Eric John Godley

Eric John Godley (1919–2010)

BSc, MSc (NZ), PhD (Cantab.), OBE, FRSNZ, Hon FLS, Hon DSc (Cantuar.), AHRNZIH

DR ERIC GODLEY was a leading figure in New Zealand botany for most of the second half of the twentieth century. His contribution was broad-ranging, including the biogeography and nature of the New Zealand flora; the reproduction and pollination of native plants; the evolution of the flora more broadly, including plant form and function and hybridism; Sub-Antarctic botany; the evolutionary relationships of particular genera; and the history of botany and bibliography. He also made botanical information accessible to a broader audience. In addition, he established a coherent national approach to botany through his administrative leadership and his mentoring of students and scientists.

Eric was born in Devonport, Auckland, on 10 May 1919. He grew up there, on the North Shore, with his two younger sisters, along with the smells, sounds and plants of the seaside, including the mangrove. He attended Devonport District School and then Takapuna Grammar School, where he was head prefect in 1936. Here, Eric was influenced by the remarkable teaching of Miss Olga Adams who had an MSc in botany (Godley, biographical notes series, 2008d1). While still in the fifth form, seeing a reference to Darwin's work in his English literature text, Eric tracked down and bought a copy of On the Origin of Species, describing it as ‘a revelation to me’ (Godley 2010). This copy was from the green hardbacked popular edition of Darwin's complete works. While at school too, Eric developed what became a life-long devotion to rugby. He was in fact an accomplished sportsman having played soccer at primary school and excelling in rugby, cricket and athletics at secondary school (he captained both the First XI and the First XV of Takapuna Grammar School).

After graduating from what was then Auckland University College of the University of New Zealand with a BSc in 1941 and an MSc (Hons) in botany in 1942, and being awarded the Dufus Lubecki Scholarship, his career was interrupted by the Second World War. He served in the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force, 1942–1945, and was stationed in Italy with the 7th Anti-Tank Regiment from 1943 to 1945. In spite of the circumstances, being in Italy influenced Eric's appreciation of painting and music.

After the Second World War ended, Eric took up a New Zealand Government Rehabilitation Bursary, and, in November 1945 began a PhD in cytology and genetics in RA Fisher's department at Cambridge University. This was at the time of the blossoming of genetic research following the rediscovery of Mendelian genetics in 1900. An understanding of genetics enabled the examination of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection using experimental and theoretical mathematical approaches. This opened up many new fields of research and revolutionized the way life on earth was understood. While at Cambridge, Eric bought the red, hardbacked Thinker's Library edition of Darwin's Origin, 1945 reprint, labelled on the verso page ‘Book Production War Economy Standard’. This copy, which he gave to me decades later, has passages marked or underlined in Eric's hand. Later he described Darwin as ‘the greatest biologist of all time’ (Godley 1959a).

Eric was a disciple of Darwin and, in many ways, very Darwin-like in his approach to botany, not just in terms of his interest in the evolutionary biology and biogeography of plants, but also in his pragmatic, evidence-based and thoughtful approach. Throughout his life, Eric tested evolutionary hypotheses using manipulative experiments, and by following tagged plants in the field. He also understood the risks of ascribing adaptive value to every variation (Godley 1959a), and held a view that some character states ‘just worked’; in Godley (2010) he quotes from his Auckland University College text book by Dendy ‘Many, if not all, organisms, however, exhibit characters to which we can assign no adaptive value...’.

On returning to New Zealand from Cambridge, Eric joined the staff of Auckland University College (1948–1950) as a Lecturer in genetics, evolution and systematic botany. Then, in 1951, he moved to Lincoln to take up the position of Senior Geneticist at the Crop Research Division of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), where later that year he became Director. In 1958, he moved to his natural home as Director of the Botany Division, DSIR, initially in Christchurch and in 1960 to Lincoln. He remained in that position until 1980, when he stepped down to concentrate on his research for the remaining years on staff, as Senior Scientist, before retiring in May 1984. Eric then had some office space at the University of Canterbury, and continued his connection with Lincoln as a Research Associate of Landcare Research until his death on 27 June 2010.

