POOLE AM Michael Leslie

Michael (Mick) Poole was an agricultural scientist who made important contributions to the productivity of broad-acre farms in Western Australia over many years, and introducing canola as a new crop in the 1970s. During the first 20+ years of his career with the West Australian Department of Agriculture, Mick conducted important research in a number of areas that improved production in the wheat-belt. He was then selected for leadership roles which meant that he had a significant influence on a wide range of agricultural research and the development of policies affecting agriculture. Mick was one of the fathers of Western Australia’s modern-day canola industry. Mick joined the Plant Research Division of the Western Australian Department of Agriculture in late 1964 where he enjoyed a long and significant career. In 1994 Mick was appointed to CSIRO as Head of the Centre for Mediterranean Agricultural Research and Executive Chair of the Centre for Environment and Life Sciences. In retirement, he chaired the Board and Research Committee of the Swan River Trust. He was appointed by the Government of Western Australia as Chairman of the Board of WA Biodiversity Science Institute in Perth. He also worked with the University of Western Australia’s School of Agriculture and Environment to strengthen the research in biodiversity management, and led the successful bid for the CRC for Honey Bee Products that has brought together researchers from across Australia to work with industry to “drive value for the Australian honey bee industry”.

Mick had a talent for networking with farmers to identify various problems so that they could be investigated as specific research projects. He had a great ability to identify key people in the farming community, make personal friends of them, and bring them together with the appropriate scientists so that they formed a team jointly melding scientific and practical solutions to a range of problems