Gary Bastin, Alice Springs, NT.  Email: gary-bastin@bigpond.com

Des Nelson was a long-time dedicated technical officer in the CSIRO Alice Springs lab.  In 2001 he self-published his memoir of his working life, “CSIRO and Me”.  This document has been recently uploaded to the CSIRO Alumni website and can be found at https://alumni.csiro.au/des-nelson-me-and-csiro/.

A little about Des…

In 1955 Des joined the CSIRO research laboratory in Alice Springs.  “CSIRO and Me” describes the next 37 years of Des’s career as a Technical Officer with both the former Northern Territory Administration and CSIRO.  Des continued to assist CSIRO staff with field work following his retirement (in 1990) until concluding his memoir in 2001.

Des loved the wide-open spaces of central Australia and had a natural affinity for field work.  He kept a detailed diary and has drawn on those records, numerous photos and his amazing memory to give us a remarkable history of CSIRO in the Centre.

Join Des as he relives his working life in “CSIRO and Me”.