Prof. Ir. ANWARI DILMY REINWARDTIA Published by Herbarium Bogoriense — LBN, Bogor Vol. 10, Part 1, pp. 5 — 7 (1982) IN MEMORIAM PROFESSOR ANWARI DILMY A. J. G. H. KOSTERMANS Herbarium Bogoriense — LBN, Bogor With the death of Professor Anwari Dilmy on 25 April 1979, Indo- nesia lost a man who contributed a large part of his life to safeguard the valuable collections of the Herbarium Bogoriense of the National Biological Institute. Anwari Dilmy was born in Marabahan (South Kalimantan) on 11 August 1915. As a student of the Dutch secondary school (M.U.L.O.) in Banjarmasin, he soon attracted the attention of his teachers because of his mental capabilities. He moved to the home of Ir. Schophuis, at that time an Agricultural Adviser, where he learned to master the Dutch language and where he came into close contact with western ideas. After finishing secondary school in Surabaya, he moved with the help of Ir. Schophuis to the Agriculture Vocational School (Middelbare Land- bouwschool or M.L.S.) in Bogor and was taken up in the home of Dr. Nijholt, the then Head of the Chemical Laboratory at Bogor. In 1937 he entered the service of the Forestry Department, as a volunteer in the Gombong Resort (Central Java), but was released because of his nationalistic activities and was transferred to Sampit and Kapuas (S. Kalimantan). At the end of the Japanese occupation he was attached to the Office of Governor of Borneo in Yogyakarta. Towards the end of. the Independence War he returned to school in Bogor and continued at the Akademi Kehutanan (Forestry College), where he finished his studies in 1952. He was then nominated Forest Conservator ofTarakan District. In 1954 he returned to Java and became the Head of the Forest Botany Branch of the Forest Research Institute in Bogor. Here I made his acquaintance, as I was employed in the same Department and a life long friendship started. His transfer to Herbarium Bogoriense in February 1955 was a startling surprise for him. Professor Kusnoto Setyodiwiryo, the first Indonesian 6 R E I N W A R D T I A [VOL. 10 Director of the Botanic Gardens of Indonesia wanted to pension off the ex-patriate Head of Herbarium Bogoriense, and I suggested to him to engage Anwari Dilmy. It took me half a day to convince Dilmy that he should take the post. As the only Dutch botanist left in Bogor, working part time in the Forest Research Institute and part time in the Herbarium Bogoriense, my cooperation and collaboration with Anwari Dilmy developed more and more over the years. Although he was not a qualified taxonomist, his keen mind and his willingness to accept advice was one of the reasons that the valuable collections of Herbarium were saved for posterity. The buildings were in an abominable state after the World War II, but Anwari Dilmy managed — with the help of his numerous political acquaintances — to obtain funds for new roofings, the first step in safeguarding the collections. In a coordinated effort, funds were obtained from the National Science Foundation (U.S.A.) and Dilmy was active in importing mounting paper, corrosive sublimate and other items for the upkeep of the herbarium. Ultimately, and mostly due to Professor Sarwono Prawirohardjo, then the Chairman of the Indonesian Council for Sciences (later L.I.P.I.) funds were obtained for the construction of a new and modern building. In order to fill the gap of non-extant Indonesian biologists, Professor Kusnoto Setyodiwiryo was able to obtain funds for the establishment of College of Biology (first in Cibodas, later in Ciawi), where Anwari Dilmy was attached temporarily as a director and as a lecturer in the field of plant taxonomy and plant geography. When in 1962 no director of The Botanic Gardens of Indonesia was available, a collegiate was assigned to perform the Director's duties and Dilmy was one of them. In 1970 he moved back to Banjarmasin to become Rector of the Lambung Mangkurat University. Twice he occupied the Rector's seat (8 years). In 1972 he obtained the title of Guru Besar Luar Biasa (Professor Extraordinary). He was very active in expanding connections of the University with many Institutes abroad, making the University a focus for development of S. Kalimantan. He lectured at the same time at the Faculties of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Sciences. During his tenure as Head of Herbarium Bogoriense, he attended officially Pacific Science Congresses (Tokyo, Hawaii, Bangkok) and the Unesco sponsored Symposia on Humid Tropics Vegetation in Ciawi, Goroka and Kuching. For several years Dilmy was a member of the Standing Committee of Botany in the Pacific Science Association, Member of the 1982] KOSTEEMANS: Anwari Dilmy 7 National Committee for Natural Resources and Chairman of the Com- mittee of Forestry Publications. He wrote some 25 papers on botanical subjects. It was with very deep regret that I heard, belatedly, of his death (he was a diabetic). Besides his wife, he was survived by his 4 children (the last one Andreansjah was my godchild, named after me). 10(1) 249 Binder cover-100_Page_007