Photograph right by
McRobie Studios, Dunedin www.mcrobie.co.nz
On Saturday,
the University of Otago awarded Audrey Eagle an honorary Doctor of Science
degree for her botanical contribution to New Zealand, notably for her
two-volume publication Eagle’s Complete
Trees and Shrubs of New Zealand.
‘They made a
great big effort for me and it was just lovely. The whole thing was thrilling’
Audrey said after the award, before a special dinner held in her honour. She
added that ‘Dr Audrey Eagle’ has a nice ring to it.
Otago University vice-chancellor Prof Harlene
Hayne praised Mrs Eagle's ‘enormous contributions to botany and conservation’
and said it was fitting
that the only university in New Zealand to
retain a stand-alone botany department
was honouring her in this way.
Eagle's
award-winning two-volume boxed set Complete
Trees and Shrubs of New
Zealand was published by Te Papa Press in 2007, and
contains 806 painstakingly
hand-painted plates.
In September this year, Te Papa Press will
publish The Essential Audrey Eagle:
Botanical Art of New Zealand. Publisher Claire Murdoch said ‘Over the years we have been
inundated with requests from readers eager to purchase a smaller or more
affordable edition of the ‘big book’ – and having carried the 6-kilo original in my
suitcase on a number of occasions, I can only agree! Like Audrey, we are really
delighted that so many New Zealanders and visitors can now enjoy these incomparable
paintings – representing her life’s work – in a more convenient size. The
proofs have just come in and it really is a stunningly beautiful publication’.
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