P000524 revised AU-VU:EOAS Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation

All key entry types: Awards; Concepts; Corporate Bodies (Organisations); Cultural Artefacts; People; etc

These key entries are listed separately below with other indexes and lists.

 English AACR2 Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules Person created 1993-10-20 human Gavan McCarthy [P004098] and Helen Cohn updated 2025-08-05 human https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P000524b.htm person Thorpe William Walford AACR2 24 March 1879 2 September 1932 Place of Birth Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Place of Death Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Anthropologist Ethnologist William Thorpe, after a varied employment record that included copper smithing and wattle stripping, joined the staff of the Australian Museum in 1899 as a labourer, night watchman and mechanical assistant. In 1900 he became assistant to the museum's Director, Robert Etheridge. Thorpe was appointed in 1908 as the Museum's Ethnologist, a field in which he was self-taught and in which he developed an unrivalled knowledge of the material culture of the indigenous people of Australia and the nearby Melanesian islands. He published a number of papers in scientific journals. In 1929 he travelled to Auckland, New Zealand, as consultant to the War Memorial Museum in the installation of their displays. Thorpe was also knowledgeable in numismatics. In 1928 he helped found the Anthropological Society of New South Wales and was joint editor of its magazine, Mankind, from 1931. The Australian Museum holds over 570 artefacts collected by Thorpe. 1898 1898 Career event - Joined the Australian Museum 1900 1908 Career position - Assistant of Robert Etheridge, Australian Museum 1908 1932 Career position - Ethnologist, Australian Museum 1928 1928 Career position - Co-founder, Anthropological Society of New South Wales 1928 1932 Career position - Secretary, Anthropological Society of New South Wales 1931 1932 Career position - Joint editor, Mankind 1932 1932 Career event - Elected Associate Member (Anthropology), Australian National Research Council Etheridge, Robert (Junior) (1847 - 1920) Australian National Research Council (ANRC) (1919 - 1955)

Associate Member (Anthropology) 1932 -

 Australian Museum (1827 - )

Ethnologist (Aboriginal artefacts) 1908 - 1932; the Museum holds ethnographic material collected by Thorpe

Wikidata

 Thorpe, W W (-19320902)

Trove

 'Thorpe, William Walford', in Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology Thorpe, William Walford Swinburne University of Technology, Centre for Transformative Innovation Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Book: New South Wales Aboriginal place names and euphonious words, with their meanings McCarthy, F. D. New South Wales Aboriginal place names and euphonious words, with their meanings 4th Sydney Government Printer 1963 Book: List of New South Wales Aboriginal words and their meanings; with some well-known place names Thorpe, W. W. List of New South Wales Aboriginal words and their meanings; with some well-known place names Sydney Australian Museum 1921 Journal Article: The closing chapter of Mr. Thorpe's life Roughley, Essie The closing chapter of Mr. Thorpe's life 1932 Mankind 1 6 134-5 Journal Article: William Walford Thorpe, obit 2nd Sept., 1932 Anon William Walford Thorpe, obit 2nd Sept., 1932 1932 Mankind 1 6 134 Journal Article: Biographical notice of W. W. Thorpe A., C. [ie Anderson, Charles] Biographical notice of W. W. Thorpe 1932 Australian Museum magazine 4 12 416-7 William Walford Thorpe - Records John Oxley Library, Manuscripts and Business Records Collection, State Library of Queensland William Walford Thorpe - Records OM67-22 1890 - 1899 Manuscript of an unpublished work with photographs entitled 'The petroglyphs of the Port Jackson district. Their meaning and distribution.' 1890s [1 bundle, OM67-22]. 1 bundle