Powell, David A. (fl. 1960s-1990s)
From 1958 to 1975 he was employed as a surveyor on Christmas Island (CI).
In 1975 he became the first Conservation Officer for BPC then the PMCI.
(British Phosphate Commissioners (BPC) was a board of Australian, British, and New Zealand representatives who managed extraction of phosphate from Christmas Island, Nauru, and Banaba (Ocean Island) from 1920 until 1981. In March 1981, the Phosphate Mining Company of Christmas Island (PMCI), a company established and controlled by the Australian Government, took over mining operations)
In his 1984-85 ABLO report pubished in the ASBS Newsletter, Nick Lander states:
"Towards the end of my term of office, Kew was visited by a Mr David
Powell who has made systematic collections of the Christmas Island flora
totalling some 800 specimens. Mr Powell's suite of specimens is
comprehensive and critical. Although duplicates are held at Kew they are
not represented in any Australian herbarium. Now Mr Powell is leaving the
island the future of his own set of specimens there is uncertain. As a
result of my discussions with Mr Powell, Kew botanists and Robyn Barker
(visiting Kew from Adelaide) a concerted effort was made to secure this
valuable collection for an Australian herbarium."
From 1984 to 1999 David Powell returned to Christmas Island as a consultant on behalf of Elders, the Union and Asia Pacific Space Station. This was due to his extensive knowledge of CI geology, geography, flora and fauna.
In the Acknowledgments for 'Flora of Australia' Vol.50, Oceanic Islands 2 (1993) it states:
"Recent research on the flora of Christmas Island has relied greatly on extensive
collections made by David A. Powell, with the assistance of H'ng Kim Chey, between 1968
and 1984."
Powell's name is mentioned 520 times in the above volume and that gives some indication of the number of specimens he collected.
R.G. Shivas and R.N. Hilton (1990) mention an unpublished report titled "A list of fungi collected from Christmas Island (Indian Ocean), by D.A. Powell, 1968."
Caves and insects
In a 1962 article on Christmas Island water resources, Peter J. Barrett, refers to "resident speleologists David Powell" exploring Jedda Cave to the south-west of Grants Well on CI.
In 1973 a new species of 'Crab Fly' was named in his honour:
"Lissocephala powelli Carson and Wheeler, new species.
This species is named in honor of Mr David A. Powell, naturalist extraordinary of
Christmas Island."
Sources: Extracted from:
https://christmasislandarchives.com/arthurs-steps/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Phosphate_Commission
N.S. Lander, 'AUSTRALIAN BOTANICAL LIAISON OFFICER 1984-1985', Austral. Syst. Bot. Soc. Newsletter Vol.47 June 1986.
A.S. George (ed) FLORA OF AUSTRALIA, Volume 50, Oceanic Islands 2 (1993), Acknowledgments.
R.G. Shivas and R.N. Hilton, 'Collections of fungi from Christmas Island, Indian Ocean', Kingia 1(3): 295-301 (1990) p.295.
D.A. Reid, (1969). A list of fungi collected from Christmas Island (Indian Ocean) by D.A. Powell, 1968. Unpublished report, p. 1.
Peter J. Barrett, 'Searching for Water on Christmas Island' Helictite (2001) 37(2): 37-39.
L. Carson and M.R. Wheeler, 'A NEW CRAB FLY FROM CHRISTMAS ISLAND,
INDIAN OCEAN (Diptera: Drosophilidae)', Pacific Insects 15 (2) : 199-208 20 July 1973.
Robyn Barker, Pers.Comm. email, (2025)
Portrait Photo: none found.
Collecting localities for 'Powell, D.A.' from AVH (2025)
Data from 23 specimens in Australasian herbaria (not including Kew specimens)
