Person

Ward, Charles Melbourne (Mel) (1903 - 1966)

Born
6 October 1903
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died
6 October 1966
Medlow Bath, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation
Actor, Naturalist and Zoological collector

Summary

Mel Ward, after an erratic education and an early career on the stage, became a naturalist with a special interest in crabs. He made collections in Australia, Pacific islands, Central America and the United States. In 1929 he became Honorary Zoologist and collector at the Australian Museum. He collected zoological specimens and artefacts in New Guinea and the Great Barrier Reef during the 1930s, and took an increasing interest in indigenous people and their relationship to native flora and fauna. In 1943 he opened his Gallery of Natural History and Native Art at Medlow Bath in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, where he welcomed members of the public. Ward bequeathed his scientific collections, including 25,000 crabs, to the Australian Museum.

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Details

Chronology

1926 - 1936
Career position - Member, Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
1929 -
Career position - Honorary Zoologist, Australian Museum, Sydney
1929 - 1966
Career position - Fellow, Zoological Society, London
1936 - 1947
Award - Fellow, Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
1947 - 1966
Award - Life Member, Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales

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Published resources

Resources

See also

  • Prince, J. H., The first one hundred years of the Royal Zoological Society of N.S.W. 1879 - 1979 (Sydney: Royal Zoolgical Society of New South Wales, 1979), 81 pp. Details

Helen Cohn

Created: 26 June 2018, Last modified: 1 February 2022

EOAS ID: biogs/P006080b.htm

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