Biographical entry Saville-Kent, William (1845 - 1908)

Summary

William Saville-Kent was the founder of Australian fisheries science. He worked in several aquaria in England, then came to Australia, where he was Commissioner/Inspector of Fisheries for Tasmania, Queensland and Western Australia in turn. Later in life he had a particular interest in pearl oyster culture.

Details

Born William Savill Kent on 10 July 1845. Appears to have adopted the name William Saville-Kent ca 1873. Educated at Kings College, where he qualified to enter the Imperial Civil Service. Held various short-term appointments in England, including the British Museum 1868-72 and several aquaria. Inspector of Tasmanian Fisheries 1884-87; Commissioner of Fisheries for Queensland 1889-92; Commissioner of Fisheries for Western Australia 1892-95. Returned to England for the remainder of his life, though probably spent a good deal of the time between 1896 and 1907 in tropical Australia and adjacent areas engaged in pearl oyster culture. President, Royal Society of Queensland, 1889-90. Died 11 October 1908.

Published resources

Books

• Harrison, A.J., Savant of the Australian Seas: William Saville-Kent (1845-1908), Tasmanian Historical Research Association, Hobart, 1997, 180 pp. Details
• Musgrave, A., Bibliography of Australian Entomology, 1775-1930, Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales., Sydney, 1932, 380 pp. Details

Book Sections

• Harrison, A. J., 'William Saville-Kent, 1845-1908', in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2004. Details
• Harrison, A.J., 'Saville-Kent, William (1845-1908), Fisheries Scientist and Author', in Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. Supplement, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, 2005, pp. 352-353. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/AS10427b.htm. Details

Journal Articles

• Harrison, A.J., 'William Saville - Kent, FLS, FZS, FRMS (1845-1908)', Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania, vol. 122, no. 2, 1988, pp. 165-178. Details
• Harrison, A.J., 'The Fisheries Savant: William Saville-Kent in Victoria 1887-8', Historical Records of Australian Science, vol. 11, no. 3, 1997, pp. 419-429. Also available at http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/HR9971130419.htm. Details

Online Resources

• Harrison, A.J., 'William Saville-Kent (1845-1908)', in Progress in Managing Fisheries in Australia 1800-1990, Harrison, A.J., Anthony Harrison, 2003, http://www.users.on.net/~ahvem/Fisheries/Identities/WSK.html. Details
• National Library of Australia, 'Saville-Kent, William', Trove, National Library of Australia and the Australian National Maritime Museum Darling Harbour, 2009, http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1468534. Details