George Seddon

George Seddon (23 April 1927 – 9 May 2007) was an Australian academic who held university chairs in a range of subjects. He wrote popular books on the Australian landscape embracing diverse points of view. He was well known for his book Sense of Place which brought the needs of the fragile Swan Coastal Plain to the attention of the public.

At the time of his death, he was Senior Honorary Research Fellow English, Communication and Cultural Studies at the University of Western Australia Perth, Western Australia and Emeritus Professor of Environmental Science at the University of Melbourne.

Biography

Seddon held AM; BA (Hons); MSc; PhD, University of Minnesota; Hon DLit, University of Western Australia; Hon FAILA; Hon FRAPI; FTS.

Seddon studied English at the University of Melbourne, and later received an MSc and a PhD in Geology at the University of Minnesota. He held the Chair of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of NSW 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, UWA; Geology, Oregon; History and Philosophy of Science, UNSW; Environmental Science, Melbourne) and taught at universities in Lisbon, Toronto, Bologna, Rome, Venice, Minnesota and Oregon.

Seddon published 217 papers and numerous books, many of which have won awards. These awards include three Robin Boyd Environmental Awards, the Eureka Prize from the Australian Museum in 1995, for the Snowy book, and the Mawson Medal from the Academy of Science, in 1996.

He was an Honorary Fellow of both the Royal Australian Planning Institute and the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects; Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering; and an Honorary Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. In 1998 he became a Member of the Order of Australia; in 2000 he was made an Honorary Doctor of Literae Humaniores by the University of Western Australia, and in December, a Festschrift was organised jointly by ANU, La Trobe, Murdoch and UWA universities, with delegates from other institutions. He was made citizen of the Year in Fremantle for 2001.

He was involved in a number of issues relating to planning, and decisions about historic buildings, he was involved in the process of saving the buildings that make up the Fremantle Arts Centre.

Seddon died in his Fremantle home on 9 May 2007.