Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (New Zealand)

Department of Scientific and Industrial Research
DSIR logo in the 1980s and 1990s
Agency overview
Formed1926 (1926)
Preceding agencies
Dissolved1 April 1992 (1992-04-01)
Superseding agency
Employees2,000 in 1976[1]
Minister responsible

The Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) was a government science agency in New Zealand, founded in 1926 and broken into Crown Research Institutes in 1992.

History

DSIR was founded in 1926 by Ernest Marsden[1] after calls from Ernest Rutherford for government to support education and research[2] and on the back of the Imperial Economic Conference in London in October and November 1923, when various colonies discussed setting up such departments.[3] It initially received funding from sources such as the Empire Marketing Board.[4] The initial plans also included a new agricultural college, to be jointly founded by Auckland and Victoria University Colleges, Palmerston North was chosen as the site for this and it grew to become Massey University.[5]

It was reconstituted into 10 semi-independent entities called Crown Research Institutes by the Crown Research Institutes Act 1992, with some further consolidation since.[6]

Structure

DSIR initially had five divisions:[7]

The Grasslands Division originally included the New Zealand Dairy Research Institute, which became the Fonterra Research and Development Centre in 2001.[8]

The Geophysics Division was established in 1951.[9]

The Antarctic Division was established in 1959[10] and became Antarctica New Zealand in 1996.[11]

List of directors-general

The directors-general (chief executives) of DSIR were:[12]

See also

  • Category:People associated with Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (New Zealand) (73)

References

  1. ^ a b Nathan, Simon (6 October 2014). "Research institutions – Developing research organisations". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
  2. ^ Brewerton, Emma (15 December 2014). "Ernest Rutherford". Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
  3. ^ "AtoJs Online – Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives – 1924 Session I – A-06a IMPERIAL ECONOMIC CONFERENCE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF GREAT BRITAIN, THE DOMINIONS, INDIA, AND THE COLO... [truncated]". Atojs.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  4. ^ "Sheep-raising poster from 1927 | NZHistory, New Zealand history online". Nzhistory.net.nz. 23 December 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  5. ^ "AtoJs Online – Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives – 1926 Session I – H-27 ORGANIZATION OF SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH IN NEW ZEALAND (STATEMENT BY THE RIGHT HON. THE P... [truncated]". Atojs.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  6. ^ "Crown Research Institutes Act 1992". legislation.govt.nz. 15 June 1992. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  7. ^ Galbreath, Ross (24 November 2008). "Agricultural and horticultural research – DSIR research". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  8. ^ Hill, Jeremy (2003). "The Fonterra Research Centre". International Journal of Dairy Technology. 56 (3): 127–132. doi:10.1046/j.1471-0307.2003.00111.x.
  9. ^ "Our History". GNS Science. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  10. ^ "Antarctica and New Zealand: Timeline". NZHistory. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 2 July 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  11. ^ "Giant of Antarctica saved Scott Base". Stuff (Fairfax). 18 February 2009.
  12. ^ Galbreath 1998.

Works cited

  • Galbreath, Ross (1998). DSIR: Making Science Work for New Zealand: Themes from the History of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, 1926–1992. Wellington [NZ]: Victoria University Press. ISBN 0864733542. OCLC 44633299.
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