Murray Hill was the Founding Director of the Seed Technology Centre at Massey University from 1976 to 1997. This was followed by him setting up the New Zealand Seed Technology Institute at Lincoln University in 1998 where he was the Director and Professor of Seed and Crop Science until he retired until 2004.
Murray started his career with the Department of Agriculture at the Seed Testing Station in Palmerston North where he became Officer in Charge. During this time, he also completed his PhD at Massey University on ryegrass seed production.
The Seed Technology Centre had a strong international presence with both many international students and short courses. At Lincoln he initiated the Seed Industry Short Course which has run in June/July for 20 consecutive years.
His interests in Seed Drying and Seed Storage led in the mid-1990s to many FAR run training workshops and interaction with seed growers and culminated in the publication by FAR of The Drying and Storage of Grain and Herbage Seed book edited by Murray Hill.
After finishing at Lincoln, Murray and his late wife Karen moved to Queensland where they established the Seed Technology Institute Australia, based at the Gatton campus of the University of Queensland.After returning to New Zealand he bought a 10-acre block at Gladstone which he described as his perfect retirement home - next door to the Gladstone pub, a trout stream on the boundary and plenty of fruit and nut trees!
Murray passed away on the 10 June 2020. He made a huge contribution to the New Zealand seed industry over more than 40-years and will be missed by all those who worked and studied with him.