Council.

The National Herbarium of Victoria holds over 500 of her collections, mostly "odd specimens that puzzled me" and collected while on Naturalist Club excursions.

J.H. Willis named a plant in her honour: Oleana allenderae, found only in a small tract of land on Wilsons Promontary.
[now known as Olearia rugosa subsp. allenderae (J.H.Willis) Hawke ex Messina]

Source: Extracted from:
https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P007074b.htm
McInnes, D.E. 'Marie Allender: a last excursion' The Victorian Naturalist vol. 112, no. 6, (1995), p. 267
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/215551984/marie-joyce-allender
Portrait Photo: seeking portrait

Collecting localities for 'Allernder, M.' from AVH (2024)

Data from 586 specimens