Post war, he returned to the Gardens and due to his army service, was able to study for a Bachelor of Science at Sydney University.
When he arrived in Alice Springs only a small collection of specimens existed, these having been gathered by members of CSIRO, various veterinary officers and stock inspectors of the Animal Industry Branch.
[2] Chippendale's work was aimed at benefiting the pastoral industry, and he secured a special knowledge of the dry country in the Southern half of the Northern Territory.
Despite a fourth child and many trips into the bush to collect specimens, he found time to write and publish some 25 papers, one of which was of considerable economic importance to the region, Topfeed; the fodder trees and shrubs of Central Australia.
He chose the position over a possible stint as the Director of the Botanic Gardens in Canberra due to his preference to continue with pure botany rather than administrative tasks.
[3] The Natural Distribution of Eucalyptus in Australia (1981) was completed with George taking advantage of computer generated illustrations (by Ludek Wolf).