Dr Aola Mary Richards became the first woman in New Zealand to gain a PhD in biological science in 1958. By any measure, her career was extraordinary. What sets it apart even more is what she did after retiring: she gave away a fortune to ensure that other scientists could pursue the research opportunities that were denied to her.
The School of Biological Sciences at Victoria University of Wellington has received a transformational $13.5 million gift from the late Dr Richards, whilethe University of Sydney also received $13.5 million.Cambridge University's Department of Zoology received a legacy of £5 million, bringing her total philanthropic commitment to roughly $40 million across the three institutions.
The magnitude of these bequests speaks to Richards' determination to correct an injustice she experienced early in her career.Aola's father attended Trinity College Cambridge, and she had the ambition to do postdoctoral work with V.B. Wigglesworth, a leading entomologist and Quick Professor of Biology at the University. Circumstances prevented this plan from coming to fruition, however, so she developed her entomology research in Australia and New Zealand instead – even living in a cave with the weta to better study them.
As a student researcher she spent seven weeks underground at Waitomo—alone and in the dark—to deepen her understanding of her subject matter. These were not romantic adventures but rigorous scientific fieldwork.She noted that weta hate light and worked with a torch, switching it on only for short periods so as not to disturb them.
Her research bore significant fruit.She is largely responsible for identifying the various native weta species and made a major contribution to the taxonomy of New Zealand and Australian cave crickets and cave weta, with a cave weta species—Miotopus richardsae—named for her in 2018.When she moved to Australia to teach in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of New South Wales, she was one of the pioneers of Australian speleology and alongside Ted Lane founded and edited the journal Helictite devoted to the study of caves and caving in Australasia.
Disappointed that the teaching of entomology ceased at the University after her retirement, she made significant bequests to the University and Victoria University of Wellington to support postgraduate and postdoctoral entomological research.Her gift is intended to support postgraduate and postdoctoral research in entomology, reflecting her lifelong dedication to the field.
Why does this matter? Entomology and insect science have long struggled for research funding and prestige relative to more glamorous biological disciplines. Yetthe study of insects is important in the vast effort of caring for the environment, wildlife and the delicate biological balance, not to mention the role insects play in sustaining our food supply. Richards understood this deeply, and her bequests ensure that universities can support young scientists in a field where funding has historically been scarce.
At its core, her philanthropy reflects a pragmatic belief in strategic investment. Rather than scatter her resources, Richards concentrated them where they would have maximum impact: supporting the next generation in the specific field she had devoted her life to understanding.It will ensure that the next generation of scientists in zoology have opportunities in research, training and career development that Aola was not able to pursue herself.
The bequest model also offers a lesson in institutional planning. Universities worldwide face pressure to cut unfashionable programmes or shift resources toward more commercially viable fields. Richards' gifts come with clear purpose but also represent a deliberate vote of confidence in the value of basic scientific research. Whether the universities fulfil that confidence remains to be seen, but the financial backing now exists to give it a serious chance.