Finlayson, Hedley Herbert (1895 - 1991)

Summary

Hedley Finlayson was an organic chemist who for over 40 years was on the staff of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Adelaide. He investigated explosives, to his cost: he suffered injuries including the loss of one eye in explosions. Other research included resins derived from grass trees (Xanthorrhoea species) and compounds used as pigments from Drosera whittakeri. Finlayson became an expert on Australian mammals. During the 1930s he made four significant expeditions into Central Australia, later also visiting other states. He relied on the zoological knowledge of indigenous people, particularly their knowledge of species distribution and fluctuation. Finlayson was an early advocate of large conservation reserves in the outback: on a return visit to Central Australia in the 1950s he noted the absence of species present on his earlier visits. For nearly 40 years he was an honorary curator of mammals at the South Australian Museum. He severed his connection with the Museum and withdrew his collections when the curatorship was made a paid position. Finlayson bequeathed his collection of more than 2,900 meticulously-documented specimens, including some now extinct, to the Museum of Central Australia. He published over 60 papers on the taxonomy and ecology of mammals.

Details

Chronology

1914 - 1958

Career position - Demonstrator, Department of Chemistry, University of Adelaide

1927 - 1930

Career position - Honorary Associate in Mammalogy, South Australian Institute

1930 - 1940

Career position - Honorary Curator of Mammals, South Australian Institute

1940 - 1965

Career position - Honorary Curator of Mammals, South Australian Museum

1960

Award - Sir Joseph Verco Medal, Royal Society of South Australia

1962

Award - John Lewis Gold Medal, Royal Geographical Society of Australasia, South Australian Branch

Related entries

Published resources

Books

• Finlayson, H. H., The red centre: man and beast in the heart of Australia (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1935), 146 pp. Details
• Tonkin, Don, A truly remarkable man: the life of H. H. Finlayson and his adventures in Central Australia (Adelaide: Seaview Press, 2001), 213 pp. Details

Book Sections

• Harris, Colin, 'Finlayson, Hedley Herbert (1895 - 1991), mammalogist' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 19: 1991 - 1995 A-Z, Melanie Nolan, ed. (Canberra: Australian National University Press, 2021), pp. 272-3. https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/finlayson-hedley-herbert-14881. Details

Journal Articles

• Burbidge, A; A.; Johnson, K. A.; Fuller, P. J.; and Southgate, R. I., 'Aboriginal knowledge of the mammals of the central deserts of Australia', Wildlife research, 15 (1) (1988), 9-39. Details
• Horner, Paul; and Johnson, Ken, 'The H. H. Finlayson mammal collection', Australian mammalogy, 44 (1) (2021), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1071/AM/20064. Details
• Rae, Ian, 'Forays of Finlayson', Chemistry in Australia, 2020 (July/August) (2020), 41. Details