Gretna Margaret Weste

Gretna Margaret Weste AM (September 5, 1917 – 2006) was a leading scientist noted for her work in plant pathology and mycology, specifically with Phytophthora cinnamomi.

Gretna Margaret Weste was born in Dumfriesshire, Scotland in 1917 to Australian parents, Grace and Arthur Parkin. Her father was a volunteer chemist in the local munitions factory. She arriving in Australia aged two years, and grew up in Surrey Hills, and outer-suburb of Melbourne. Her schooling was completed through scholarships, first at the Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne where she gained final-year honors at the botany exhibition, and won a government scholarship to the University of Melbourne. At the University of Melbourne, she obtained a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in 1938 and Master of Science (MSc) in 1939 on wood anatomy. She was awarded a PhD in 1969 and a University of Melbourne Doctor of Science (DSc) in 1984 for her published papers. In 1989 she was awarded a Member in the Order of Australia (AM) for "service to science, particularly in the field of botany.

Weste was noted for her many contributions to the fields of the plant pathology and mycology. For her Masters of Science research, she studied wood anatomy -- which proved useful in preserving the huge quantities of dead standing Mountain Ash timber which resulted as a consequence of the Black Friday bushfires of 1939. Her Doctor of Philosophy degree was in agricultural plant pathology, on the root-rotting pathogen of wheat Gaeumannomyces graminis. After this she turned her research attention to Phytophthora cinnamomi, a root pathogen of Australian indigenous plants.

The standard author abbreviation Weste is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.