John Gilbert (naturalist)
Encyclopedia
John Gilbert was an English
naturalist
and explorer
.
Gilbert's birthday is 14 March, but the year is not known, estimates range from 1810 to 1815.
He came from New Zealand
to Australia
in 1838.
Gilbert was a taxidermist for the Zoological Society of London
, where he met John Gould
. He travelled to Australia
in 1838 with the Goulds and spent the next few years collecting natural history specimens for Gould's planned publications including Birds of Australia. Gould and Gilbert arrived with in Hobart
on the Parsee on 19 September 1838. Both worked in Tasmania
for a few months, but on 4 February 1839 Gilbert went to the Swan River settlement
. He worked there, mostly in the vicinity of Perth
, gathering specimens for Gould for 11 months. Gilbert then sailed for Sydney, in the middle of June 1840 took ship to Port Essington
in the north of Australia, and in March 1841 sailed to Singapore
calling at Timor
on the way. From there he sailed for London
and arrived about the end of September. He had collected a very large number of birds for Gould, and made many notes on their habits.
In February 1842 Gilbert again left for Australia to obtain further specimens. As on the previous occasion it was agreed he was to be paid £100 a year and expenses. He reached Perth in July and remained 17 months in Western Australia
. He travelled considerable distances from Perth, making some of his most interesting discoveries among the Wongan Hills, about 100 miles north-east of Perth. He was a fine naturalist and his notes on birds, their habits, diet, song and the names given them by the aborigines
were all of great interest and value. Gilbert collected specimens of 432 birds, including 36 species new to Western Australia, and 318 mammals, including 22 species not previously known in the west. By the end of January 1844 he was back in Sydney and during the next six months worked his way to the Darling Downs in Queensland
.
While Gilbert was considering which part of the continent should next be investigated Ludwig Leichhardt
arrived with the other members of his expedition to Port Essington, and Gilbert was allowed to join the party in September 1844. In November it was decided that the party was too large for the amount of provisions they had with them, and Leichhardt ruled that the two who had joined last should return. Eventually, however, it was decided that Hodgson and Caleb, a negro, should return, and Gilbert remained to become later on practically the second in command of the expedition. One member of the party, a boy of 16, was too young to be of much use and the leader's treatment of the two aboriginal members of the party was lacking in tact and consideration. A good deal of responsibility therefore fell upon Gilbert, who was the best bushman of a very mixed company. The progress made for several months was much less than was anticipated and by May 1845 supplies of food were running very short. Unfortunately, on 28 June 1845 near the Gulf of Carpentaria, Gilbert was killed by a flying spear when natives made a night attack on the expedition's camp, because some of their women had been molested by the two Aboriginals with the Leichhardt party. He was buried on the spot, a tree nearby was marked, and a fire was lit over the disturbed earth in order to screen the grave; this, although much searched for, has not since been found. Other members of the expedition received several spear thrusts but recovered. Leichhardt then turned south-westerly, skirting the gulf for a while, and reached Port Essington almost exhausted in December 1845. Leichhardt preserved Gilbert's papers and his diary, which, however, was lost for nearly 100 years before its discovery by A. H. Chisholm. Almost everything that is known about Gilbert we owe to Chisholm's researches, which show Gilbert as a man of much ability and fine character who somewhat ironically had a great respect for the aboriginals. There is a memorial to him in St James church, Sydney
. The Gilbert-Einasleigh River
is named after him, as is Gilbert's Potoroo
(Potorous gilberti).
Jonh Gilberts memorial at St James church in Sydney is inscribed with the following Latin phrase "Dulce et decorum est pro scientia mori" which is translated as "it is sweet and fitting to die for science."
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...
naturalist
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
and explorer
Exploration
Exploration is the act of searching or traveling around a terrain for the purpose of discovery of resources or information. Exploration occurs in all non-sessile animal species, including humans...
.
Gilbert's birthday is 14 March, but the year is not known, estimates range from 1810 to 1815.
He came from New Zealand
New 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...
to 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...
in 1838.
Gilbert was a taxidermist for the Zoological Society of London
Zoological Society of London
The Zoological Society of London is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats...
, where he met John Gould
John Gould
John Gould was an English ornithologist and bird artist. The Gould League in Australia was named after him. His identification of the birds now nicknamed "Darwin's finches" played a role in the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection...
