Passion for flora attracts honour
JCU rewards ex-plumber with doctorate for contributions to botany
ON THE same day Bob Jago received an honorary doctorate, a fourth plant species was named after him.
The former plumber has made an enormous contribution to northern Queensland as a prolific collector of native plants, adding extensively to knowledge of flora across the region.
Dr Jago, who received his honorary doctorate at James Cook University’s end-of-year graduation ceremony yesterday, has submitted 6226 scientific plant collections from the region to several plant libraries between 1968 to 2015 – far exceeding the career collections of many professional botanists.
The 69-year-old Stratford resident has also discovered four species of plants, including the latest, argophyllum jargonis, a small scrub found at the Babinda Boulders.
Most extraordinarily, however, the retired council officer is entirely self-taught, never formally being employed in the field of botany.
“I’ve had a heap of people through the years tell me everything I need to know about plant science,” he said.
“It’s a real honour to receive a doctorate – and completely unexpected. The award is an honour, but I never did anything that I didn’t enjoy doing.
“I just loved it all. If you can find something you have a passion for, then I guess you’re 99 per cent of the way there.”
Yesterday’s graduation was the second for the year for the university in Cairns.
Keynote speaker, Advance Cairns chairman and JCU Adjunct Professor Trent Twomey, said the Far North was lucky to have such a high-quality tertiary institution.
“I’m personally a graduate of JCU, twice over,” he said.
“It served me personally well, and there’s never a better time to start improving yourself than right now.”
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