Two of Eric's earliest publications were in genetics. While still at Cambridge he undertook studies of blood group frequencies for New Zealand and Maori soldiers (Godley 1945) showing that for white soldiers frequencies were intermediate between those for Scotland and England, reflecting ancestry, whereas those for Maori soldiers were distinctly different and closer to those of other Pacific and American indigenous peoples. In these early years, he also published on monoecy and incompatibility (Godley 1955b) and made notes toward a modelling paper on the interaction between these two systems, but never published this work.

Early in his research career, he developed an approach that balanced a focus on particular projects that would form the basis for a publication, with the steady accumulation in files and notebooks of myriads of field and glasshouse observations on plant reproduction and development across a broad range of native genera. He also collected information on the origins of plant names, the correct meanings of botanical terms and numerous other facts or observations related to plants more generally. Many of these were too slight to merit a separate paper, but they were of use in review papers, as the basis for many articles in The New Zealand Gardener, and even in book reviews, where he was able to find a home for something that was worth recording as it would be of interest to others.

Eric's observations of field plants often spanned many years or even many decades, with sites in Canterbury providing the best opportunities for this once he moved to the South Island. For example, for several years starting in 1977, he made an annual Christmas visit to Springs Junction, where he always climbed Mt Haast and visited particular plant populations that needed to be checked (I was shown orchids and mistletoes in particular). Information garnered on these trips formed the basis for articles and there is a section on Mt Haast in A Botanist's Notebook (Godley 2006).

The processes of flowering, pollination, seed formation and dispersal create and separately establish new genetic individuals. The genetic recombination that usually occurs during this process produces the variation among individuals on which natural selection acts. Eric had an enduring fascination with these stages of the plant life cycle, and, often combined this interest with a New Zealand perspective – in other words, what special reproductive features characterize New Zealand plants? And, conversely, what do not? This led to some specific contributions including some of the few well-documented demonstrations of self-incompatibility in the New Zealand flora (Godley 1966, Godley & Smith 1981), and the demonstration that Fuchsia excorticata is gynodioecious rather then heterostylous and that, therefore, the latter polymorphism does not occur in the New Zealand flora. Other distinctive features of the flora were the subject of systematic examination, including the frequency of dioecious species, the concept that most native flowers are white or yellow as a result of the pollinating fauna, and self-pollination in native orchids. Eric summarized his thinking about the reproductive biology of New Zealand native plants in a masterly review paper presented at the 1979 International Symposium on Reproductive Biology in Flowering Plants for which he chaired the organizing committee. This paper was subsequently published in the proceedings (Godley 1979c).

Of course, Eric was not just fascinated by plant reproduction – he was also interested in the pathway from seed to mature flowering plant, and in particular, in the development of the seed into a seedling (including the nature of the cotyledons and the first true leaves), the transition from juvenile forms to adults, and the changes leading into reproduction. As always, his approach was meticulous and evidence-based, with glasshouse as well as field observations. Some of his interest in this area can be seen in his articles in The New Zealand Gardener, for example ‘Juvenile seven-finger could come inside’ (Godley, botanist's notebook series, 1981i) and ‘Our largest cotyledons’ (Godley, botanist's notebook series, 1983a). In another of his classic review papers (Godley 1975a), he explored questions such as the frequency of divaricating juvenile forms and the paucity of annuals in the New Zealand flora compared with that of other countries, as well as leaf size and shape, and deciduousness; as was usual in his papers, this review included numerous original observations and insights as well as general conclusions.

His observations on the morphology and development of seedlings and juvenile forms were brought together in a paper entitled ‘Paths to Maturity’ which he gave at his retirement symposium at the Ellesmere Country Club in Lincoln on 1–2 May 1984. This paper (Godley 1985c), along with others presented at the symposium, was published in the New Zealand Journal of Botany. Again, there is a parallel with Darwin's interests and approaches, and in particular Darwin's careful observations of climbing plants grown in his glasshouse (Darwin 1865). Eric germinated plants from seed and had them grown in the glasshouses at Lincoln where he could observe their development and have it recorded by the photographers. Some of these photos are used in ‘Paths to Maturity’ and others in his articles in The New Zealand Gardener.

