Forbes, Stephen Julian   (1953 -  )

Born on 11 October 1953 at Epworth Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria;

Education

1979 - 1979
Deakin University
Graduate Diploma in Education, Environmental Education

1989 - 1989
University of Bath
Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.), Landscaope Management

2003 - 2003
University of Newcastle
Masters in Business Administration

2016 - 2025
Monash University
Research Doctorate (- continuing p/t candidate), Theory of Art, Faculty of Art Design & Architecture

Career

In the 1980s he was ecologist with the National Herbarium of Victoria publishing on the ecology of Gyppsland in collaboration with Neville Walsh and Paul Gullan.

1989 - Sep 1993
Superintendent & Principal Horticultural Scientist
Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, VIC

1993 - 1994
Business Manager, VicFlora, Forests Service
Department of Conservation & Natural Resources, VIC.

1994 - 1998
Director, Living Collections & Natural Heritage
Kings Park & Botanic Gardens, Perth, WA.

1998 - 2000
Director, Botanic Gardens & Public Programs
Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, NSW.

2001 - 2016
Director
Botanic Gardens of South Australia, SA.

2016 - Present
Botanist, Thinker, Writer (& other endeavours)
Greenspace Australia

Stephen Forbes has held executive roles in biodiversity conservation, botanic gardens and nursery management in Melbourne, Perth, Sydney & Adelaide, Australia.
He was Director of the Botanic Gardens of South Australia for 15 years to May 2016 and was Chair of the Council of Heads of Australian Botanic Gardens and the inaugural chair of the Australian Seed Bank Partnership until October 2015.
The focus of his recent writing has been on the relationship between people and plants.

Source: Extracted from:
The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.) Fri 16 Oct 1953 Page 9 - Family Notices.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-forbes-b3314224/details/experience/
https://stephenjforbes.wordpress.com/about/
Portrait Photo: 2025, https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-forbes-b3314224.

Collecting localities for 'Forbes, S.J.' from AVH (2026)

Data from 6,364 specimens