Gerrits, G. J. M. (Fred) (1933 - 2022)

Summary

Fred Gerrits, after qualifying in medicine, accepted posts in Dutch New Guinea and Papua New Guinea, working in remote provinces. After over 20 years in P.N.G. he went to Kenya and later Nepal. A keen naturalist, he spent much time in these countries studying and collecting butterflies. Between 2005 and 2015 he and his wife Nel donated to the Australian National Insect Collection his collections of Delias (Pieridae) specimens from the Indonesian and New Guinean region. The collection comprised 5,300 specimens representing 650 taxa, including holotypes and many paratypes, and is considered one of the most complete collections of Delias. His collection of Nepalese butterflies was donated to the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden Museum in The Netherlands. Gerrits was also a keen collector of indigenous art. His collection of material from the Trobriand Island, P.N.G., including photographs, film and sound recordings, is now housed in the Queensland Museum.

Details

Chronology

1982

Life event - Settled in Australia

Related entries

Published resources

Journal Articles

• Edwards, Ted and Turco, Federica, 'News from the Lepidoptera collection [donations from Fred and Nel Gerrits, and John Kerr]', ANICdotes, 8 (2016), 5. Details
• Gerrits, F. and Van Mastrigt, H., 'New results on Delias from the central mountain range of Irian Jaya (Lepidoptera: Pieridae)', Treubia, 30 (1992), 381-402. Details
• Gerrits, Robert, 'Fred Gerrits 13 August 1933 - 8 March 2022', Moths and Butterflies Australasia Inc. newsletter, 2 (2022), 25-6. Details

Theses

• Wisse, Désirée, 'All things Trobriand: a portrait of Dr G. J. M. (Fred) Gerrits' Trobriand Island collections, 1968 to 1972', PhD thesis, University of East Anglia, 2018. Details