Charles Hedley
Encyclopedia
Charles Hedley was a naturalist
, active in Australia
and winner of the 1925 Clarke Medal
.
, Yorkshire
, England
, the son of the Rev. Canon Thomas Hedley and his wife Mary, née Bush. On account of delicate health Hedley had only two years at Eastbourne College
, but his education was continued by his father, a fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge
. He was mainly educated in the south of France
; from boyhood he collected shells and was greatly influenced by a French work on mollusca
n anatomy. In France he met George French Angas
who gave him a letter of introduction to Dr. George Bennett of Sydney
.
and in September 1882 to Sydney. He was suffering from asthma
and after trying the dry interior found he was in better health when near the sea. He took up an oyster
lease at Moreton Bay
, Queensland
, and then tried fruit-growing at Boyne Island, Port Curtis. His first published paper, "Uses of Some Queensland Plants", was published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland in 1888, and in the same year he came to Brisbane. He did some voluntary work for the Queensland museum and on 1 January 1889 was appointed a supernumerary officer of it. In July he became honorary secretary of the Royal Society of Queensland, and in 1890, at the invitation of the administrator, Sir William Macgregor
, he visited New Guinea
, did some exploring, and made important collections. He was much interested in New Guinea but contracted fever and towards the end of 1890 went to Sydney.
staff as assistant in charge of land shells, and about five years later was appointed conchologist
. Early in 1896 the local committee of the "Funafuti
Coral Reef Boring Expedition of the Royal Society" (London) suggested to the trustees of the Australian museum that one of their officers should accompany the expedition, and Hedley was selected. He left in May, and during his stay on Funafuti made an interesting collection, particularly of Invertebrate and Ethnological objects. The descriptions of these were published in Memoir III of the Australian Museum Sydney between 1896 and 1900. Hedley himself was responsible for the "General Account of the Atoll of Funafuti", "The Ethnology of Funafuti" and "The Mollusca of Funafuti". In 1901 with Ernest Clayton Andrews
Hedley examined the Queensland coast and Great Barrier Reef
. He also contributed two articles in 1902 and 1903 on the "Mollusca" included in the Scientific Results of the Trawling Expedition of H.M.C.S. "Thetis", published as Memoir IV of the Australian Museum Sydney. Hedley collaborated with Professor William A. Haswell
and Sir Joseph Verco
in investigating the continental shelf and co-operated with the Commonwealth Advisory Council of Science and Industry.
, New Guinea, New Caledonia
, and the Ellice Group
. In later life he visited Canada
and Alaska
(1922), and Africa
(1925). His chief interest was in the study of the Great Barrier Reef
. He had become assistant curator of the Australian museum in 1908 and in 1920 he succeeded Robert Etheridge, Junior
as principal keeper of collections. He resigned in 1925 to become scientific director of the Great Barrier Reef Investigation Committee. Between April and August 1926 he was supervising the sinking of a bore on Michaelmas Reef near Cairns, and he returned to Sydney in August intending to visit Japan
in connexion with the third Pan-Pacific Science Congress. Not being well he decided to abandon the journey, and though it was hoped that a rest would restore his health, he died suddenly on 14 September 1926. He married and left a widow and an adopted daughter.
from 1897 to 1924 and was president from 1909 to 1911; he was on the council for 16 years of the Royal Society of New South Wales
and was president in 1914; he was a vice-president of the Malacological Society of London from 1923. He was awarded the David Syme prize in 1916, and in 1925 received the Clarke Medal
from the Royal Society of New South Wales. A man of invariable courtesy and kindliness, held in the highest regard by contemporary scientists, his knowledge was always at the disposal of younger naturalists and visiting scientists. His work, and especially in regard to the zoo-geographical history of the Pacific Ocean
, gave him a high place among Australian zoologists. A list of 156 published research papers written by Hedley, and 15 in association with others, was printed in 1924.
Natural science
The natural sciences are branches of science that seek to elucidate the rules that govern the natural world by using empirical and scientific methods...