It is now generally accepted that our flora has found its way to New Zealand by dispersal from other lands, with the relationship of our taxa reflecting that origin and evolution since arrival. Eric explored the flora and vegetation of Chile as the Botanist on the Royal Society of London Expedition to southern Chile in 1958–1959 and, as well as writing about the plants there, became interested in the relationship between the Chilean and New Zealand floras.

In particular, he noted the strong similarity of the vegetation in many localities in south Chile with that of New Zealand, especially the cushion bogs, and the many genera that are in common, but also some contrasts, for example, the greater floristic diversity of the New Zealand forests. But further north, he observed the greater frequency of annuals and summer-green herbs in Chile, and the presence of bromeliads and cacti. He recorded local uses for native plants including seeing stems of the giant Gunnera (which is often cultivated in New Zealand) sold in local markets. And he visited some places that Darwin had described more than a century earlier, noting that in one place ‘... the people were just as hospitable as in Darwin's time’. This Chilean research appeared in more than six papers over more than two decades, and he recently expanded one of these for use in A Botanist's Notebook (Godley 2006).

Eric wondered about what appeared to be a very close relationship between the Chilean and the common New Zealand kowhai, Sophora microphylla. Pragmatic as ever, he grew and compared the plants, concluding that the Chilean plants were clearly only races of the New Zealand species. To see whether transoceanic dispersal was possible, he tested the viability of seeds stored in jars of seawater, and found that a percentage of seeds were buoyant and were still able to germinate after 18 months. Bill Sykes added to the picture by gathering kowhai seeds from beach drift in the Kermadec Islands where kowhai is absent; when germinated the plants were matched to northern North Island forms (Sykes & Godley 1968).

Eric visited New Zealand's Sub-Antarctic Islands on three occasions, including the Antipodes Islands, the Auckland Islands and Campbell Island. His papers record the details of these trips, describe vegetation and add to the list of plants occurring there, as well as providing notes on the brightly coloured flowers and the nectar-feeding birds. The unmodified vegetation of Adams Island made a great impression on him, and one resulting article was entitled ‘The way we used to be’ (Godley, botanist's notebook series, 1981a). He chose one of his 1966 colour slides of Adams Island vegetation as the cover for A Botanist's Notebook. Eric also used information gathered on these expeditions in his review papers; for example, to illustrate large-leaved plants (Godley 1975a), and in relation to flower colour (Godley 1979c).

For the native gentians on Campbell and Antipodes Islands, Eric made a more detailed study of the reproductive features of two species (Godley 1982), and in particular documented the proportions of plants with white or coloured flowers, the range of petal colour patterns and ovule numbers. These gentians contrast with those on the mainland where species are largely white-flowered, although, as Eric pointed out, some colour is found in several mainland species, but not to the extent found on these southern islands. Brightly coloured flowers are found in several genera in the Sub-Antarctic Islands, and Eric discussed possible explanations for this, dismissing some explanations but recognizing that there was otherwise insufficient evidence to reach a conclusion.

There were two genera that Eric returned to time and again over the years, with Sophora being the outstanding example. His bibliography includes at least 24 papers and articles with observations about various aspects of Sophora, including his last research paper, to be published in 2011. The most extensive investigation was testing Cockayne's idea of S. prostrata being a fixed juvenile form of S. microphylla against his own alternative hypothesis that our common and very variable kowhai (then just treated as S. microphylla) arose through hybridism between the other two New Zealand species (the small divaricating S. prostrata and the tree S. tetraptera) with the hybrid swarm ‘settling down’ into distinct populations (Godley 1979b). Eric's initial interest in this issue may have been sparked while he was working on a new edition of Cockayne's New Zealand Plants and their Story (Godley 1967d).

