Herbert Basedow
Encyclopedia
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...
anthropologist, geologist, politician, explorer and medical practitioner. During his working life, Basedow took part in many major geological, exploratory and medical relief expeditions to central and northern Australia.
He was one of the few people of his time involved in recording the traditional life of Australian Aborigines
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
.
Biography
Herbert Basedow was born in Kent TownKent Town, South Australia
Kent Town is an inner urban suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the City of Norwood Payneham & St Peters.-History:The suburb was named after Dr Benjamin Archer Kent, who established a farm and flour mill on which the suburb now stands.....
, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, the youngest son of Martin Peter Friedrich Basedow and his second wife Anna Clara Helena, née Mȕecke. Martin and Anna were both born in Germany and met after immigrating to Australia.
Basedow's early education was in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
. The Basedow family visited Germany between 1891 and 1894, and for part of that time Herbert Basedow attended high school in Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
. He completed his schooling at Prince Alfred College
Prince Alfred College
Prince Alfred College is an independent, day and boarding school for boys, located on Dequetteville Terrace, Kent Town, near the centre of Adelaide, South Australia...
, Adelaide. Between 1891 and 1902, Basedow completed a Bachelor of Science degree at the School of Mines, Adelaide, and the University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
. He majored in geology, but also studied botany and zoology.
Basedow was elected an associate member of the Royal Society of South Australia
Royal Society of South Australia
The Royal Society of South Australia is a Learned Society whose interest is in Science, particularly, but not only, of South Australia.The Society stems directly from the Adelaide Philosophical Society founded on the 10 January 1853. The title "Royal" was granted by her Majesty Queen Victoria in...
in 1901 and a fellow in 1904. He was also a member, honorary member and fellow of other geographical and geological societies in Australia, Great Britain and Germany.
After completing his university degree in 1902, Basedow held some short-term government appointments including as one of four prospectors on the 1903 South Australian Government North-West Prospecting Expedition. In 1905, he joined South Australian Government Geologist Henry Yorke Lyell Brown and mining inspector Lionel Gee on a geological expedition to the Northern Territory. On his return to Adelaide, Basedow was appointed curator of the geological and mineral collections of the South Australian School of Mines
School of Mines
A school of mines is a term used for many engineering schools established in the 18th and 19th centuries that originally focused on mining engineering and applied science...
where he classified the 2500 specimens in the School’s geological collection. His catalogue was published in 1907.
Basedow was a keen photographer, and throughout his career he used photography to record his scientific work and his travels in remote parts of Australia. A set of 200 images taken on the 1903 South Australian Government prospecting expedition are the earliest known photographs by Basedow. He included more than 500 of his photographs in the articles and books he published and used them to illustrate his public lectures.
In 1907, Basedow accepted an invitation from German anthropologist Hermann Klaatsch
Hermann Klaatsch
Dr. Hermann Klaatsch was a German physician, anatomist, physical anthropologist, evolutionist, and professor at the University of Heidelberg and at the University of Breslau until 1916....
to study in Germany. In Europe, he completed postgraduate studies at several universities, including Heidelberg
Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg
The Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg is a public research university located in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386, it is the oldest university in Germany and was the third university established in the Holy Roman Empire. Heidelberg has been a coeducational institution...
, Göttingen
Georg-August University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen , known informally as Georgia Augusta, is a university in the city of Göttingen, Germany.Founded in 1734 by King George II of Great Britain and the Elector of Hanover, it opened for classes in 1737. The University of Göttingen soon grew in size and popularity...
, Breslau and Zürich
University of Zurich
The University of Zurich , located in the city of Zurich, is the largest university in Switzerland, with over 25,000 students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of theology, law, medicine and a new faculty of philosophy....
, and undertook some medical work. Basedow returned to Australia with a PhD in geology and two postgraduate qualifications in medicine. The medical degree he was awarded based on his work on the craniometric measurements of Australian Aborigines, combined with his practical medical work in Europe, later allowed Basedow’s registration as a medical practitioner in Australia.
On his return from Europe in 1910, Basedow entered the geological department of South Australia as Assistant Government Geologist. He resigned from this position in 1911 to take up the newly created Australian federal government position of Chief Medical Officer and Chief Protector of Aborigines in the Northern Territory. He arrived in Darwin on 17 July 1911 and left 45 days later unhappy with his working conditions and claiming the legislation under which he was operating was unworkable. Basedow returned to Adelaide and set up in medical practice, combining this with consulting geological investigations for individuals and organisations. He continued to publish in learned journals, mainly on anthropology but also on geology.
On 4 June 1919 in Adelaide, Basedow married Olive Nell (known as Nell), daughter of A. C. Noyes. They had no children.
After an earlier unsuccessful attempt, in the 1927 state election Basedow successfully stood for the seat of Barossa in the South Australian House of Assembly representing the Country Party
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
. He was defeated in the 1930 election but was re-elected as an independent for the same constituency in April 1933, shortly before his death.
