| Creator: |
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| Date of birth: |
1879 |
| Date of death: |
1955 |
| Biography: |
Russell Grimwade was born in Caulfield, Victoria on 15 October 1879, son of the Hon. Frank Sheppard Grimwade, MLA, and was educated at Melbourne Grammar School and the University of Melbourne. Graduating in Science in 1901 he entered the family chemicals firm of Felton Grimwade & Co. as director of the research laboratory. An innovator, he pioneered large-scale oxygen production in Australia and experimented with the extraction of oils and compounds from indigenous plants, amongst many other scientific improvisat- ions. He was an early champion of forest conservation as well as a skilled cabinet-maker and amateur photographer. Grimwade began taking photographs in early 1896 at the age of 16 and soon became an accomplished amateur. Over the following 40 years he filled 35 albums with photographs covering subjects ranging from family and friends to travel and his general interests. He published 'An anthography of the Eucalypt' in 1921. He sat on the boards and committees of a diverse range of organisations, including the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, the National Museum of Victoria, the Melbourne Botanic Gardens, the Felton Bequest Committee and the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science. In 1934 he donated Captain Cook's cottage to the people of Victoria. He was appointed CBE in 1935 and knighted in 1950. In 1909 he had married Mabel Kelly and in 1910 they bought 'Miegunyah' in Orrong Road, Toorak, where they lived for the rest of their lives. |
| Activities/Occupation: |
Benefactors, Company directors |
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