McArthur, Kathleen Rennie (1915 - 2000)

Summary

Kathleen Rennie McArthur was a self taught botanical artist who recorded a full years blooming of wildflowers along the Sunshine Coast. The material was turned into her first book Queensland Wildflowers: A Selection (1959, Jacaranda Press). McArthur exhibited and sold her artwork nationally. A keen conservationist, she co-founded the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland and was involved in many campaigns including pushing for preservation of what is now Cooloola National Park. The James Cook University of Northern Queensland awarded her an Honorary Doctorate for her contributions to botany and the environment.

Details

Chronology

1959

Career position - Queensland Wildflowers: A Selection published

1960

Career position - Exhibited her work in Cairns

1962 - 1965

Career position - Vice-President of the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland

1963

Career position - Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland, Caloundra branch founded

1976

Career position - Exhibited her work in Canberra

1982

Career position - Bush in Bloom published

1986

Career position - Looking at Australian Wildflowers published

1996

Education - Doctor of Science (DSc), honoris causa, James Cook University of Northern Queensland

Published resources

Books

• Somerville, Margaret, Wildflowering: the Life and Places of Kathleen McArthur (University of Queensland Press, 2004). Details

Edited Books

• McKay, Judith ed., Brilliant Careers: Women Collectors and Illustrators in Queensland (Brisbane: Queensland Museum, 1997), 80 pp. Details

Resources

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q6376831. Details
• VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/28363333. Details
• McArthur, Kathleen (1915-2000), http://www.anbg.gov.au/biography/mcarthur-kathleen.html. Details
• 'McArthur, Kathleen (1915-2000)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-484705. Details