Person

Waterhouse, Frederick George (1815 - 1898)

Born
25 August 1815
London, England
Died
7 September 1898
Manna Hill, South Australia, Australia
Occupation
Naturalist and Museum curator

Summary

Frederick Waterhouse was a naturalist who was appointed the first Curator of the museum of the South Australian Institute in 1860. He was considered one of the foremost naturalists of his age. Before coming to Australia he had worked at the British Museum with his brother, renowned entomologist George Waterhouse. Frederick's early ventures in Australia included an unsuccessful visit to the Victorian goldfields, and surveying in the Adelaide Hills and Kangaroo Island with C. T. Hargrave. On being appointed to the museum, Waterhouse contributed to its expansion by donating his own collections. In 1861, the South Australia Government, in a spirit of inter-colonial rivalry, appointed South Australian Great Northern Exploring Expedition. Its mission was to be the first cross the continent from south to north, thereby beating the Victorian Exploring Expedition (the fate of which was then unknown). John McDouall Stuart led the expedition; Waterhouse joined it as naturalist. Setting out in October, the Expedition reached the north coast near the mouth of the Mary River in July 1862, and returned to Adelaide in January 1863. Waterhouse's considerable collections from the Expedition were placed in the museum. Retiring in 1882, Waterhouse visited United Kingdom, returning to live in rural South Australia. He is commemorated by the Waterhouse Range and Waterhouse River in the Northern Territory, and the Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize.

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Details

Chronology

1852
Life event - Migrated to Australia
1859 - 1880
Career position - Member, Adelaide Philosophical Society
1860 - 1882
Career position - Curator of the museum, South Australian Institute
October 1861 - January 1863
Career position - Naturalist, South Australian Great Northern Exploring Expedition
1869
Career position - Vice-President, Adelaide Philosophical Society
1880 - 1882
Award - Fellow, Royal Society of South Australia

Related Awards

Related Corporate Bodies

Archival resources

Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science

  • Australian Botanists - Biographies, MS 064; Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science. Details
  • Frederick George Waterhouse - Records, 1951, MS 041; Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science. Details

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

  • Frederick George Waterhouse - Records, 1861 - 1863, C277-278; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details

State Library of South Australia, Mortlock Library of South Australiana

  • Frederick George Waterhouse - Records, 1861 - 1875, D 7373(L); State Library of South Australia, Mortlock Library of South Australiana. Details

Published resources

Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Exhibitions

Book Sections

  • Kraehenbuehl, Darrell N., 'Waterhouse, Frederick George (1815-1898), naturalist and museum curator' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 6: 1851 - 1890 R - Z, Bede Nairn, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1976), pp. 357-358. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A060383b.htm. Details

Resources

See also

  • Fagg, Murray, 'Waterhouse, Frederick George (1815 - 1898)', Australian Plant Collectors and Illustrators, Council of Heads of Australian Herbaria (CHAH), 2010, https://www.anbg.gov.au/biography/waterhouse-frederick-george.html. Details
  • Harcus, William, South Australia: its history, resources and productions (London: S. Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, 1876), 432 pp. Details
  • Maiden, J. H., 'A century of botanical endeavour in South Australia', Report of the eleventh meeting of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, 11 (1908), 158-199, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14539732. Details
  • Pike, Douglas, John McDouall Stuart (Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1958), 30 pp. Details
  • Stuart, John McDouall, Explorations in Australia: the journals of John McDouall Stuart during the years 1858, 1859. 1860, 1861 & 1862, when he fixed the centre of the continent and successfully crossed it from sea to sea, edited from Mr Stuart's manuscript by William Hardman (London: Saunders, Otley and Co., 1864), 511 pp. Details

Gavan McCarthy [P004098] and Helen Cohn

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 6 October 2023

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