Don Francois ’54 says his St. Lawrence liberal arts education prepared him for graduate school, foreign living, his career and his hobby. Looking back on his SLU memories from nearly 60 years ago, he pronounces them “all good.”

A biology honors student, Francois pursued graduate study at Cornell. “One of his years of study for the Ph.D. took him to Australia, and then he returned to the USA to finish the degree,” says his nephew, Gary Francois ’73. “Meanwhile, the Australian government had offered him a position in fisheries management and he moved there in December 1961.” After a long and successful career, he retired in 1986 and turned his attention to his hobby, wine-making. “He has a great piece of property in the wine-making region north of Sydney,” says his nephew. “He has been a ‘mom and pop’ wine maker for many years, and the place has hundreds of kangaroos in the neighborhood.” 

Francois has been honored wherever he has gone. In a 24-year career (20 as director of New South Wales Fisheries), he established Tasmania’s salmon industry; rehabilitated freshwater fish stocks, helping revive the nation’s sport fishing; and created an aquaculture research lab, one of whose buildings bears his name. He is a founder and former president of the Australia Society for Fish Biology, one of whose annual awards is a case of Chateau Francois wine.

Francois says he began wine-making “as a hobby” in 1969.  He “has built the vineyard into one of the most successful, award-winning (small) vineyards in Australia,” according to Dr. John Glaister, a longtime fisheries management colleague.

“Don was known on campus for his attachment to the outdoors, especially as a fisherman,” foretelling his future career, says his classmate Frank Shields ’54.  He was also a wrestler and member of ROTC and Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity.  In later years he became an accomplished gardener and banjo player.