The Australian sector of the Twitterverse is buzzing this afternoon with the announcement of the death of Frank Fenner, one of Australia's greatest sons. Frank Fenner, among his family and friends, will be remembered for many things. For the rest of us there are some major stand-outs:
- The eradication of small pox
- The introduction of the myxoma virus to control Australia's rabbit plague.
- The Fenner School of Environment and Society at the Australian National University, Canberra.
- An interview earlier this year, published in The Australian, in which he said in relation to global warming - "We're going to become extinct," the eminent scientist says. "Whatever we do now is too late."
Frank Fenner came to prominence in a period where so many brilliant men - and some women - contributed to Australia's health and wealth. These days, increasing numbers of parents plan and save to send their children to private schools so that their children can have brilliant careers. In Frank Fenner's time, so many of Australia's brilliant people came through the public school system to careers which distinguished themselves internationally and are still well regarded and remembered in 21st century Australia.
Money can not buy a real education or a good brain. However, paucity of money can destroy public education and put limits on human beings every bit as much as tethers limit horses. What brilliant minds are our politicians short-circuiting to-day?
I used attend a Garden Stall for the YWCA at Lady Fenner's front yard, every year.
ReplyDeleteShe was an old trooper and a dedicated radical feminist (almost of the Suffragette type). Lovely person.
I never knew him, but I did know Bunny Fennessy who did the field work on Myxamatosis which Prof Fenner helped "launch" by injecting himself with the Virus. What the media did not know was that Bunny Fennessy had already been injected accidentally many times, by rabbit traps which were inoculated with the stuff, so they already jknew it was safe d for humans.
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Frank Fenner's name has been disgraced by the work of the Fenner School at ANU, because it has been taken over by agrarian economist types, who can justify clearing forests, etc.
Some nasty work is being done in his name, unfortunately.
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His work on Smallpox was history-making. Except that the Centre for Disease Control in the USA has some of the live virus. Potential for germ warfare exists once the "herd immunity" drops away. I am safe, you are safe, but our children are not, nor any children they might bear. But that's not Frank's fault.
I agree the world is a much better place for the work he did.
We should all be able to say that.
Denis