Helen Newton Turner Workshop
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Helen Newton Turner
Dr Helen Newton Turner (1908-1995) was an eminent Australian animal geneticist who spent most of her professional life working for the improvement of the wool industry. She led CSIRO's sheep breeding research from 1956 to 1973 as the Senior Principal Research Scientist in the Division of Animal Genetics. Her 1969 book "Quantitative genetics in sheep breeding" was a landmark.
The workshop is dedicated to Dr Newton Turner on several grounds. Her interest in genetic control of reproductive rate led to the establishment of the Booroola Merino flocks at CSIRO in 1958 and decades of research culminating ultimately in the identification in 2002 of the causative gene mutation. We believe that Helen would be delighted with the developments in the field since her passing away and would have been gratified to see the mutation identified in many more breeds of sheep and being put to practical use in countries such as India and China.
On a more personal note, Dr Newton Turner is the scientist that the first leader of the ACIAR project in India, Mr Bon Nimkar, turned to for advice when seeking ways to improve the reproductive rate of sheep in Maharashtra. They had a productive correspondence although they never had the opportunity to meet. The current leader of the ACIAR project in India, Dr Chanda Nimbkar was able to meet Dr. Newton Turner in Sydney in 1994. Dr Turner was very pleased to hear of the identification by NARI of the Garole breed as the prolific 'Bengal sheep' that were taken to Australia in 1792-93 and the establishment of the Garole flock in Phaltan. Prof Walkden-Brown also interacted with Dr Newton Turner, when as a young veterinarian working on an AusAID sheep project in Fiji she was appointed to review the project. He has fond memories of fervent discussions (often on boats) about the need to maintain records of litter size and to include these in a selection index for the new "Fiji sheep".
We are grateful to Dr Newton Turner's family for allowing us to dedicate this workshop to her.
Further information on Dr Newton Turner can be found at the following links:
- Biography (AAABG)
- Obituary (1995)
- Citation for Fellowship
of the Australian Society of Animal Production (1966)
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