Unsung Hero Leaves Enduring Legacy - Dr Michael (Mick) Ernest Hedley 20 April 1944 to 30 April 2011

Authors: Russell Burton, Jeanette Drysdale
Publication: New Zealand Journal of Forestry, Volume N.Z.J.For. 2011, Issue N.Z.J.For. 56(2) 2011, pp 32, Aug 2011
Publisher: New Zealand Institute of Forestry

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Abstract: Dr Michael (Mick) Ernest Hedley 20 April 1944 to 30 April 2011 Sadly Scion has lost one of its best loved characters. Dr Mick Hedley’s death has left a huge gap for his Scion family, the national and international science community and the New Zealand timber industry. The ability to treat pine with preservatives so that it can be used in environments such as framing for houses, decking, fencing, landscaping or for poles and piles is so much part of our lives that we take for granted all the scientific and technical work that made this possible. Dr Hedley was one of the major contributors to this critically important field of science and the translation of that science into practice. Forty one years ago Mick joined the New Zealand Forest Research Institute (now Scion) as a wood preservation scientist. He had completed a BSc and a doctorate at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, England; specialising in botany, chemistry and zoology. Working alongside others such as Sandy McQuire and John Butcher from the 1970s, he was instrumental in escalating New Zealand’s international reputation in the wood preservation field.

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