Biographical entry Hull, Arthur Francis Basset (1862 - 1945)

Summary

Arthur Francis B. Hull was clerk in charge of legal matters, Department of Mines 1903-21 and honorary ornithologist, Australian Museum 1917-45. His particular interest was conchology.

Details

Born Hobart Town, 10 October 1862. Died Manly, Sydney, 22 September 1945. MBE 1936. Educated the High School, Hobart. Clerk, Supreme Court registry 1883-89; clerk, General Post Office, Sydney 1892-1900; secretary to the labour commissioners, Department of Public Works 1900-02; clerk in charge of legal matters, Department of Mines 1903-21; honorary ornithologist, Australian Museum 1917-45. President, Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales 1917-19, 1928-29, 1938-39, member of the Council for 35 years, Fellow and Honorary Member; member, Taronga Zoological Park Trust 1926-42; president, Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union 1919-20; president, Linnean Society of New South Wales 1923-24; Corresponding Fellow, American Ornithologists' Union; Corresponding Member, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia. His two special interests were philately, in which he published books and received many honours, and conchology, particularly loricates (Chitons). Published A Monograph of Australian Loricates with Tom Iredale (1927) and gave a duplicate set of his specimens to the Australian Museum. Commemorated by the genus Bassethullia and several species. His portrait, painted in 1941, is held by the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales.

Published resources

Book Sections

• Kloot, Tess, 'Hull, Arthur Francis Basset (1862-1945), Public Servant and Naturalist', in Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle (eds), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 9, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1983, pp. 401-402. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A090397b.htm. Details

Journal Articles

• Hull, A. F. Basset, 'The Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales. The Present Position and Future Aims', Australian Zoologist, vol. 1, 1914, pp. 65-67. Details

Online Resources

• National Library of Australia, 'Basset Hull, A F', Trove, National Library of Australia and the Australian National Maritime Museum Darling Harbour, 2009, http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-487341. Details

See also

• Robin, Libby, The Flight of the Emu: a Hundred Years of Australian Ornithology 1901-2001, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 2001, 492 pp. Details