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Janet Louise Cosh was born in Ashfield, Sydney in 1901, the
only child of Dr John and Louise (nee Calvert) Cosh. Janet attended
Normanhurst School for Girls from 1914-1918 and then the University
of Sydney where she studied English, History and the Classics.
After studying, she taught at Normanhurst School for Girls.
Janet was part of an interesting and stimulating family. Her
maternal grandmother, Louisa Atkinson, was a naturalist with
a keen interest in botany, art and writing. Her novel Gertrude
the Emigrant (1857), was the first novel published in this country
by an Australian born woman.Her grandfather James Calvert was
a member of the well documented Leichhardt Expedition in the
1840s.
Janet’s father was a prolific painter and both her parents
were widely read and interested in local history and the natural
environment. In 1934, the family moved to ‘Netherby’ at
Moss Vale in the Southern Highlands in NSW. She became the family
driver and accompanied her father on painting trips where she
probably investigated the local flora and fauna while her father
painted.
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"In the field of botany, the records Miss Janet Cosh left
will enable students to know exactly where and when to find
plant species and the University of Wollongong's appreciation
of her purpose would give Janet great pleasure".
R. Roxburgh
(Obituary 1990)
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Janet’s father died in 1946 and her mother in 1956
when Janet was in her mid-fifties. Left alone, this quiet reserved
woman turned her talents to studying local history and then,
later, botany. In 1960, the Berrima and District Historical
Society was formed and Janet became a foundation member and
the first archivist.
In 1964, Janet gave most of her collection of Louisa Atkinson’s
work to the Mitchell Library and the National Herbarium of NSW.
In the late 1970s, she gave her historical records to the Berrima
District Historical Society so that she could concentrate on
her botanical studies.
Janet worked systematically on her botanical studies, obtaining
a collector’s licence and traveling the Southern Highlands
collecting plants with her friend Rachel Roxburgh. She had an
extraordinary ability to read maps, follow unmarked forest tracks
and never get lost! She drew, made extensive notes about the
plants and amassed an excellent collection of books, many of
which she annotated with her own comments. She dissected and
studied plants under a microscope, made hundreds of botanical
illustrations and sometimes sent specimens to the National Herbarium
of NSW for identification. She learned to dry and press specimens
and made two major collections; a personal collection and a
second that she prepared for Fitzroy Falls National Park. Her
extensive knowledge of the areas assisted many researchers and
professional organisations such as NSW NPWS, National Herbarium
and Australian National Herbarium and CSIRO in the location
of rare species and populations.
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Janet Cosh in later life |
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In 1970, the NPWS Foundation was established and Janet became
a life member. She contributed to a number of publications including
Fitzroy Falls and Beyond which contains her plant list and some
drawings. Janet worked for the preservation of areas such as
Cecil Hoskins, Stingray Swamp and Robertson Nature Reserves.
She was a great recycler. Specimens were mounted on used paper
and drawings were made on old Christmas Cards, packing materials
and old envelopes. She
mounted many specimens on the reverse side of her father’s watercolours. Janet lived at ‘Netherby’ and continued her botanical
pursuits until her death on 22 October 1989, aged 88. After
her death, Janet’s great generosity for conservation and
humanity continued when she bequeathed substantial funds to
various organizations including the Foundation for National
Parks. The bequest to the University of Wollongong included
funds, most of her library, an herbarium of over 1000 plants,
drawings, photographs, notebooks, maps and letters. This made
it possible for the School of Biological Sciences to establish
a regional herbarium to facilitate research and enhance the
understanding and teaching of botany.
The Janet Cosh Herbarium was officially opened in 1993.
Specimens have also been donated by researchers such as Denise
Black, Kevin Mills and Toni O’Neill. The NSW Department
of Environment and Conservation has also placed voucher specimens
from vegetation surveys in the region into the collection. |
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