Person

Elsey, Joseph Ravenscroft (1834 - 1857)

Born
14 March 1834
London, England
Died
31 December 1857
St Kitts, West Indies
Occupation
Surgeon and Naturalist

Summary

Joseph Elsey was employed as surgeon and naturalist to the North Australian Exploring Expedition 1855-1856. While at the depot camp on the Victoria River estuary he studied and collected birds and insects, bred caterpillars, made geological and meteorological observations and cultivated vegetables. Some of his collections proved to be new species. Elsey returned to Moreton Bay by sea at the end of the Expedition, and sailed for London in March 1857. Some of his collections were donated to the British Museum (Natural History). A genus of Australian snapping tortoise was named Elseya in his honour.

Details

Chronology

1853
Education - MB, Guy's Hospital, London
1855
Education - Qualified at the Royal College of Surgeons, London and the College of Chemistry
1855 - 1856
Career position - Surgeon and naturalist on the North Australian Exploring Expedition under A. G. Gregory
1857
Life event - Returned to the United Kingdom, then to the West Indies

Related Events

Archival resources

Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales

  • Joseph Ravenscroft Elsey - Records, 1856, ZC 11-1; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details

National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection

  • Joseph Ravenscroft Elsey - Records, 1855 - 1857, MS 25; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details
  • Joseph Ravenscroft Elsey - Records, 1857, MS 1217; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details

Published resources

Book Sections

  • Chisholm, A. H., 'Elsey, Joseph Ravenscroft (1834-1857), surgeon, explorer and naturalist' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 4: 1851 - 1890 D-J, Douglas Pike, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1972), p. 139. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A040141b.htm. Details

Journal Articles

  • Chisholm, A. H., 'J. R. Elsey, Surgeon, Naturalist, Explorer', Queensland Naturalist, 17 (3/4) (1964), 60-70. Details
  • Chisholm, A. H., 'J. R. Elsey, Explorer of the Never-Never', Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, 52 (1966). Details
  • Macdonald, J. D.; and Colston, P. R., 'J. R. Elsey and His Bird Observations on Gregory's Overland Expedition', Emu, 65 (4) (1966), 255-278. Details

Resources

Gavan McCarthy [P004098] and Helen Cohn

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