Thiele, Kevin (fl. 1980s - 2000s)

Kevin Thiele has a slightly odd history.

After training as a botanist in the 1980s – with a PhD studying the family relationships of Banksia and a stint working at the Australian National Herbarium – he moved to a small farm in far eastern Victoria with his family. There they lived in two converted 90-year old railway carriages, raised alpacas, studied native violets, grew vegetables, grew children, invented a computer program and lived the good life for twelve years.

Then he got a real job. From 2006 he became Curator of the Western Australian Herbarium.

His main claim to fame at that time is that just before taking up his position in Perth he wrote a paper merging together two of the most iconic Western Australian genera – Dryandra and Banksia. Since then, he’s been trying to keep his head below the parapet.

Source: Pers Com 2007