Basedow died suddenly on 4 June 1933 of peripheral venous thrombosis
Thrombosis
Thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system. When a blood vessel is injured, the body uses platelets and fibrin to form a blood clot to prevent blood loss...
in Kent Town and was buried in Adelaide’s North Road Cemetery
North Road Cemetery
North Road Cemetery is located in the Adelaide suburb of Nailsworth, approximately 5 km north of the central business district. It is 7.3 hectares in size and there have been over 24,000 burials since its foundation in 1853...
.
Despite researching and publishing widely in anthropology, Basedow never held an official position as an anthropologist.
Expeditions
Between 1903 and 1928, Basedow participated in around 12 major expeditions and some smaller trips. These were mainly to central and northern Australia. On these expeditions, Basedow obtained the material on which he based his anthropological and scientific research.The majority of the expeditions were to investigate mineral prospects. Some were government funded such as the 1903 South Australian Government North-West Prospecting Expedition and the 1905 geological investigation of the Northern Territory’s western coast and hinterland. Others, like the 1916 expedition to investigate possible ore deposits in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, were commissioned by mining syndicates and private companies.
Other expeditions included three medical relief expeditions to assess the health of Aboriginal people in South Australia - one in 1919 and two in 1920 - which Basedow led. Basedow also participated in two vice-regal expeditions to central Australia: one in 1923 organised by Sir Tom Bridges, Governor of South Australia, who was keen to build a north-south railway to open up central Australia; and one in 1924 involving Lord Stradbroke, Governor of Victoria. Basedow also participated in expeditions funded by wealthy pastoralist Donald Mackay
Donald George Mackay
Donald George Mackay was an Australian outdoorsman, long-distance cyclist, and explorer who conducted several expeditions to the remotest areas of the Australian continent.-Early life:...
to central Australia in 1926 and Arnhem Land
Arnhem Land
The Arnhem Land Region is one of the five regions of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around 500 km from the territory capital Darwin. The region has an area of 97,000 km² which also covers the area of Kakadu National...
in 1928.
Basedow and Australian Aboriginal people
At the time of his birth, Basedow’s father held the office of Protector of Aborigines. In his early years, Basedow accompanied his father on trips into the outback where he played with Aboriginal children and acquired some native language skills. Throughout his life, Basedow maintained an interest in recording traditional Aboriginal life as well as a concern for the health and welfare of Aboriginal people.The German anthropologist Hermann Klaatsch
Hermann Klaatsch
Dr. Hermann Klaatsch was a German physician, anatomist, physical anthropologist, evolutionist, and professor at the University of Heidelberg and at the University of Breslau until 1916....
influenced Basedow’s early ideas about Australian Aboriginal people. Both men theorised that Aborigines and Caucasians were racially related. A.O. Neville, Chief Protector of Aborigines in Western Australia between 1915 and 1940, relied on Basedow’s belief that there was close relationship between Aboriginal people and Europeans as the scientific basis for his proposal to solve the Aboriginal 'half caste
Half-caste
Half-caste is a term used to describe people of mixed race or ethnicity. Caste comes from the Latin castus, meaning pure, and the derivative Portuguese and Spanish casta, meaning race...
problem' by selective breeding.
Basedow actively lobbied government for better treatment of Aboriginal people, especially through the Aborigines Protection League, and campaigned for an improvement in Aboriginal health. In 1919, he instigated a public meeting to highlight South Australia’s neglect of Aboriginal people which led to a series of medical relief expeditions in 1919 and 1920. Basedow led these expeditions and his wife Nell accompanied him, acting as expedition nurse.
An obituary of Basedow published in Nature magazine said that "since the death of Sir Walter Baldwin Spencer
Walter Baldwin Spencer
Sir Walter Baldwin Spencer KCMG was a British-Australian biologist and anthropologist.Baldwin was born in Stretford, Lancashire. His father, Reuben Spencer, who had come from Derbyshire in his youth, obtained a position with Rylands and Sons, cotton manufacturers, and rose to be chairman of its...
, Dr Basedow had been generally recognized as the first authority on the aborigines of Australia".
Publications
Basedow presented scientific papers at the Royal Society of South AustraliaRoyal Society of South Australia
The Royal Society of South Australia is a Learned Society whose interest is in Science, particularly, but not only, of South Australia.The Society stems directly from the Adelaide Philosophical Society founded on the 10 January 1853. The title "Royal" was granted by her Majesty Queen Victoria in...
and published them in the Society’s journal while still at university. He continued to publish in the Society’s journal until 1907. He went on to publish widely in anthropology, but also in geology and natural history.
On his return from the South Australian government prospecting expedition of 1903, Basedow published three papers from material gathered on the expedition. He was awarded the University of Adelaide’s Tate Memorial Medal for one of these papers. In 1904, Basedow published anthropological notes taken on the 1903 expedition, and in 1914 his full journal of the expedition was published. It included some of Basedow’s photographs taken on the expedition and a map of the expedition route.
Basedow also published his account of a 1916 geological expedition to the western Kimberley. Narrative of an expedition in north-western Australia was illustrated with 61 photographs taken by Basedow during the expedition and included a map of the expedition route which also recorded many of the Aboriginal names of the places visited. It was reprinted in 2009.
