Hugh Shaw MacKee (1912 – 1995) was a Scottish‑born botanist who spent the majority of his professional career in Australia, contributing extensively to the taxonomy and documentation of the flora of Queensland, New Guinea, and the Pacific region. His standard botanical author abbreviation is H.S.McKee.
Early life and education
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1912, MacKee pursued botanical studies at the University of Glasgow, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree. He subsequently earned a Master of Science, focusing on plant taxonomy.
Career
In the late 1930s, MacKee emigrated to Australia and joined the Queensland Department of Agriculture’s Herbarium in Brisbane. His early work involved the collection and identification of native plant specimens, particularly within the families Cycadaceae and Myrtaceae.
During World War II, MacKee served in the Australian Army, after which he returned to the herbarium and assumed senior responsibilities, eventually becoming the Assistant Curator. He conducted extensive field expeditions throughout Queensland, New South Wales, and the tropical rainforest regions of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. These surveys yielded thousands of plant specimens, many of which represented new species to science.
MacKee collaborated with other prominent botanists, contributing to major floristic projects such as the Flora of Australia series and regional treatments for the Flora of New Guinea. He authored numerous taxonomic revisions and species descriptions, particularly within the genera Cycas, Acacia, and Eucalyptus. His publications appeared in journals including Contributions from the Queensland Herbarium and Australian Journal of Botany.
Later life and legacy
After retiring from the Queensland Herbarium in the early 1970s, MacKee continued his research as an honorary associate, focusing on the conservation of cycads and the documentation of plant diversity in the Pacific islands. He passed away in 1995.
MacKee’s extensive herbarium collections are housed primarily at the Queensland Herbarium (BRI) and the National Herbarium of New South Wales (NSW). His work remains a reference point for taxonomists studying Australian and Melanesian flora.