Eric established a large collection of S. microphylla at Lincoln, grown from seed sourced from throughout New Zealand, and documented the development of individuals. Having demonstrated that the differences between S. prostrata and the juvenile forms of S. microphylla are so marked that Cockayne's idea was improbable, Eric set out to test his own hypothesis. His observations of cultivated and wild plants showed that different races have different lengths of (or no) expression of the divaricating juvenile form, and different leaflet sizes, extent of pod wing development and seed colour – characteristics of a very old hybrid swarm. He then attempted to synthesize S. microphylla by crossing the other two species, getting plants that were intermediate, and began raising the next generation of selfed or crossed progeny. More recently, many of the New Zealand races of the common kowhai, as well as the Chilean plants, have been recognized or accepted as distinct species, with one of these fittingly named S. godleyi (Heenan et al. 2001).

Other kowhai publications include information on flowering times, pollination, the nature of the legume, seed set, seed germination, galls, the supposed Easter Island kowhai and the identity of the cultivar ‘Gnome’.

Another favourite genus was Fuchsia. His research started with the examination of the breeding systems and genetics of the New Zealand species (Godley 1955a, 1963b), with the genus continuing to make an appearance in his reviews and popular articles, and concluded with two significant papers – one (Godley & Berry 1995) formalizing taxonomically Eric's long-held view of the distinctiveness of F. procumbens, and the other (Godley & Reynolds 1998) pulling together nearly 50 years of observations of wild populations of the same species.

After retirement, larger works, particularly books, seemed possible, although only one of these was completed, that being A Botanist's Notebook (2006). Other projects included books on: the botanical exploration of the Sub-Antarctic, which would bring together and add to earlier articles (Godley 1965b, 1970, 1979a); the whole plant life cycle from seeds and germination, growth and development, through to flowering, fruiting and dispersal bringing together his extensive contributions in this area; and a dictionary of botanical bibliography, alphabetically arranged and to include, as well as biographical notes, the origin of plant names, information and examples from the native flora as a way of illustrating particular botanical features and terms (e.g. the type of dry fruit called a follicle as occurs in kaka-beak), and particularly terms that are widely misunderstood, or useful terms such as disseminule that are not used as often as they deserve. In the end he narrowed the scope of the last of these to a Biographical Dictionary, and made significant progress with the manuscript.

The Dictionary project built on his series of biographical notes, published in the New Zealand Botanical Society Newsletter, about lesser-known historical figures who have contributed to New Zealand botany. These biographical notes number 76 and were published between 1991 and 2010, with the last appearing in the June issue for 2010. When I visited Eric shortly before his 91st birthday, he talked about his wish to complete the Dictionary, and at that point, thought he might need some help.

The biographical notes were a continuation of a long-standing interest and contribution to historical botany, with early contributions being on Archibald Menzies (Godley 1960a) and a century of botany in Canterbury (Godley 1967b), and more recently, his chapter in Denis Carr's book on Sydney Parkinson (Godley 1983b). This includes wonderful insights into the restricted view of biological diversity that eighteenth century biologists had as they headed out from Europe to collect and describe the floras and faunas of new lands. As Eric noted they found ‘The Creator had been busier than men thought’.

Eric's broad interests in botany included all disciplines, with another aspect of his research contribution being to ecology and conservation. Papers here include diverse topics: the vegetation of the Sub-Antarctic Islands (e.g. Godley 1965a), cushion bogs (Godley 1978), biogeography and ecology of New Zealand (Godley 1975a), and his editing of the 4th edition of Cockayne's New Zealand Plants and their Story (Godley 1967d). He also served on a range of conservation-related committees; for example, the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Tongariro National Park Board, a National Parks Authority sub-committee, and the Scientific Co-ordinating Committee for Beech Research which successfully recommended that significant areas of Forest Service native forests be turned into reserves. Another thoughtful and influential contribution to conservation was ‘Does planting achieve its purpose?’ (Godley 1972a) which brought together his commitment to conservation and his knowledge of genetic variation within species, recommending that revegetation use plants reared from locally collected seed or transplanted from local sources. His contributions to conservation were recognized by his receiving the Loder Cup in 1984.

