Hardy, Alfred Douglas   (1870 - 1958)

He was appointed to the Public Service of Victoria on 1 July 1883, when less than 13 years old. (In those days your general education was complete when you acquired the Qualifying Certificate at the end of year six).

He worked as a draftsman and botanical officer for the Victorian Forest Commission until his retirement in 1935 (at the compulsory age of 65).

He was also an amateur naturalist, initially with wide interests but later specialising in freshwater algae. He sent many specimens to British algologist George Stephen West (1876-1919), some of which were described as new species by West. In 1909, West published a major paper on the freshwater algae of Yan Yean Reservoir, based entirely upon specimens collected by Hardy.

One of the new species published therein was named Debarya hardyi in Hardy's honour.

Also in 1909, the Melbourne & Metropolitan Board of Works appointed him "honorary algologist", a position that he held for the rest of his life. His position required him to provide reports listing the algae species found in the various reservoirs managed by the Board of Works.

In addition to these unpublished reports, Hardy publishedat least 14 papers of the freshwater algae of Victoria, mostly in the Victorian Naturalist.

During the period 1918 - 1940 he published several articles on 'big' eucalypt trees in 'The Gum Tree' and the 'Victorian Naturalist'.

He appears to have been very thorough preparing his articles on 'big' trees. He traversed access tracks and thick bush by chain and compass to locate the trees, then spent hours cutting scrub to obtain a clear line of sight and used proper surveying equipment to measure tree dimensions. This work suggests he made serious efforts to obtain first-hand and reliable measurements, rather than depending on second hand reports.

Source: Extracted from:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Douglas_Hardy
https://victoriasforestsbushfireheritage.com/2025/04/10/alfred-douglas-hardy/
Portrait Photo: From A. D. Hardy (1935), 'Australia's Giant Trees', Victorian Naturalist, March 1935. pp. 231-241.

Collecting localities for 'Hardy, A.D.' from AVH (2025)

Data from 108 specimens