P008059 revised AU-VU:EOAS Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation

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 English AACR2 Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules Person created 2026-06-02 human Helen Cohn updated 2026-07-02 human https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P008059b.htm person Wyatt Colin William fforde AACR2 8 February 1909 18 November 1975 Place of Birth Marylebone, London, United Kingdom Place of Death Guatemala Insect collector Mountaineer Colin Wyatt was a butterfly collector and a renowned skier and mountaineer. His skills in the latter proved useful in collecting in inaccessible places. In 1936 Wyatt came to Australia. While in Australia he became acquainted with entomologists including Athol Waterhouse and John Le Souef. During WWII Wyatt was employed with a government camouflage unit, working to ensure airstrips and radar stations were concealed from the air. This work included a posting to Papua New Guinea and some of the off-shore islands. In Australian entomological circles Wyatt is notorious for having stolen over 3,000 butterfly specimens (including types) from the Australian Museum (over 1,600 specimens), the National Museum of Victoria (NMV) and the South Australian Museum at the end of WWII, and of falsifying labels to cover his theft. The theft was accidentally discovered by Alex Burns, entomologist at the NMV, and was followed by an international campaign to find the culprit, determine the extent of the theft, and repatriate the specimens. Wyatt was convicted and fined a mere £100. The specimens were mostly recovered and repatriated: the team of entomologists tasked with returning the specimens to their respective collections decided that all of these specimens would have a yellow label stating "Passed through C.W. Wyatt Theft Coll. 1946-1947". December 1936 December 1936 Life event - Arrived in Australia South Australian Museum (1940 - )

Convicted of stealing butterfly specimens from the Museum

 National Museum of Victoria (1858 - 1983)

Convicted of stealing butterfly specimens from the Museum

 Australian Museum (1827 - )

Convicted of stealing butterfly specimens from the Museum

 Le Souef, John Cecil (1905 - 1982)

Acquainted with Wyatt while he was in Australia

 Waterhouse, Gustavus Athol (Athol) (1877 - 1950)

Acquainted with Wyatt while he was in Australia

 Burns, Alexander Noble (1899 - 1994)

Discovered the theft of specimens from the National Museum of Victoria

 'Wyatt, Colin William fforde', in Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, History of Australian Science Research Group Wyatt, Colin William fforde Swinburne University of Technology, Office of the Chief Scientist Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Journal Article: Death of Colin Wyatt Le Souef, J. C. Death of Colin Wyatt 1976 Victorian entomologist 6 3 32-3 Journal Article: Revised taxonomic status of Pseudalmenus barringtoniensis Waterhouse, 1928 stat. rev. (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae): uncovering Australia's greatest taxonomic fraud Braby, Michael F. and Eastwood, Ron Revised taxonomic status of <span style="font-style:italic">Pseudalmenus barringtoniensis</span> Waterhouse, 1928 stat. rev. (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae): uncovering Australia's greatest taxonomic fraud 2019 Invertebrate systematics 33 3 530-43 Review: Theft, lies and butterflies: the Englishman who stole thousands of specimens from our museums Gibson, Prudence Theft, lies and butterflies: the Englishman who stole thousands of specimens from our museums 2025 The Conversation 15 October Book: The butterfly thief: adventure, empire, and Australia's greatest museum heist Marsh, Walter The butterfly thief: adventure, empire, and Australia's greatest museum heist Brunswick, Vic. Scribe Publications 2025 Newspaper Article: Butterfly theft: Colin Wyatt fined Butterfly theft: Colin Wyatt fined 1947 The Sydney Morning Herald 22 May 1 Journal Article: From München to Melbourne: repatriation of a butterfly holotype stolen by the infamous Colin Wyatt almost 80 years ago Tennent, W. John, Müller, Chris J., Hausmann, Axel and Hinkley, Simon From München to Melbourne: repatriation of a butterfly holotype stolen by the infamous Colin Wyatt almost 80 years ago 2024 Australian entomologist 51 1 43-55