No sense of place in a biodiversity hotspot

Abstract

This essay is based on my 2019 George Seddon Memorial Lecture at the University of Western Australia. Professor George Seddon AM (1927–2007), had a Ph.D. in geology but held the Chair of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of New South Wales and later became Director of the Centre for Environmental Studies and the Dean of Architecture and Planning at Melbourne University. Across five decades he held Chairs in four different disciplines (English, University of Western Australia; Geology, University of Oregon; History and Philosophy of Science, University of New South Wales; Environmental Science, University of Melbourne) and taught at universities in Lisbon, Toronto, Bologna, Rome, Venice, Minnesota and Oregon. He was awarded the Eureka Prize from the Australian Museum in 1995, the Mawson Medal from the Academy of Science in 1996 and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Planning Institute of Australia.