Tenison-Woods, Julian Edmund (1832 - 1889)

Summary

Julian Tenison-Woods, a member of the Catholic Church, was a pioneer priest, starting in the south-east of South Australia and made many independent discoveries in geology, palaeontology and zoology. As a priest his relationship with the church hierarchy was often problematic. His commitment to education and to raising the profile of science can be seen in his willingness to give public lectures and the large number of his contributions to newspapers. Tenison-Woods's research in the southeast of South Australia resulted in the description of over 65 new species of animals and the elucidation of the stratigraphy of the region. Soon after his arrival in South Australia Tenison Woods investigated the Naracoorte Caves, now a World Heritage Site. The caves contained the remains of extinct megafauna, about which Tenison Woods wrote in his Geological observations in South Australia (1862). Among his other ground-breaking publications was The Tertiary rocks of South Australia (1867). Other works included History of the discovery and exploration of Australia (London 1865) and Fish and fisheries of New South Wales (1883). He was a prolific collector of botanical specimens, particularly in Queensland 1881 - 1886 and in his later years undertook mineral surveys in Australia and Southeast Asia. A number of botanical, zoological and palaeontological species were named in his honour, as was Mt Tenison-Woods in the D'Aguilar Range, Queensland. The whereabouts of his geological and palaeontological specimens is unknown: Ferdinand Mueller purchased approximately 900 botanical specimens after his death.

Details

Chronology

1854

Life event - Migrated to Australia

1857

Life event - Ordained priest in the Roman Catholic Church

1857 - 1866

Career position - Priest in the parish of Penola, South Australia

1866

Life event - Co-founded the Congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart with Sister Mary McKillop

1866 - 1870

Career position - Director General of Catholic Education, Adelaide

1877

Award - Elected as an Honorary Member, Adelaide Philosophical Society

1878 -

Career position - Member, Linnean Society of New South Wales

1879 - 1880

Career position - President, Linnean Society of New South Wales

1883 - 1886

Life event - Undertook mineral surveys in the Straits Settlements, Java, Philippines, China and Japan

1888

Career event - Original [founding] member, Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science

1888

Award - Royal Society of New South Wales Medal

1888

Award - Clarke Medal, Royal Society of New South Wales

Related entries

Archival resources

Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science

• Australian Botanists - Biographies, MS 064; Adolph Basser Library, Australian Academy of Science. Details

John Oxley Library, Manuscripts and Business Records Collection, State Library of Queensland

• Julian Edmund Tenison-Woods - Records, 1832 - 1889, OM80-97; John Oxley Library, Manuscripts and Business Records Collection, State Library of Queensland. Details
• Julian Edmund Tenison-Woods - Records, 1872 - 1922, OM71-36; John Oxley Library, Manuscripts and Business Records Collection, State Library of Queensland. Details
• Julian Edmund Tenison-Woods - Records, 1883 - 1967, OM72-150; John Oxley Library, Manuscripts and Business Records Collection, State Library of Queensland. Details

Published resources

Books

• Doherty, Carmel Mary, Song of seasons: Father J. E. Tenison Woods (Wollongong, N.S.W.: Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, 1996), 257 pp. Details
• O'Neill, Rev G., The Life of the Reverend Julian Edmund Tenison Woods (Sydney: Pellegrini, 1929). Details
• Player, A. V., Ten years in the bush, 1857-1867: Julian Tenison Woods (North Goulburn, N.S.W.: Sisters of St Joseph, 1983), 87 pp. Details
• Press, Margaret M., Julian Tenison Woods : father founder (North Blackburn, Vic.: Collins Dove, 1994), 277 pp. Details
• Tenison-Woods, J. E., Geological observations in South Australia : principally in the district south-east of Adelaide (London: Longman, Green, 1862), 404 pp. Details
• Tenison-Woods, J. E., A history of the discovery and exploration of Australia, or, An account of the progress of geographical discovery in that continent from the earliest period to the present day, 2 vols (London: Sampson, Low, Marston & Searle, 1862). Details
• Tenison-Woods, J. E., Fish and fisheries of New South Wales (Sydney: Government Printer, 1883), 213 pp. Details

Book Sections

• Borchardt, D. H., 'Tenison-Woods, Julian Edmund (1832-1889)' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 6: 1851 - 1890 R - Z, Bede Nairn, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1976), pp. 254-255. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A060272b.htm. Details
• Branagan, David F., 'Some Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Australian Geological Clerics' in Geology and Religion: a History of Harmony and Hostility (London: Geological Society of London, 2009), pp. 171-96. Details

Journal Articles

• Archbold, N. W., 'J. E. Tenison Woods: his contribution to the Tertiary geology of south eastern Australia', Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, 122 (1989), 119-21. Details
• Corcoran, Petern, 'Pioneer Naturalist [Fr. Julian Tenison Woods] Stands Tall Today', Advocate Magazine, 20 March (1986), 8-9. Details
• Corcoran, Petern, 'Remembering a Pioneer: J.E.T. Woods-a Nineteenth Century Naturalist', Bulletin of the Fossil Collectors' Association of Australasia, 32/33 (1991), 5-11. Details
• Cresp, Mary; and Tranter, Janice, 'Julian Tenison Woods: itinerant missioner', Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society, 37 (1) (2016), 1-9. Details
• Hamilton-Smith, E., 'No ordinary man: Tenison Woods and the Naracoorte caves', Alcheringa, 30 (Supp. 1) (2006), 187-93. Details
• King, Robert J., 'Julian Tenison Woods: natural historian: presidential address delivered at the 141st Annual General Meeting of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, March 23rd 2016', Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, 138 (2016), 49-58. Details
• Martin, Peter, 'The botanical work of the Reverend J. E. Tenison-Woods', Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, 122 (1989), 127. Details
• McDonnell, Kevin L., 'Father Julian Tenison Woods and the Hawkesbury sandstone', Journal and Proceedings of The Royal Society of New South Wales, 122 (1989), 123-6. Details
• O'Brien, Roderick, 'Introducing Julian Tenison-Woods and Malacca', Journal and proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, 150 (2) (2017), 179-82. Details
• O'Brien, Roderick, 'Introducing Julian Tenison-Woods and the mines and minerals of the Malay Peninsula', Journal and Proceedings of The Royal Society of New South Wales, 151 (2) (2018), 157-60. Details
• Player, Anne, 'Julian Tenison Woods, scientist, 1832 - 1889', Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, 122 (1989), 109-18. Details
• Ryley, Malcolm J., ' Common leaf spot of lucerne and the dawn of mycology and plant pathology in Australia', Historical records of Australian science, 35 (2) (2024), 105-15. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR23010. Details
• Wilson, John H. G., 'Julian Edmund Tenison Woods: Geologist in South Australia', South Australian Geographical Journal, 110 (2011), 30-49. Details
• Woods, J. E. Tenison (Rev), 'The desert sandstone of Australia. [Topic only]', Report of the first meeting of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, 1 (1889), 245, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/15813335. Details

Resources

• VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/55932513. Details
• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q970015. Details
• 'Tenison-Woods, J E (1832-1889)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-470449. Details

See also

• 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
• Maiden, J. H., 'Records of Australian botanists:- (a) general; (b) New South Wales', Journal and Proceedings of The Royal Society of New South Wales, 42 (1908), 60-132. Details
• Moyal, Ann: with Robert E. Marks, 'The scientists and Darwin's The origin of species in nineteenth century Australia: a re-evaluation', Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, 152 (1) (2019), 5-26. Details
• Serle, Percival, Dictionary of Australian biography (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1949). Details