Samuel White was a central figure in ornithology and conservation in South Australia, and a noted racehorse owner of private means. From a young age he followed in the footsteps of his ornithologist father, also Samuel (1835 - 1880), whose collections he inherited. Between 1887 and 1923 White made numerous excursions mainly through South and Central Australia, and travelling as far as Western Australia, Queensland and Tasmania. In 1906 he married Ethel Rosina Toms (1876 - 1926), also a keen ornithologist who accompanied him on many of his excursions. His ethnographic and natural history collections are now in South Australian Museum, and his botanical specimens (many described by J. M. Black) are in the State Herbarium of South Australia. White collaborated with G. M. Mathews on The birds of Australia (1910-27), in particular by collecting specimens for him. Mathews named a number of bird taxa after White, and the genera Ethelornis and Rosina after his wife. White was a leading exponent for the declaration of national parks in South Australia. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Flinders Chase Nature Reserve on Kangaroo Island, the first park in South Australia designated for conservation purposes. He held office as Chairman of the Native Fauna and Flora Protection Committee, as well as President of the principal South Australian ornithological organisations. White was an eminent public speaker and prolific writer on his journeys. For many years he awarded an annual medal years for best essay or notes and observations on birds by a South Australian school student. White withdrew from his ornithological and conservation activities in 1923.
White's ornithological trips included: Murray River 1887, Western Australia 1888, Eyre Peninsula and north Queensland 1891, Tasmania 1906, Tweed River district of New South Wales 1907, Alice Springs 1913, the Musgrave and Everard Ranges 1914, Cooper's Creek with the South Australian Museum expedition 1916, Nullarbor Plains 1917-18, the Finke River with Edgeworth David and Walter Howchin 1921, and Adelaide to Darwin and back 1922-23.
1900
1903
Military service - Served in the Boer War, attaining rank of Captain
1903
1903
Life event - Big-game hunting expedition to Central and East Africa
1904
1904
Career position - President, South Australian Ornithological Association
1911
1911
Career position - President, South Australian Ornithological Association
1914
1914
Career position - President, Field Naturalists' Section, Royal Society of South Australia
1914
1916
Career position - President, Royal Australian Ornithologists' Union
1923
1931
Career position - State Chief Commissioner, Boy Scouts' Association
1934
1934
Taxonomy event - Eucalyptus bicolor var. xanthophylla Blakely. White collected the type
1941
1954
Award - Honorary Member, South Australian Ornithologial Association