Person
Waterhouse, Gustavus Athol (Athol) (1877 - 1950)
- Born
- 21 May 1877
Waverley, New South Wales, Australia - Died
- 29 July 1950
Pymble, New South Wales, Australia - Occupation
- Entomologist
- Alternative Names
- Waterhouse, Athol (Also known as)
Summary
Athol Waterhouse was an entomologist whose profession was assayer at the Sydney Mint but whose primary interest was butterflies which he started collecting as a young boy. He was noted as being a meticulous taxonomist. In 1919 he became Honorary Entomologist at the Australian Museum, later being a Trustee for over 20 years and President. His pioneering books were The butterflies of Australia (1914), written with George Lyell, and What butterfly is that? A guide to the butterflies of Australia (1932) illustrated by Neville W. Cayley. Waterhouse was an active member and office bearer of local scientific societies including the Royal Zoological, Linnean and Royal Societies of New South Wales. He was instrumental in the establishment of Science House in Sydney as the permanent home of Sydney's scientific societies. When President of the Australian Museum he presented it with his collection and entomological library. In retirement he devoted much time to identifying butterfly specimens stolen from Australian Museum and other repositories so that they might be returned.
Details
Chronology
- 1899
- Education - BSc, University of Sydney
- 1900
- Education - BE (Mining), University of Sydney
- 1900 - 1926
- Career position - Assistant Assayer, Royal Mint, Sydney
- 1906 - 1907
- Career position - President, Field Naturalists’ Society of New South Wales
- 1912 - 1943
- Career position - Member of Council, Linnean Society of New South Wales
- 1914 - 1915
- Career position - President, Field Naturalists’ Society of New South Wales
- 1919 - 1950
- Career position - Honorary Entomologist, Australian Museum
- 1921 - 1923
- Career position - President, Linnean Society of New South Wales
- 1921 - 1950
- Career position - Foundation Councillor (Zoology), Australian National Research Council
- 1923 - 1925
- Career position - Secretary, Royal Society of New South Wales
- 1924
- Education - DSc, University of Sydney
- 1924 - 1925
- Career position - President, Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
- 1926 - 1928
- Career position - Treasurer, Linnean Society of New South Wales
- 1926 - 1947
- Career position - Trustee, Australian Museum
- 1928 - 1929
- Career position - Curator and Executive Officer, CSIR Division of Economic Entomology
- 1930
- Career position - President, Australian Museum
- 1930 - 1943
- Career position - Treasurer, Linnean Society of New South Wales
- 1931
- Award - Elected Fellow, Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
- 1934 - 1946
- Career position - Treasurer, Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science
- 1937
- Career position - President, Section D (Zoology), Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science Meeting, Auckland, New Zealand
- 1943
- Award - Elected Life Member, Royal Entomological Society
Related entries
Archival resources
Australian Museum
- Gustavus Athol Waterhouse - Records, 1914 - 1924, Series 41; Australian Museum. Details
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Corporate Records and Archives Strategies
- Gustavus Athol Waterhouse - Records, 1928 - 1929; Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Corporate Records and Archives Strategies. Details
Published resources
Books
- Musgrave, A., Bibliography of Australian entomology, 1775-1930: with biographical notes on authors and collectors (Sydney: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, 1932), 380 pp. Details
Book Sections
- Evans, J. W., 'Waterhouse, Gustavus Athol (1877-1950)' in Australian Dictionary of Biography, John Ritchie, ed., vol. 12 (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1990), pp. 390-391. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A120439b.htm. Details
Journal Articles
- 'Gustavus Athol Waterhouse, 1877-1950', Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 78 (1953), 269-275. Details
- Musgrave, A., 'Obituary: Gustavus Athol Waterhouse', Australian Journal of Science, 13 (3) (1950), 75-76. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q5621543. Details
- VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/621151247929844270005. Details
- 'Waterhouse, G A (1877-1950)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-602383. Details
See also
- Lambkin, Kevin J., 'Conrad Kelsall: 'Butterflying' on the Little Mulgrave River, north Queensland, in 1903', Archives of Natural History, 40 (2013), 111-8. Details
- Prince, J. H., The first one hundred years of the Royal Zoological Society of N.S.W. 1879 - 1979 (Sydney: Royal Zoolgical Society of New South Wales, 1979), 81 pp. Details
Gavan McCarthy [P004098] and Helen Cohn
Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 6 October 2023
- Foundation Supporter - Committee to Review Australian Studies in Tertiary Education