. He travelled to 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...
in 1838 with the Goulds and spent the next few years collecting natural history specimens for Gould's planned publications including Birds of Australia. Gould and Gilbert arrived with in Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
on the Parsee on 19 September 1838. Both worked in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
for a few months, but on 4 February 1839 Gilbert went to the Swan River settlement
Swan River Colony
The Swan River Colony was a British settlement established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. The name was a pars pro toto for Western Australia. In 1832, the colony was officially renamed Western Australia, when the colony's founding Lieutenant-Governor, Captain James Stirling,...
. He worked there, mostly in the vicinity of Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, gathering specimens for Gould for 11 months. Gilbert then sailed for Sydney, in the middle of June 1840 took ship to Port Essington
Port Essington
Port Essington is an inlet and historic site located on the Cobourg Peninsula in the Garig Gunak Barlu National Park in Australia's Northern Territory...
in the north of Australia, and in March 1841 sailed to Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
calling at Timor
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. The island's surface is 30,777 square kilometres...
on the way. From there he sailed for London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and arrived about the end of September. He had collected a very large number of birds for Gould, and made many notes on their habits.
In February 1842 Gilbert again left for Australia to obtain further specimens. As on the previous occasion it was agreed he was to be paid £100 a year and expenses. He reached Perth in July and remained 17 months in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. He travelled considerable distances from Perth, making some of his most interesting discoveries among the Wongan Hills, about 100 miles north-east of Perth. He was a fine naturalist and his notes on birds, their habits, diet, song and the names given them by the 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....
were all of great interest and value. Gilbert collected specimens of 432 birds, including 36 species new to Western Australia, and 318 mammals, including 22 species not previously known in the west. By the end of January 1844 he was back in Sydney and during the next six months worked his way to the Darling Downs in 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...
.
While Gilbert was considering which part of the continent should next be investigated Ludwig Leichhardt
Ludwig Leichhardt
Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt, known as Ludwig Leichhardt, was a Prussian explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.-Early life:...
arrived with the other members of his expedition to Port Essington, and Gilbert was allowed to join the party in September 1844. In November it was decided that the party was too large for the amount of provisions they had with them, and Leichhardt ruled that the two who had joined last should return. Eventually, however, it was decided that Hodgson and Caleb, a negro, should return, and Gilbert remained to become later on practically the second in command of the expedition. One member of the party, a boy of 16, was too young to be of much use and the leader's treatment of the two aboriginal members of the party was lacking in tact and consideration. A good deal of responsibility therefore fell upon Gilbert, who was the best bushman of a very mixed company. The progress made for several months was much less than was anticipated and by May 1845 supplies of food were running very short. Unfortunately, on 28 June 1845 near the Gulf of Carpentaria, Gilbert was killed by a flying spear when natives made a night attack on the expedition's camp, because some of their women had been molested by the two Aboriginals with the Leichhardt party. He was buried on the spot, a tree nearby was marked, and a fire was lit over the disturbed earth in order to screen the grave; this, although much searched for, has not since been found. Other members of the expedition received several spear thrusts but recovered. Leichhardt then turned south-westerly, skirting the gulf for a while, and reached Port Essington almost exhausted in December 1845. Leichhardt preserved Gilbert's papers and his diary, which, however, was lost for nearly 100 years before its discovery by A. H. Chisholm. Almost everything that is known about Gilbert we owe to Chisholm's researches, which show Gilbert as a man of much ability and fine character who somewhat ironically had a great respect for the aboriginals. There is a memorial to him in St James church, 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...
. The Gilbert-Einasleigh River
Gilbert-Einasleigh River
The Gilbert-Einasleigh River is one of the largest river systems in northern Australia. It is located in north-central Queensland, between the Flinders River and the Mitchell River.-Description:...
is named after him, as is Gilbert's Potoroo
Gilbert's Potoroo
Gilbert's Potoroo is an Australian marsupial, sometimes called a rat-kangaroo, that is critically endangered. It is described as pointed in the face and about the size of a rabbit. It lives in a restricted area on the southwest coast of Western Australia. Gilbert's Potoroos now exist on Bald...
(Potorous gilberti).
Jonh Gilberts memorial at St James church in Sydney is inscribed with the following Latin phrase "Dulce et decorum est pro scientia mori" which is translated as "it is sweet and fitting to die for science."
External links
- John Gilbert: A collector extraordinaire at the Australian Museum
- Gilbert, John (1810? - 1845) at Bright Sparcs, Melbourne University