Derera, Nicholas Frederick

Born in Budapest in 1919, Derera received his degree from the Technical University Jozsef Nador, Faculty of Agriculture, Budapest. 

"Nicholas Derera, an agronomist specialising in cotton growing, arrived from Hungary in 1957 and subsequently began working at the New South Wales Government Experimental Farm at Narrabri. He played a major part in the establishment of the cotton growing industry by proving the suitability of the land, selecting the varieties and inviting American cotton growers to lay the foundations of the industry." [from Encyclopedia of Australian Science http://www.eoas.info/biogs/P002325b.htm viewed 25 May 2020] 

In 1961 he joined the University of Sydney as a plant breeder at the North West Wheat Research Institute, Narrabri. [1962 Calendar]. He retired as Director of Wheat Breeding of the Plant Breeding Institute at Narrabri in 1981.

Derera was awarded Member of the Order of Australia in the Queen's Birthday 1994 Honours List in recognition of service to the development of the Australian cotton industry and the continued development of the Australian wheat industry. (granted 10th June 1994)

Death notice published in SMH 11 October 2011