, active in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and winner of the 1925 Clarke Medal
Clarke Medal
The Clarke Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of New South Wales for distinguished work in the Natural sciences.Named in honour of the Reverend William Branwhite Clarke, one of the founders of the Society...
.
Early life
Hedley was born in the vicarage at MashamMasham
Masham is a small market town and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 1,235. Situated in Wensleydale on the western bank of the River Ure, the name derives from the Anglo-Saxon "Mæssa's Ham", the homestead belonging to Mæssa. The Romans had...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the son of the Rev. Canon Thomas Hedley and his wife Mary, née Bush. On account of delicate health Hedley had only two years at Eastbourne College
Eastbourne College
Eastbourne College is a British co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils aged 13–18, situated on the south coast of England, included in the Tatler list of top public schools. The College's current headmaster is Simon Davies. The College was founded by the Duke of Devonshire...
, but his education was continued by his father, a fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
. He was mainly educated in the south of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
; from boyhood he collected shells and was greatly influenced by a French work on mollusca
Mollusca
The Mollusca , common name molluscs or mollusksSpelled mollusks in the USA, see reasons given in Rosenberg's ; for the spelling mollusc see the reasons given by , is a large phylum of invertebrate animals. There are around 85,000 recognized extant species of molluscs. Mollusca is the largest...
n anatomy. In France he met George French Angas
George French Angas
George French Angas , was an English explorer, naturalist and painter.He was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, the eldest son of George Fife Angas, prominent in the establishment of the new colony of South Australia. Despite showing remarkable talent in drawing, he was placed in a London...
who gave him a letter of introduction to Dr. George Bennett of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
.
Exploring in Oceania
In 1881 Hedley went to New ZealandNew Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and in September 1882 to Sydney. He was suffering from asthma
Asthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
and after trying the dry interior found he was in better health when near the sea. He took up an oyster
Oyster
The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
lease at Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay is a bay on the eastern coast of Australia 45 km from Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, and then tried fruit-growing at Boyne Island, Port Curtis. His first published paper, "Uses of Some Queensland Plants", was published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland in 1888, and in the same year he came to Brisbane. He did some voluntary work for the Queensland museum and on 1 January 1889 was appointed a supernumerary officer of it. In July he became honorary secretary of the Royal Society of Queensland, and in 1890, at the invitation of the administrator, Sir William Macgregor
William MacGregor
Sir William MacGregor GCMG, CB was a Lieutenant-Governor of British New Guinea, Governor of Newfoundland and Governor of Queensland.-Early life:...
, he visited New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, did some exploring, and made important collections. He was much interested in New Guinea but contracted fever and towards the end of 1890 went to Sydney.
Study of molluscs
Hedley made Sydney his home for the rest of his life. In April 1891 he joined the Australian MuseumAustralian Museum
The Australian Museum is the oldest museum in Australia, with an international reputation in the fields of natural history and anthropology. It features collections of vertebrate and invertebrate zoology, as well as mineralogy, palaeontology, and anthropology...
staff as assistant in charge of land shells, and about five years later was appointed conchologist
Conchology
Conchology is the scientific or amateur study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of molluscs, however malacology studies molluscs as whole organisms, not just their shells. Conchology pre-dated malacology as a field of study. It includes the study of land and...
. Early in 1896 the local committee of the "Funafuti
Funafuti
Funafuti is an atoll that forms the capital of the island nation of Tuvalu. It has a population of 4,492 , making it the most populated atoll in the country. It is a narrow sweep of land between 20 and 400 metres wide, encircling a large lagoon 18 km long and 14 km wide, with a surface of...
Coral Reef Boring Expedition of the Royal Society" (London) suggested to the trustees of the Australian museum that one of their officers should accompany the expedition, and Hedley was selected. He left in May, and during his stay on Funafuti made an interesting collection, particularly of Invertebrate and Ethnological objects. The descriptions of these were published in Memoir III of the Australian Museum Sydney between 1896 and 1900. Hedley himself was responsible for the "General Account of the Atoll of Funafuti", "The Ethnology of Funafuti" and "The Mollusca of Funafuti". In 1901 with Ernest Clayton Andrews
Ernest Clayton Andrews
Ernest Clayton Andrews was an Australian geologist and botanist.Andrews was born in Balmain, New South Wales, second chid of Fearleigh Leonard Montague, artist, and Alice Maud, née Smith. At three years of age, he and his sister were unofficially adopted by John Andrews and his wife Mary Ann, née...
