botanical artist, historian, author and teacher. Without any formal scientific training, she wrote extensively on botany and birds, as well as genealogy and general history. Erickson authored ten books, co-authored four, was editor of twelve, and author or co-author of numerous papers and articles that have been printed in popular, scientific and encyclopaedic publications.[1]
Biography
Born in
Victoria in 1906, and met in the goldfield town.[1] Christopher Sandilands was a farmer's son and worked at the Great Boulder Mine
as a filter press hand. The family lived on Dwyer Street.
Christopher enlisted into the army and served in France during World War I. He returned home disabled and was unable to resume his work at the mine, consequently purchasing a block of virgin bush at
Jack De Garis, the publisher of Pelloe's books, gave the Sandilands family a gift of her just published Wildflowers of Western Australia as a Christmas present.[2][3]
She returned to the goldfields to attend Eastern Goldfields High School, staying with her grandmother for five years. While living in
By 1931 she was teaching at isolated one-teacher schools such as Aurora between Cranbrook and Kojonup, and later at Young's Siding near Wilson Inlet, and Denmark. The countryside on the southern coast piqued an interest in orchids and coincided with the publication of her friend Emily Pelloe's second book, West Australian Orchids. Eminent orchidologists Edith Coleman and Dr. Richard Sanders Rogers were quoted extensively in Pelloe's book, and Erickson established contact, sending them sketches and pressings of orchids found in her region. Wilson Inlet was the site of many specimens painted in 1881 by Robert D. FitzGerald, who published the important work Australian Orchids. In Christmas 1931 she holidayed in Victoria and met Coleman and Rogers who encouraged her further study. Knowing she would be returning to a school posting near Wilson Inlet, Rogers instructed her on the finer details of painting the plants using pen and ink instead of pencil as she did previously.
After several years teaching on the southern coast of Western Australia, Erickson requested and received a transfer to the school at
In Bolgart she met share-farmer and future husband Sydney "Syd" Uden Erickson (1908–1987) and they were married in Fremantle in June 1936. The couple bought land at Bolgart in 1938, which they cleared and named Fairlea. They raised four children: Dorothy (born 1939), John (1940), Bethel (1942), and Robin (1943); the next few years were devoted largely to raising the children and establishing the farm. However Erickson maintained her interest in natural history and in 1951 published her first book, the self-illustrated Orchids of the West. This was followed by Triggerplants in 1958.[7]
The state botanist Charles Gardner ran a wildflower tour in 1957 for the Midland Railway Road Service. The following year Erickson was invited to lead the tour, taking the opportunity for a paid holiday. In later years she led other groups of tourists on nature based tours in the south and north of the state.
In 1965 the couple travelled to Europe for a holiday where Rica spent some time studying Drummond's plant specimens at the
The request was granted, and in 1996, following another request from the Association, the
Department of Conservation and Land Management named Reserve 27595 the Rica Erickson Nature Reserve.[10][11] Naming the reserve after a living person was an unusual step for the department's naming committee.[12]
Over three hundred people attended the official opening on 11 August 1996.
Awards and recognition
In 1980 she was awarded an honorary degree of doctor of letters from the
Western Australian Citizen of the Year in the category of the Arts, Culture and Entertainment, and in 1987 was made a Member of the Order of Australia, "in recognition of service to the arts, particularly as an author and illustrator".[13] Her botanical illustrations have been exhibited at the Art Gallery of Western Australia and Perth's Alexander Library.[5]
In May 2007 she was awarded the Heritage Council of Western Australia individual award for her lifelong contribution to heritage in Western Australia.
Noted botanist Alex George with whom she co-wrote Flowers and Plants of Western Australia in 1973, wrote: "Rica Erickson has been one of the foremost amateur natural historians in Western Australia in the 20th Century."[1]
Ronda Jamieson, Director of the J S Battye Library in Western Australia said "Rica Erickson is one of Western Australia's treasures".[14] The State Library houses the Rica Erickson collection, a repository which includes manuscripts of her publications, background papers relating to the genealogical dictionaries, all of her published works, field journals, and 500 of her botanical art works. A website maintained by the library has been created as a tribute to her.[14]
Erickson, Rica (1964). Sentinel Duties Among Cockatoos, in Land of Wonder—The Best Australian Nature Writing. Angus and Robertson, Sydney.
Erickson, Rica. Young's Siding, in They Tell Their Own tales—The Vanishing One-Teacher Schools. Privately published.
Erickson, Rica (1991). Sharing a Wonderful Dream. LISWA.
Erickson, R., George, A.S., Marchant, A.S. (1973). Flowers and Plants of Western Australia.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Erickson, R. (1974). Jane Adams of Mangowine in Early Days Journal, Vol. VII, Part VI.
^ abMansfield, C., 'Erickson (née Sandilands), Frederica Lucy (Rica)', in R. Aitken and M. Looker (eds), Oxford Companion to Australian Gardens, South Melbourne, Oxford University Press, 2002, p. 203.
^"She became fascinated by native bees and wasps" in "The Naturalist". State Library of Western Australia – Rica Erickson. Retrieved 16 July 2008.
; Morcombe, M. K. (1973). Flowers and plants of Western Australia. Sydney: A.H. & A.W. Reed. pp. 15, 46.
^Mendez, Torrance (10 November 2009). "Boundless curiosity built her influence". West Australian.
^"Rica Erickson – Reserve near Calingiri named after botanist' Calm News : official newspaper of the Department of Conservation and Land Management, Sept–Oct 1996, p.12
^McGill, Gwenda.(1996) Reserve officially named after Dr Rica Erickson in honour of her botanical and preservation work in the area" Avon valley advocate, 14 Aug 1996, p. 3
^"In a rare break with tradition..." in "Biography, Conservation Interests". State Library of Western Australia Rica Erickson. Retrieved 16 July 2008.