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 Corporate Bodies

Related People

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

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

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

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