Dr Kate Delaporte

Kate grew up on a mixed farming rural property in the South East of South Australia. After finishing High School, she completed studies in Horticulture at TAFE and worked for various floricultural and horticultural enterprises before enrolling at the University of Adelaide in 1992 to study Agricultural Science. Her Honours project investigated postharvest vase life and genetic relationships between different Banksia species. In 1996, she was awarded a PhD scholarship to investigate Ornamental Eucalypts, sponsored by the Playford Trust. In 2000, she was awarded her PhD for her thesis entitled “Eucalypts for Ornamental Horticulture – selection, interspecific hybridisation and postharvest testing”. Also in 2000, she travelled to Europe and California on a Churchill Fellowship to investigate the use of Australian Plants in regions with a Mediterranean climate.

Dr Delaporte was employed at the University of Adelaide as a Postdoctoral Research fellow on the Ornamental Eucalypt Development Program, with Professor Margaret Sedgley, from 2000-2007. This research was funded by RIRDC grants with further support from industry collaborators and the Playford Memorial Trust. During this period, Dr Delaporte also lectured in various horticultural and plant breeding subjects: Production Horticulture, Horticultural Science, Postharvest Horticulture and Marketing, and Principles of Plant Breeding.

In 2007 she took up a teaching position in Japan for six months, where she taught about Australian horticulture at the Hyogo Prefecture Awaji Landscape Planning and Horticulture Academy (ALPHA). On her return, she took up employment at Scholefield Robinson Horticultural Services, Parkside, as a Technical consultant, working on a range of projects and with numerous clients. Whilst there she undertook training in Eco-mapping with Eco-conseil and became an accredited practitioner.  During this time, further RIRDC funding from 2008-2011 allowed for work to continue into selection and development of new varieties on a limited basis.

In July 2010, she returned to the University of Adelaide with Drs Cassandra Collins and Michelle Wirthensohn, on a Horticulture Australia Funded project “Gaining a better understanding of Ornamental Eucalypts”.

From 2013, Kate’s research with ornamental eucalypts progressed to the commercialisation phase, and she has received over $1M in funding to progress selected lines through to a commercial outcome. Funding has been awarded funding from the Australian Federal Government's AusIndustry Entrepreneur programs: Commercial Accelerator and Accelerating Commercialisation, in partnership with Adelaide Research and Innovation, as well as the University's Commercial Accelerator Scheme and BioInnovation SA. Her research into propagation of ornamental eucalypt varieties for commercialisation continues.

Kate’s experience with development of new and novel Australian plants for horticulture has attracted interest from other new plant industries, and in 2015 she engaged in a research project on the potential development of a Manuka Honey in South Australia, supported by PIRSA. This grew into a collaborative project as part of the CRC for Honey Bee Products. She has co-supervised a PhD Candidate in the area of benchmarking Kunzea pomifera, a promising native berry, and supervised a PhD candidate in development of Leptospermum for bioactive honey. A growing interest in First Nation food plants saw her establish a new "First Foods Garden" and a new "Graminetum" at the Waite with support from the Yitpi Foundation and University of Adelaide, the Friends of the Waite Arboretum, the Friends of Urrbrae House and Friends of the Waite Conservation Reserve. These sites provide a fabulous opportunity for resarch and education about the uses of Australian plants in the agricultural space. 

The Waite Arboretum beckoned, and in 2017, Kate became the Curator and and academic with the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine. Alongside her continued passion for developing Australian native plants for food and pleasure, her research has evolved to encompass the urban forest and protecting urban trees, and understanding the impacts of climate adjustments on tree species. She teaches about plant breeding, horticulture and experimental design to undergraduate students, alongside mentoring and student support. 

In 2011, Kate was nominated to the Board of the Playford Memorial Trust, where she participates in the Scholarships Committee and the selection of the Playford Trust scholarship recipients.