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INEZ CUBILLO CARTER, Vol 2.CURTEIS, WILLIAM MAURICE (BILL) (1910–1986), teacher and agricultural scientist, was born on
16 August 1910 at Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, son of WS Curteis from Manchester, England. He was educated
at Cobar and at Dubbo High Schools in New South Wales. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Agriculture)
degree from the University of Sydney in 1933 and obtained a Bachelor of Arts (Economics) from the same
University in 1939 after part-time study. He married Mary Gregan and there were three children of the marriage,
Owen, Peter and Julienne.
Bill Curteis was a teacher with the New South Wales Education Department in 1934–1935. In the following
years, except for service with the Australian Imperial Force (January 1942 to February 1946), he was an officer of
the New South Wales Department of Agriculture as plant breeder and agricultural instructor on wheat, rice, pastures,
vegetables and miscellaneous crops on experimental farms, both irrigated and dry land farming. The years 1952 to
1954 saw him Project Manager with the Colombo Plan, Commonwealth Livestock Farm, West Pakistan. In 1954
and 1955 he worked as a special agronomist (rice) in charge of all research and experimental work with rice and
other irrigated crops at Yanco and Leeton Experimental Farms.
In 1955 he became Director of Agriculture, Northern Territory Administration. On taking up this position
Curteis inherited a very small section from the Lands Branch. Recognising the need for professional knowledge
and experience on a range of disciplines and its application to virtually unknown areas, such as soils, over a period
of time he built the Branch into a respected professional unit. Expertise became available in such areas as scientific
research, agricultural economics, experimental farms and extension work, soil surveys and pest control. Some
years later a Fisheries Section was established in the Branch.
As it was the government’s responsibility to supply seed rice to Territory Rice Ltd, Curteis was closely involved
in this operation soon after his appointment. Stockpiles of seed from successful crops during the years Territory
Rice failed, became such an embarrassment that one farm manager was taken to court for incorrectly disposing
of seed from overflowing warehouses. According to Jack Turnour, Curteis’ agronomist at Humpty Doo, one of
the main problems with Territory Rice was that the impractical covenants forced development too rapidly before
the company had its large-scale agronomic techniques developed. When the company did collapse Curteis, with
Sir William Gunn, endeavoured to establish Territory Rice’s better employees on pilot farms with Commonwealth
Bank funding but their efforts failed.
Curteis was very conscious of the need to bridge the gap between experiments and commercial production.
He quickly expanded the existing Katherine Experimental Farm to a size commensurate with a commercial
operation and inaugurated public field days where the viability and techniques of commercial scale farming were
demonstrated. At the same time, recognising that the native pastures were very low in nutritional content, he was
mainly responsible for the introduction of Townsville Lucerne and Siratro into open savannah country. By any
standards this was a major advance.
When Curteis arrived practically no vegetables were commercially grown in the Territory. They came up from
the south, usually by air, making them relatively expensive. Over the years, despite cynicism from some of his own
officers, Curteis generated enthusiasm for vegetable growing both in the Top End and in Alice Springs. His efforts
succeeded and as a result he established the Darwin Public Market. He was sufficiently far-sighted to realise that
market size was as important as production but unless the produce was available to sell it would be futile to try
and develop a market.
Apart from the foregoing, Curteis had to co-ordinate soil surveys, aerial photography, hydrological
investigations, various crop potentials and land settlement, cattle fattening experiments, fodder crop production
and rice experiments at Beatrice Hills, the 60-mile and Tortilla Flat.
In 1962, following the Forster Report on the Prospects of Agriculture in the Northern Territory, the Agricultural
Development Committee was set up, of which Curteis was a member. For some years the Agriculture Branch had
conducted experimental rice growing at locations mentioned above, and as the Forster Report recommended pilot
farms at Douglas, Daly and Humpty Doo, Curteis, impatient to get results, was instrumental in getting three pilot
farms set up on Marrakai soils near Adelaide River. Success would be dependent on a rice-cattle combination.
Unfortunately the farmer with the cropping background drew the grazing block and the other two farmers who
drew the rice blocks did not want to grow rice. Nevertheless the experience gained helped when the Douglas/Daly
pilot farms were eventually set up.
In the course of my duties as a public service inspector I came to know Curteis well and often visited his field
activities. He was ‘hail fellow, well met’ throughout the Territory. He was an enthusiast and at times so anxious
to make progress that the small matter of official approval was overlooked. In one instance he wanted quick
action to establish experimental work on cotton on the red Ooloo soils. This was started by his assistant Director
(Don Mentz) and another ‘borrowing’ a Works Department grader and driving a track into the Ooloo experimental
site near the junction of the Katherine and Daly Rivers. The official approval arrived some months later.
Curteis also had some unusual ways of securing an approval. Once he asked me to accompany him and the
Administrator, J C Archer, in a helicopter to do an inspection. Now in a helicopter the rotation of the rotor blades
results in the occupants nodding their heads backwards and forwards—at least in the particular type in which we
travelled. During the flight I noticed Curteis asking the Administrator some questions and his response above the
noise of the aircraft was incomprehensible. However, Curteis took the Administrator’s forward nod as signifying
approval of whatever he had proposed and proceeded accordingly. I had the impression that I had been included in
the party to serve as a witness but fortunately I was not called upon to testify.