Wright, Winifred Braithwaite (Winty)   (1927 - 2021)

married as: CALDER, Winifred Braithwaite

Born on 20 February 1927; died on 21 October 2021 at Andrew Kerr Care, Mornington, Victoria.

Her parents were Francis Sydney Wright, an accomplished engineer, and Winnifred, May Wright (née Braithwaite).

She wanted to study forestry but when she enquired about enrolment she was told that women were not permitted to attend the Victorian School of Forestry (VSF). Instead she completed a degree in Botany at the University of Melbourne in 1953 and went on to gain a Masters degree in 1972 with a study of the vegetation of the Mornington Peninsular. This research formed the basis of the zoning and planning used today for the area.

Winty's interest in botany and her involvement in the collection was prompted by her father (F.S. Wright) and his close friend, W.D. Chapman. As part of the curation process, Winty's father carefully sewed his plant samples onto thick card. This was slow work and, in frustration, Winty took over this task when she was about 17 years old. When asked about the impressive collection, she remarked that she "could not take credit for the collection as I had those two men pushing me on". While the collection was being developed, mounted plant specimens were stored in envelopes and grouped together in plywood boxes that were affectionately called 'coffins'. Winty had no idea how the collection came to be included in the VSF Herbarium but perhaps it was through her connection with her husband, Stuart Calder.

She became engaged to Stuart Calder, a graduate of the VSF (in 1952) and the University of Melbourne, on 28 March 1953. Their marriage must have taken place sometime after that.

The Winifred B Wright collection, VSF.

Most of the samples in the 'Winifred B Wright collection' in Victorian School of Forestry Herbarium are still mounted on the original card (and mounted intact on standard sized herbarium sheets) and have a distinctive label including the plant name, location and date of collection, the collector and a line for notes. There are 37 samples attributed to F.S. Wright, 283 to W.D. Chapman and 181 to W.B. Wright. In addition, there are 10 specimens collected by other people. For example, H. Furphy (Harry or Harold) was a fellow engineer and friend of Wright and Chapman (1 specimen), as was R.A. (Reginald Andrew) Young (1 specimen). Dr E.I. Littlejohn (1 specimen) was a medical doctor and a close family friend. Mrs Bolch was a neighbour and cleaning lady to the Wrights (3 specimens) and Miss B. Acutt (2 specimens) was affiliated with Melbourne Girls Grammar. There are even examples of eucalypts collected by E.J. Semmens and C.E. Carter (1 specimen each). Unfortunately, there are over 20 samples with no collector named. Collection dates span from 1938 to 1948 with 84 samples with no date recorded.

The 'Wright, W.B.' specimens in AVH include some from Europe, are these the same collector? the dates (1950) fit, she would still have been unmarried using her maiden name.

As W.B. Calder or 'Winty Calder' she has authored several books (e.g. Peninsular Perspectives (1986) and Mount Martha Lands and People (2008), historical articles in Victorian Historical Magazine and Victorian Historical Journal and many reports for government agencies and private organisations.

Source: Extracted from:
https://omeka.cloud.unimelb.edu.au/cchc/files/original/dce9306a275e1681602788a6e554479e.pdf
'The Victorian School of Forestry Herbarium' by Tina Bell, Penny Blackwell and Amanda Ashton
The Ryerson Index - CALDER Winifred Braithwaite (Winty)
The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) Sat 28 Mar 1953 Page 15, 'Today's engagements' - WRIGHT—CALDER.
Portrait Photo: none known.

Collecting localities for 'Wright, W.B.' from AVH (2026)

Data from 215 specimens

Collecting localities for 'Wright, W.B.' from AVH (2026)

Data from 215 specimens