MULHAM, William Edward, OAM (1932-2015) ‘Bill’ Mulham boarded at Geelong College from February 1946 to December 1947 after earning a scholarship. He had previously been a student at Deniliquin High School.
.jpg)
'Bill' Mulham.
Following his education at Geelong College, he returned to Deniliquin, and spent almost forty years working with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Organization (CSIRO), achieving the grade of experimental scientist, and co-authoring published papers in scientific journals, on studies such as plant population dynamics, herbivore diets, impact of domestic herbivores and fire on rangeland vegetation, range condition monitoring, and selection and testing of introduced forage plants. His considerable output included publishing two significant books,
‘Pastoral Plants of the Riverine Plain’ and
'Plants of Western New South Wales’ . He was widely acknowledged in the scientific community for his knowledge on the Botanica of Western New South Wales. Bill commenced with CSIRO in 1948, ‘retiring’ from the Division of Wildlife and Ecology Rangelands Research in December 1986. After ‘retirement’ he undertook a number of private consulting projects involving plant dynamics and vegetation assessment.
He continued to immerse himself into life in Deniliquin, becoming a popular President of the Deniliquin Historical Society for 15 years continuing to research and publish on Deniliquin’s history. He married Norma Walker in 1955, and they had four children. He was an inaugural committee member of the Little Athletics Club, the initial Chairman of the Edward School P & C and a member of the Deniliquin Fire Brigade for over 30 years. A keen sports player and fan, he was a life member of the Deniliquin Golf and Rams Football Clubs. He played 187 football games for Deniliquin and also played squash, badminton, cricket and tennis. In 2005, ‘Bill’ was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia, for services to the community, and was also named ‘Deniliquin Citizen of the Year’.
Following a short illness, ‘Bill’ died at Deniliquin Hospital, aged 83 years, on 12 September 2015.
Sources: Deniliquin Pastoral Times 12 Sep 2015: Herald Sun (Melb)14 Sep 2015; J Mulham (Image); Ad Astra Dec 2015 p58. OGC 1944.