In 1925, Basedow published his first book, The Australian Aboriginal. This major anthropological work included many of Basedow’s own photographs. Basedow pitched his writing to a general readership to make it available to a wide audience. The Australian Aboriginal was reprinted in 1929.
Basedow's second book, Knights of the Boomerang: Episodes From a Life Spent Among the Native Tribes of Australia, was published posthumously in 1935. Once again, Basedow pitched the book to a general readership, stating in his introduction that his aim was to "recount first-hand impressions and experiences, without attempting to surround them with technicalities and extraneous embellishments". Some of Basedow’s photographs in this publication are captioned incorrectly as a result of errors made when people other than Basedow labelled the prints. Knights of the Boomerang was reprinted in 2004.
Legacy
Between 1903 and 1928, Basedow took photographs and collected specimens and artefacts on many major expeditions and some smaller trips, mainly to central and northern Australia. Basedow’s photographs record life in the remote parts of Australia early in the twentieth century. They depict Aboriginal people, Indigenous rock art, landscapes and expedition-related activities as well as non-Indigenous people, homesteads, pastoral stations, mining activities, plants, animals and geological features.The National Museum of Australia
National Museum of Australia
The National Museum of Australia was formally established by the National Museum of Australia Act 1980. The National Museum preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation....
holds over 1000 Aboriginal artefacts collected by Basedow. Aboriginal artefacts, and geological and natural history specimens are held by the Australian Museum
Australian 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...
, Museum Victoria
Museum Victoria
Museum Victoria is an organisation which operates three major state-owned museums in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; these are: the Melbourne Museum, the Immigration Museum and Scienceworks. It also manages the Royal Exhibition Building and a storage facility in Melbourne's City of Moreland.Museum...
and the South Australian Museum
South Australian Museum
The South Australian Museum is a museum in Adelaide, South Australia, founded in 1856. It occupies a complex of buildings on North Terrace in the cultural precinct of the Adelaide Parklands.-History:...
. The University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
holds some geological specimens and a small number of artefacts are held by the Berndt Museum of Anthropology
Berndt Museum of Anthropology
The Berndt Museum of Anthropology was founded in 1976 by Ronald Berndt and Catherine Berndt. The museum was established to house the extensive collections accumulated by Ronald and Catherine Berndt during their lifelong careers as anthropologists. Although initially called the Anthropology Research...
at the University of Western Australia.
Some 800 individual plant specimens collected by Basedow are held by some Australian herbaria, while others are held in collections in Europe and England.
The majority of Basedow’s papers are held by the Mitchell Library
State Library of New South Wales
The State Library of New South Wales is a large public library owned by the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Macquarie Street, Sydney near Shakespeare Place...
. The South Australian Museum and the State Library of South Australia
State Library of South Australia
The State Library of South Australia, located on North Terrace, Adelaide, is the official library of the Australian state of South Australia. It is the largest public research library in the state with a collection focus on South Australian information, and general reference material for...
also hold Basedow papers.
The majority of Basedow’s photographs are in the National Museum of Australia
National Museum of Australia
The National Museum of Australia was formally established by the National Museum of Australia Act 1980. The National Museum preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation....
collection. The South Australian Museum also has some photographs, and a small number are held by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies is an independent Australian Government statutory authority. It is Australia's premier institution for information about the cultures and lifestyles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is located on Acton...
.
The Australian government purchased a large number of Basedow’s photographs and Aboriginal artefacts in 1934. These were housed at the Australian Institute of Anatomy
Australian Institute of Anatomy
The Australian Institute of Anatomy was established in October 1931. Amongst its functions were being a natural history museum and research in human nutrition. The Institute was formally abolished in December 1985.- History of the building:...
in Canberra and became part of the National Historical Collection at the National Museum of Australia
National Museum of Australia
The National Museum of Australia was formally established by the National Museum of Australia Act 1980. The National Museum preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation....
after the Institute of Anatomy closed in 1984. The collection consists of over 1000 Aboriginal artefacts and around 2200 photographic negatives.
Further reading
- Basedow, B, The Basedow Story: A German South Australian Heritage, Lutheran Publishing House, Adelaide, c1990.
- Kaus, D, "Australia's first anthropologist?", in Weber, T (ed.), Captivating & Curious: Celebrating the collection of the National Museum of Australia, National Museum of Australia Press, Canberra, 2005, p. 50.
External links
- A Different Time: The Expedition Photographs of Herbert Basedow 1903-1928: Further reading list (includes all of Dr Basedow’s known academic works, a selection of popular articles and some relevant works by other writers), National Museum of AustraliaNational Museum of AustraliaThe National Museum of Australia was formally established by the National Museum of Australia Act 1980. The National Museum preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation....
- Dr Herbert Basedow Collection, National Museum of Australia
- National Museum of Australia Photos from our collections: Herbert Basedow Collection
- Digitised newspapers and other resources relating to Herbert Basedow, National Library of Australia