A halfback, Molloy made his debut for at a provincial level while still a teenager, and later represented when he was a university student in Christchurch. He was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, on their 1957 tour of Australia, playing in five games and scoring one try. However, he did not appear in any of the test matches. From 1975 to 1978, Molloy served as a New Zealand Universities selector.
Scientific career
After his master's studies, Molloy worked for the Department of Agriculture as a research officer, investigating tussock grasslands, pasture ecology and weeds. In 1969, he moved to the botany division of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research —later known as Landcare Research—where he remained until his retirement in 1995. At DSIR / Landcare Research, he specialised in plant taxonomy, nature conservation, and the history of soil and vegetation. Subsequently, Molloy has worked as a botanical and conservation consultant, and has maintained his relationship with Landcare Research as a research associate. Molloy has authored or co-authored over 100 scientific papers, and several books, and is regarded as the leading authority on New Zealand orchids. His canonical text, Native Orchids of New Zealand, written with J.H. Johns, was published in 1983.
Taxonomist
Conservation activities
Between 1989 and 1998, Molloy was a director of the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust. He then served as the trust's high-country representative until 2012. He has also been active in many other conservation groups, leading to the establishment of new, and extension of existing, protected areas and reserves.
Honours and awards
Molloy was awarded the Loder Cup in 1990, in recognition of his contributions to conservation and the study of New Zealand native plants. He received a community service award in 1992 and a civic award in 1995, both from the Christchurch City Council. Also in 1995, Molloy received the Charles Fleming Award for Environmental Achievement from the Royal Society of New Zealand. In the, Molloy was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to conservation. For his contributions to the science, land and people of the high country, Molloy received the high country committee of Federated Farmers award in 2000; and in 2006 he was accorded a lifetime conservation achievement award by the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. The following year, he was named as an associate of honour by the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture, in recognition of his distinguished service to horticulture in New Zealand. In 2010, Molloy was awarded the Bledisloe Trophy by the Canterbury Botanical Society, for his contribution to New Zealand botany. Molloy was elected as a Companion of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 2011, for the promotion and advancement of science and technology in New Zealand. Also in 2011, he received the Hatch Medal of the New Zealand Native Orchid Group, for his outstanding contribution to orchidology in New Zealand.
Honorific eponyms
Two endemic plants have been named in Molloy's honour: the Cook Strait kōwhai, Sophora molloyi, in 2001; and the hidden spider orchid, Molloybas cryptanthus, in 2002. In 2012, the Brian Molloy QEII National Trust Scholarship for doctoral research in New Zealand ecology was established.
