Plant Pathology in Western Australia: The Contributions of an Australian Woman Scientist

Very few women after the second World War made agricultural science their first career choice. Olga May Goss, however, in her 35 years in the Western Australian Department of Agriculture, saved more than one industry from ruin, thus contributing in no small measure to the economic prosperity of her state and her country. It was by chance that, after a serious illness, Goss was offered a post in the Department to work on plant diseases. The only woman in her Section, Goss faced personal as well as legislative discrimination; nevertheless over the years she tackled many problems confronting growers and through her research illuminated several areas of plant pathology, notably bacteriology and nematology. This article describes the career of this woman who was not only an excellent scientist but also a rare human being.