Person
Laybourne Smith, Helen (1907 - 1992)
- Born
- 26 December 1907
Glenegl, South Australia, Australia - Died
- 1992
South Australia, Australia - Occupation
- Ornithologist
- Alternative Names
- Rischbieth, Helen Newman (maiden name)
Summary
Helen Laybourne Smith was a keen ornithologist, her interest encouraged by her father, Charles Rischbieth, a member of the South Australian Ornithological Association (SAOA) 1913 - 1937. Laybourne Smith kept a bird diary from childhood. In it she recorded birds seen in her local area: her notes provide valuable information on birds of the Mt Lofty area before large-scale land clearing after WWII. Laybourne Smith continued her record-keeping until the 1980s. As a member of the SAOA from 1967, she was instrumental in several bird atlas projects between 1974 and 1981. She was also a member of the Royal Australasian Ornithological Union and the Adelaide Ornithological Club.
Details
Chronology
- 1967 - 1976
- Career event - Participated in bird-banding projects
- 1967 - 1992?
- Career position - Member, South Australian Ornithological Association
- 1974 - 1975
- Career position - Convenor, Atlas Committee, South Australian Ornithological Association, running a preliminary atlas of the Adelaide region
- 1977 - 1981
- Career position - Regional Organiser for South Australia for the national bird atlas
Related entries
Colleague
Published resources
Journal Articles
- Bristowe, E, Laybourne-Smith, H. and Lendon, A., 'Records from an ornithological tour of Queensland', The sunbird, 3 (1972), 67-75. Details
- Paton, Penny, 'Helen Laybourne Smith (1907 - 1992) and Josephine Heysen (1906 - 1938), part 2', The birder, 275 (2025), i-iv, https://resources.birdssa.au/wp-content/uploads/HIST-SERIES-INSERT-92.pdf. Details
- Paton, Penny, 'Helen Laybourne Smith (1907 - 1992) and Josephine Heysen (1906 - 1938), part 1', The birder, 274 (2025), i-iv, https://resources.birdssa.au/wp-content/uploads/HIST-SERIES-INSERT-91.pdf. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 30 July 2026