The life of plants fascinated Eric and he understood that others who had some connection to plants would also find additional information about them interesting too. This is reflected in his interactions and correspondence with many amateur botanists, the wide range of publications aimed at a less academic audience, and the institution, while Director of Botany Division, of a regular triennial report that explained the work of the Division. But the most significant contribution to popular botany is his long-running botanist's notebook series published in The New Zealand Gardener. These, a total of 63 articles appearing over seven years, were recently brought together along with some additional material as a book (Godley 2006). Eric's thoughts about this series are put forward in the first article in The New Zealand Gardener – in particular, that he intended to provide a regular column to tell the reader something about native plants, not so much from a gardening point of view, but rather to give background knowledge which would make the reader's plants and outdoor living more interesting. Indications of the success of this idea were that the series continued for so long in a commercial magazine, and his book was well-reviewed with the first print run now almost completely sold out.

Eric's own research activities were a significant contribution to New Zealand and international botany, but his contribution through leadership of botanical research in New Zealand was even greater. He expanded the role of Botany Division with new regional offices (particularly during the 1960s and 1970s to cater for the increasing need for ecological advice on environmental problems and the establishment of reserves), a larger herbarium, and more staff to carry out research into the range of activities that characterize a world-class botanical research institute. Part of this included successfully making the case to DSIR Head Office for increased funding for the Division.

He provided strong support for the Flora of New Zealand Series [Volume 2 by Lucy Moore and Elizabeth Edgar (1970), and Volume 3 by Arthur Healy and Elizabeth Edgar (1980) were published during Eric's time as Director], and he supported its expansion to include non-vascular plants, including the first edition of the Flora of New Zealand Lichens by David Galloway (1985), and the first of what was to be three volumes of the desmid Flora by Betty Flint working with Hannah Croasdale (1986). Meanwhile Bill Sykes was encouraged to complete a Flora of Niue (1970) and one for the Kermadec Islands (1977), and Henry Connor completed a second edition of his poisonous plants book (1977).

Eric also fostered a companion series that described parts of native plants, with two of these (on wood anatomy by Raj Patel, and a chromosome atlas, in the early years mainly by John Hair and Ernst Beuzenberg) published as papers in the New Zealand Journal of Botany once it was established in 1963. Other work on plant parts appeared as separate volumes – that on the pollen of the dicotyledons by Neville Moar (1993), and the first volume on seeds by Colin Webb and Margaret Simpson (2001). Eric also supported staff to produce ecological publications that would meet a public good need, for example, Alan Esler's Botany of the Manawatu (1978), Peter Wardle's book on Westland National Park (1979), Peter Johnson and Pat Brooke's wetland plant book (1989), and he found the funding to support Hugh Wilson to write his field guide to Stewart Island plants (1982).

Eric encouraged and supported all New Zealand researchers with a love of botany, and was always on the lookout for those who were not able to reach their full potential in their current role, and, where possible, gave them a home within the Division so that their research could flourish.

His leadership contributions went well beyond things directly related to the Botany Division. Eric founded the New Zealand Journal of Botany, starting negotiations with DSIR Head Office in 1958, with the first volume published in 1963, and he helped steer it through its earlier years. This vehicle enhanced the reputation of New Zealand-related botanical research over the following decades. The Herbarium at Lincoln and the library journal and book collections both extensively expanded during his directorship to become a resource valued by New Zealand and overseas botanists alike. He also supported the establishment of the New Zealand Botanical Society, formed on 22 November 1988, and, in spite of his other commitments, agreed to be its first President.

International visitors were also encouraged as a way of making further progress with the studies of New Zealand plants and providing a more international environment for our botanists. For example, the Division hosted Fulton Fisher while he worked on his monograph on alpine Ranunculi (Fisher 1965), and Peter Raven was based at the Division while he did post-doctoral research for his definitive monograph on the genus Epilobium (Raven & Raven 1976). Both volumes were beautifully illustrated by the Division's botanical artist Keith West.

