Biographical entry McLennan, William Rae (1882 - 1935)

Summary

William Rae McLennan spent many years as an ornithological collector in northern Australia.

Details

Born Sanford, Victoria, 20 August 1882. Died Casterton, Victoria, 22 September 1935. Learnt to skin birds, label, make field-notes, etc. from E.A. D'Ombrain (q.v.) in Casterton; blacksmith's shop, Casterton; moved to Broken Hill 1906, where he did local field-work for W.D.K. MacGillivray (q.v.); collecting for MacGillivray, Cape York Peninsula 1909-15, joined on occasion by MacGillivray and his son Ian MacGillivray (q.v.); collecting for H.L. White (q.v.), Gulf of Carpentaria 1915-16; war service 1916-18; collecting for H.L. White 1919-20, 1921-22; prospecting for gold from 1922 until his health deteriorated, probably as a result of being gassed during the war. G.M. Mathews (q.v.) named the genus Maclennania after him in 1917.

Published resources

Online Resources

• National Library of Australia, 'McLennan, William Rae', Trove, National Library of Australia and the Australian National Maritime Museum Darling Harbour, 2009, http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1476027. 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