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Sheila Natusch

Sheila Natusch is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Sheila Natusch rather than just read about it. In short: Sheila Ellen Natusch (née Traill, 14 February 1926 – 10 August 2017) was a New Zealand writer and freelance illustrator. Many of her books cover natural history and the history of southern New Zealand, particularly Stewart Island.

Key takeaways

  • Sheila Natusch belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Sheila Natusch to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Sheila Natusch from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sheila Ellen Natusch (née Traill, 14 February 1926 – 10 August 2017) was a New Zealand writer and freelance illustrator. Many of her books cover natural history and the history of southern New Zealand, particularly Stewart Island.

Early life and family Born Sheila Ellen Traill in Invercargill on 14 February 1926, Natusch was the daughter of Robert Henry "Roy" Traill, whose father had emigrated to New Zealand from Orkney, and Michigan-born Dorothea Ellen Traill (née Moseley). Through her father, Natusch was the great-granddaughter of Eliza Wohlers and her husband, German missionary Johan Wohlers. She grew up on Stewart Island, where her father was the wildlife ranger for 33 years, and received her secondary education at Southland Girls' High School. She then studied at Dunedin Teachers' Training College where she met and befriended Janet Frame. The two became lifelong friends; in fact Natusch was the first person to read Frame's manuscript for Owls Do Cry. Later she studied at the University of Otago, graduating Bachelor of Arts in 1948 and Master of Arts with second-class honours in 1949. In 1950, she married Gilbert Gardner Natusch, a hydro-engineer, and the couple lived in Wellington.

Professional life Natusch wrote, illustrated or compiled over 77 books for adults and children. In the 2007 New Year Honours, Natusch was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services as a writer and illustrator. A documentary about Natusch's life, No Ordinary Sheila, by her cousin New Zealand director Hugh Macdonald, featured in the 2017 New Zealand International Film Festival. Natusch died in Wellington on 10 August 2017.

Legacy In 2017, Natusch was selected as one of the Royal Society Te Apārangi's "150 women in 150 words", celebrating women's contributions to knowledge in New Zealand. Lake Sheila on Stewart Island was named after Natusch by her father Roy Traill, a name he suggested after she had accompanied him on numerous expeditions around the Freshwater River area.

Selected works Native plants : an introduction to the plant life of New Zealand by Sheila Natusch. Christchurch, N.Z. : Pegasus, 1956 Native rock by Sheila Natusch. Wellington N.Z. : Reed, 1959/1967 Stewart Island by N.S. Seaward and Sheila Natusch. Christchurch, N.Z. : Pegasus, 1962 Animals of New Zealand by Sheila Natusch. Christchurch, Whitcombe & Tombs, 1967 A bunch of wild orchids by Sheila Natusch. Christchurch, N.Z. : Pegasus, 1968 Hell and high water : a German occupation of the Chatham Islands, 1843–1910 by Sheila Natusch. Christchurch, N.Z. : Pegasus, c1977 An island called home by Sheila Natusch. Invercargill, N.Z. : Craig Printing Co., 1992 ISBN 9780908629381 Letters from Jean edited by Sheila Natusch. (by Janet Frame). Wellington N.Z. : Nestegg Books, 2004 So far so good : an autobiography by Sheila Natusch. Wellington, N.Z. : Nestegg, 2007

References

External links A collection of Radio New Zealand programmes on Sheila Natusch

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sheila Natusch

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sheila Natusch claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sheila Natusch before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sheila Natusch ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sheila Natusch

In research
Sheila Natusch appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Sheila Natusch in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Sheila Natusch is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1926 births, 2017 deaths, 20th-century New Zealand women writers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Sheila Natusch outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study Sheila Natusch in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Sheila Natusch means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Sheila Natusch out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sheila Natusch in simple terms?

Sheila Ellen Natusch (née Traill, 14 February 1926 – 10 August 2017) was a New Zealand writer and freelance illustrator. Many of her books cover natural history and the history of southern New Zealand, particularly Stewart Island.

Why does Sheila Natusch matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sheila Natusch?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sheila Natusch.

Tags

  • 1926 births
  • 2017 deaths
  • 20th-century New Zealand women writers
  • 21st-century New Zealand women writers
  • Dunedin College of Education alumni
  • Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit
  • New Zealand autobiographers
  • New Zealand non-fiction writers
  • New Zealand people of American descent
  • New Zealand people of English descent
  • New Zealand people of German descent
  • New Zealand people of Scottish descent

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