A veterinarian who has made significant contributions to the northern Australian cattle industry for more than three decades will be honoured at The University of Queensland Gatton Campus on Friday.
Professor Keith Entwistle will be awarded the prestigious UQ Gatton Gold Medal, and will address graduates at the Friday, December 8, ceremony at 10am in the Campus gymnasium.
Professor Entwistle has enjoyed a distinguished career since his Gatton days which has taken him from Julia Creek, Townsville, to South-East Asia, North America and Latin America and now finally to Armidale in the New England region.
He began his tertiary education at Queensland Agricultural College, which later became UQ Gatton Campus, before completing a Bachelor of Veterinary Science (also at UQ), and a PhD at the University of Sydney. What followed has been, and continues to be, a career which has helped to shape beef production in northern Australia.
Professor Entwistle’s research with his colleagues from James Cook University and the Queensland Department of Primary Industries (DPI) on reproductive biology and management in Bos indicus-infused cattle has contributed to the expansion of Brahman cattle across northern Australia. “Brahmans were primarily identified for their heat tolerance and tick resistance but did have some fertility problems. Some of the research we’ve done over the past 30 years has helped to improve bull and cow fertility in Brahmans and Brahman-derived herds across the north,” Professor Entwistle said.
While Professor Entwistle spent his early career in northwestern Queensland with the Department of Primary Industries (DPI), he has also enjoyed a successful academic career. He spent 18 years with James Cook University’s Graduate School of Tropical Veterinary Science and a further nine years with the University of New England (UNE) at Armidale as Executive Dean of the Faculty of the Sciences.
Professor Entwistle has supervised more than 40 PhD and Masters students, many of whom are now senior beef researchers and educators working around the world, and is the author of a large number of scientific and technical papers and reports.
He also has an enviable record in beef cattle research and development in the developing world and has played significant roles in the development of Queensland DPI’s Toorak Research Station and in the operations of the Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) for Beef, Wool and Cotton. Since retiring from UNE, he has been heavily involved as a consultant to the beef industry, in education and in overseas aid projects. His achievements were recently recognised by the award of the Gilruth Prize, the highest-ranking award of the Australian Veterinary Association.
His scientific and academic interests have been complimented by his personal cattle producer interests in both north Queensland and New England for many years, which fits well with his alma mater motto, ”Science with Practice”.
Professor Entwistle will return to the Gatton Campus on Friday, December 8, to receive the Gatton Gold Medal from UQ Chancellor, Sir Llew Edwards, AC.
Media inquiries: Susanne Schick, UQ Gatton Campus (5460 1229, 0409 265 587).