Hedley examined the Queensland coast and Great Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world'slargest reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately...
. He also contributed two articles in 1902 and 1903 on the "Mollusca" included in the Scientific Results of the Trawling Expedition of H.M.C.S. "Thetis", published as Memoir IV of the Australian Museum Sydney. Hedley collaborated with Professor William A. Haswell
William Aitcheson Haswell
William Aitcheson Haswell was a Scottish-born Australian zoologist specialising in crustaceans, winner of the 1915 Clarke Medal.-Early life:...
and Sir Joseph Verco
Joseph Cooke Verco
Sir Joseph Cooke Verco was an Australian physician and conchologist.Verco was a son of James Crabb Verco, and was born at Fullarton, South Australia. Both his parents came from Cornwall, UK. He was educated at the J. L...
in investigating the continental shelf and co-operated with the Commonwealth Advisory Council of Science and Industry.
Further travel and Australian Museum
Hedley was a keen explorer and visited most of the coast of eastern Australia, and the Gulf of CarpentariaGulf of Carpentaria
The Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea...
, New Guinea, New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
, and the Ellice Group
Tuvalu
Tuvalu , formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa and Fiji. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls...
. In later life he visited Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
(1922), and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
(1925). His chief interest was in the study of the Great Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world'slargest reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately...
. He had become assistant curator of the Australian museum in 1908 and in 1920 he succeeded Robert Etheridge, Junior
Robert Etheridge, Junior
Robert Etheridge was a British palaeontologist who made important contributions to the Australian Museum.Etheridge was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, the only son of the palaeontologist, Robert Etheridge and his wife Martha, née Smith...
as principal keeper of collections. He resigned in 1925 to become scientific director of the Great Barrier Reef Investigation Committee. Between April and August 1926 he was supervising the sinking of a bore on Michaelmas Reef near Cairns, and he returned to Sydney in August intending to visit Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in connexion with the third Pan-Pacific Science Congress. Not being well he decided to abandon the journey, and though it was hoped that a rest would restore his health, he died suddenly on 14 September 1926. He married and left a widow and an adopted daughter.
Awards and achievements
Hedley was on the council of the Linnean Society of New South WalesLinnean Society of New South Wales
The Linnean Society of New South Wales promotes the Cultivation and Study of the Science of Natural History in all its Branches and was founded in Sydney, New South Wales in 1874 and incorporated in 1884. It succeeded the Entomological Society of New South Wales, founded in 1862 and folded in...
from 1897 to 1924 and was president from 1909 to 1911; he was on the council for 16 years of the Royal Society of New South Wales
Royal Society of New South Wales
The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. It was established as the Philosophical Society of Australasia on 27 June 1821...
and was president in 1914; he was a vice-president of the Malacological Society of London from 1923. He was awarded the David Syme prize in 1916, and in 1925 received the Clarke Medal
Clarke Medal
The Clarke Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of New South Wales for distinguished work in the Natural sciences.Named in honour of the Reverend William Branwhite Clarke, one of the founders of the Society...
from the Royal Society of New South Wales. A man of invariable courtesy and kindliness, held in the highest regard by contemporary scientists, his knowledge was always at the disposal of younger naturalists and visiting scientists. His work, and especially in regard to the zoo-geographical history of the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, gave him a high place among Australian zoologists. A list of 156 published research papers written by Hedley, and 15 in association with others, was printed in 1924.
External links
- Works by Charles Hedley at the New Zealand Electronic Text CentreNew Zealand Electronic Text CentreThe New Zealand Electronic Text Centre is a unit of the library at the Victoria University of Wellington which provides a free online archive of New Zealand and Pacific Islands texts and heritage materials. The NZETC has an ongoing programme of digitisation and feature additions to the current...