Rodger, Geoffrey James   (1894 - 1992)

Born on 4 July 1894 at Kensington, South Australia; died on 27 November 1982 at North Plympton, Adelaide, SA.

Educated at Christian Brothers' College, Adelaide, Geoffrey graduated from the University of Adelaide (B.Sc., 1915) with a degree in forestry.

In December 1915 Rodger enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force and in June 1916 embarked for England. Following officer training, he was commissioned and sent to the Western Front in March 1917.He was lightly wounded at Ypres, Belgium, on 20 September.

He inspected French and Belgian forests in his free time. In April 1919 he took leave to visit the Interim Forestry Authority in London. He returned to Australia in October 1919.

Back in South Australia, Rodger worked briefly for the Forestry Department before accepting an appointment with the New South Wales Forestry Commission, becoming assistant forester in 1921.

In 1924 he moved to Western Australia to take up a position as divisional forest officer.

Appointed chief forester in the Federal Capital Territory in 1926, Rodger helped to establish the Territory's forest service.

He was seconded (1927-28) by the Commonwealth government to report on forestry resources in Tasmania; his A Forest Survey of Tasmania was published in 1928.

He was chief working plans officer, later senior officer, in the New South Wales Forestry Commission from 1928 until 1935.

In 1935 Rodger was appointed South Australia's conservator of forests.

World War II brought new challenges. With a depleted workforce the department was dealing with heavy demand for the State's plantation timber. In his additional role as deputy timber controller for the Commonwealth, Rodger had to implement controls on the general use and movement of wood products in South Australia.

Rodger became director general of the Commonwealth Forestry and Timber Bureau in Canberra in 1946.

In 1946 Rodger represented Australia at a conference of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation held at Copenhagen. The following year he led the Australian delegation to the Empire Forestry Conference in London.

On his retirement in 1959 Rodger returned to South Australia with his wife and son, becoming a director and forestry consultant for a private forestry and timber company that became known as Softwood Holdings Ltd.

Predeceased by his wife in 1969 and survived by their son, Rodger died on 27 November 1982 at North Plympton, Adelaide.

Source: Extracted from:
https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/rodger-geoffrey-james-15613
Portrait Photo: no date, https://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/rodger-geoffrey-james-15613.

Collecting localities for 'Rodger, G.J.' from AVH (2025)

Data from 15 specimens