Narrabri was visited by one of Australia’s iconic political figures, Prime Minister Robert Menzies, in 1961.
Mr Menzies, later Sir Robert, came to Narrabri to officially open what was developing into and has become one of the most recognised agricultural research establishments in the world, the University of Sydney’s North West Wheat Research Institute.
The achievements and reputation of the Institute have grown over the decades and this year the facility is in its 60th year since the official opening.
Former director of the University of Sydney Plant Breeding Institute IA Watson Grains Research Centre Dr Lindsay O’Brien (1988-2001), the longest serving on-site director at Narrabri, is now compiling a history of the Plant Breeding Institute from its earliest days.
Dr O’Brien has been researching The Courier archives from 1956 to the present.
His research into the Institute, a facility which has played such a key role in the northern grains industry and the Narrabri Shire community, will yield a comprehensive history of the role and achievements of the Institute.
It will be a valuable history and will find an interested readership among local farming families, present and past employees of the Institute and the wider community.
People interested in the project, particularly from a historical perspective, are invited to contact Dr O’Brien, email [email protected]
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