Eric's view was that individuals, but even more so the discipline of botany, benefited from the recognition provided by awards, prizes, science medals, fellowship of the Royal Society of New Zealand, etc. Throughout his career he put forward or supported worthy candidates. Eric rang me, when in hospital just before his death, concerned he would not be able to see through one such worthy case, and hoping that I and others could take this up. He also provided encouragement and support for younger scientists and students, and often used a small fund established from his payments from The New Zealand Gardener articles to support someone attending a conference or to enable a visit to a herbarium.

As a Director and manager, Eric was ahead of his time, taking a relaxed and good-humoured approach to supporting staff, but making it clear when his expectations were not being met. He was seen by staff as wise, generous, compassionate and considerate, with many also appreciating his broader interests in novels, poetry, music, opera and paintings. This allowed him to make connections with almost anyone, and he influenced many younger staff in these areas by lending them books, recommending poems, sharing tapes of favourite symphonies, or having them round to his flat for gin and tonic and a tour of his art collection. Outside work, he also found ways of directly supporting young artists, and within the Division always ensured that we had a first rate botanical artist. In his retirement speech, Eric ranged broadly over his interests beyond botany, and mentioned in particular two of his favourite sequences of novels: Marcel Proust's À la Recherche du Temps Perdu, and Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time.

Eric's approach to administration and DSIR Head Office reflected his love of botany; he had no wish to move to a more senior position in Wellington, and said part of his job was protecting the Division's staff so that they could get on with doing botany – work that was vital to New Zealand's economy and protection of its native ecosystems. He once talked to me about the value of papers that arrived from Head Office, noting that the most useful ones were those that were blank on the other side so that one could turn them over and begin writing a research paper.

Eric also made productive use of Directors’ meetings in Wellington by tagging plants, particularly in the Wellington Botanic Garden, which he could then follow regularly especially if Head Office meetings finished early enough. And, at Lincoln, he tried to keep Friday afternoons free for his research.

In some ways, little changed for Eric when he retired in 1984, perhaps because he had used his long service leave to practice retirement over at his bach in Pigeon Bay and understood the way of working that would allow him to continue with his broad range of botanical activities. He devoted a part of each day to reading and organizing research-related things, and maintained another slot for writing (often referred to as ‘scribbling’). This approach allowed him to make steady progress with administration and correspondence, as well as new research and writing up earlier projects. On moving to a retirement village, initially in Merivale and then in Papanui, he ensured (with the help of friends) there was a suitable desk for writing and access to key books. This allowed him to continue with his research even after he had a leg amputated at the age of 90. Eric considered himself lucky to love botany as this was so fulfilling and meaningful throughout his life.

In total, around 100 of his research papers and other articles were published after he ‘retired’. During this time, he also continued to support colleagues, mentor younger researchers, and meet with a wide range of botanists and other friends. His botanical leadership continued as a Research Associate of Landcare Research and he had strong interest in, and influence on, the current Landcare Research plant systematics group. For several decades he enjoyed a monthly whisky-drinking evening with Henry Connor and Arthur Healy (both former Botany Division colleagues), and maintained close relationships with the many other friends who loved and supported him.

Eric profoundly influenced several generations of New Zealand botanists, through his personal leadership and his fostering of the discipline of botany. His research changed our thinking about New Zealand plants in many ways. He leaves behind an enduring legacy through the people he mentored, the botanical infrastructure he put in place for New Zealand, and a portfolio of published work that will influence generations to come.

Acknowledgements

I thank Debby Redmond, David Galloway, Alexis Loh, and staff in the Landcare Research Library, Lincoln, for assistance with the bibliography; David Galloway, Ilse Breitwieser and Matt McGlone for comments on the manuscript; and Paul Johns for the photograph of Eric.

Notes

¹All references by Godley are included in his bibliography as part of this obituary; those in his botanist's notebook series in The New Zealand Gardener and his biographical notes series in the New Zealand Botanical Society Newsletter are listed separately within the bibliography.