Bowler, James Maurice (Jim) (1930 - )

Summary

Jim Bowler is a geomorphologist whose main research was into the evolution of climate. He focussed on the landforms and soils in arid and semi-arid areas of Australia, investigating the hydrology of ancient Australia and how water levels in Australia tied into global climatic events. Bowler studied closed lake systems as if they were rain gauges that might offer evidence of major climate change. His work on the dune fields in the Murray-Darling Basin elucidated how the lunettes were formed. While doing fieldwork in the Willandra Lakes in 1968 he discovered the cremated remains of what came to be called Mungo Lady, exposed on the surface of the soil and at risk of erosion and destruction. This and subsequent discoveries provided evidence of Aboriginal presence in Australia for much longer than had been supposed.

Details

Chronology

1958

Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc), University of Melbourne

1961

Education - Master of Science (MSc), University of Melbourne

1965 -

Career position - Research Fellow, Australian National University

1970

Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Australian National University

1980

Award - Royal Society of Victoria Medal for Excellence in Scientific Research

1986

Career position - Vice-President, International Union for Quaternary Research

1986

Award - Stillwell Medal, Geological Society of Australia

1988 -

Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of the Humanities (FAHA)

1989

Award - Mawson Medal and Lecture, Australian Academy of Science

1999 -

Award - Fellow, Royal Society of Victoria (FRSV)

1999

Award - Member of the Order of Australia (AM) - for service to earth sciences, particularly through the study of landscape and environmental history, and to Australian prehistory

1 Jan 2001

Award - Centenary Medal - for service to Australian society and the humanities in prehistory and archaeology

Related entries

Published resources

Books

• Griffiths, Billy, Deep time dreaming: uncovering ancient Australia (Carlton, Vic.: Black Inc., 2018), 376 pp. Details

Book Sections

• Bowler, Jim, 'Unlikely encounters: Geology and archaeology' in Dhoombak goobgoowana: a history of Indigenous Australia and the University of Melbourne - Volume 1: The Truth, Ross L. Jones, James Waghorne and Marcia Langton, eds (Carlton, Vic.: Melbourne University Press, 2024), pp. 107-124, https://www.mup.com.au/books/dhoombak-goobgoowana-paperback-softback. Details

Journal Articles

• Bowler, J., 'Joseph Newell Jennings', Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie, Supplementband, 55 (1985), v-ix. Details
• Bowler, Jenny, 'Mungo memories', Griffith Review, 19 (2007), 180-5. Details
• Magee, John and De Deckker, Patrick, 'Australian Quaternary studies: a tribute to Jim Bowler', Quaternary international, 83 (5) (2001), 5-7. Details
• Magee, John and De Deckker, Patrick, 'J. M. Bowler's contribution to Australian Quaternary studies: a tribute to Jim Bowler', Quaternary international, 83 (5) (2001), 1-4. Details

Resources

• Mawson Medal and Lecture, Australian Academy of Science, 2025. https://www.science.org.au/supporting-science/awards-and-opportunities/mawson-medal-and-lecture. Details
• 'Jim Bowler', Fellows of the Academy, Australian Academy of the Humanities, https://humanities.org.au/fellows/fellow-profile/?fellow_id=292. Details

See also

• Flood, Josephine M., The moth hunters: Aboriginal prehistory of the Australian Alps (Canberra: Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, 1980), 388 pp, https://www.ligatu.re/book/the-moth-hunters/. Details
• Jones, Ross L., 'Human remains' in Dhoombak goobgoowana: a history of Indigenous Australia and the University of Melbourne - Volume 1: The Truth, Ross L. Jones, James Waghorne and Marcia Langton, eds (Carlton, Vic.: Melbourne University Press, 2024), pp. 95-106. https://www.mup.com.au/books/dhoombak-goobgoowana-paperback-softback. Details