William Henry Dawbin papers, ca. 1911-1998

Cataloguing in progress

fonds

ca. 1911-1998

Textual Records, Graphic Materials, Moving Images, Clippings, Photographs, Drawings

412046

15 boxes of textual and graphic materials
77 film reels

William Henry Ivo Dawbin, 1921-1998, zoologist and marine biologist, was born near Fielding, New Zealand. He was educated at the University of New Zealand where he graduated in 1941. During World War II he was a member of the Cape Expedition to the remote Auckland Islands in the sub-Antarctic. After the war he was research assistant to Sir John Eccles at the University of Otago and in 1948 conducted field studies on whales in New Zealand. In 1951 joined the British Marine research vessel Discovery II for scientific survey work in Antarctic water. In 1956, William Dawbin was appointed senior lecturer in zoology at the University of Sydney. He lived in Sydney until his death in 1998.

William Dawbin's seminal paper 'Whales and Whaling in the Southern Ocean', published in 'The Antarctic Today' in 1952, was the first of many papers on whales and whaling published between 1952 and 1997. He was considered a world authority on Pacific whaling. William Dawbin was co-founder of the Antarctic Society of Australia in 1984, and an honorary research assistant of the Australian Museum.

The collection includes papers, diaries, correspondence, minutes of meetings, newspaper clippings, printed books and journals, photographs, film strips, negatives and lantern slides, punch-cards, etc.

Film reels:

Snakes, Solomon Islands (VT 2333)
J. F. Crew. The dolphin hunters. (VT 2334)
Crab sequence. Natives bringing in crabs, Dr Dawbin and L. Hill examining crabs. Solomon Islands, part 1 (VT 2335)
Crab sequence. Natives bringing in crabs, Dr Dawbin and L. Hill examining crabs. Solomon Islands, part 2 (VT 4174)
Solomon Maps. G. Greig (VT 2336)
Whales and harpooning (VT 2337)
Collecting, breaking and eating nuts (VT 2338)
Whaling and Arctic, part 1 (VT 2339)
Whaling and Arctic, part 2 (VT 4175)
Whaling and Arctic, part 3 (VT 4176)
Whaling and Arctic, part 4 (VT 4177)
Showing natives photos of dolphins (VT 2340)
Tuatara (VT 2341)
Building on stilts and palm trees (VT 2342)
Seahorse, starfish (VT 2343)
Digging up coral lumps for artificial islands (VT 2344)
Dolphin teeth used as ornaments (VT 2345)
Sunset Solomons (VT 2346)
Rainfall in Jungle (TBR) (VT 2347)
Whale on ocean surface (VT 2348)
Footage of islands taken from water (VT 2349)
Island huts (VT 2350)
Dolphin on ocean surface (VT 2351)
Raising Union Jack flag. Villagers in church (VT 4178)
Solomon, hunt (VT 2352)
Parrot Solomons (VT 2353)
Ocean and iceberg (VT 2354)
Pigs in village, Solomons (VT 2355)
Lance Hill with prehensile tailed skink, part 1 (VT 2356)
Lance Hill with prehensile tailed skink, part 2 (VT 4179)
Tory Channel, New Zealand, features whales and harpooning (VT 2357)
With recording equipment in canoe listening to tapes, Solomon Islands (VT 2358)
Insects of Solomons, butterflies, grasshoppers, beetle, spider (VT 2359)
John Bligh catching dolphin (VT 2360)
Children In garden with hens (VT 2361)
Native women peeling and cooking roots (VT 2362)
Islanders waving from jetty. Solomons (VT 2363)
Island shots, Inland (VT 4180)
Islanders dancing and playing with instruments (VT 4181)
Raboul (VT 2364)
Islanders in motorboat (VT 2365)
Shaking small fish out of coral (VT 2366)
Pilot whale swimming (VT 2367)
Dolphins (VT 2368)
Village scenes (VT 2369)
Paddling canoes, Solomon Islands, part 1 (VT 2370)
Paddling canoes, Solomon Islands, part 2 (VT 4665)
Paddling canoes, Solomon Islands, part 3 (VT 4666)
Paddling canoes, Solomon Islands, part 4 (VT 4667)
Paddling canoes, Solomon Islands, part 5 (VT 4668)
Paddling canoes, Solomon Islands, part 6 (VT 4669)
Paddling canoes, Solomon Islands, part 7 (VT 4670)
Paddling canoes, Solomon Islands, part 8 (VT 4671)
Dolphin sequences, free swimming, part 1 (VT 2371)
Dolphin sequences, free swimming, part 2 (VT 4182)
Dolphin sequences, free swimming, part 3 (VT 4173)
Fishing on the ocean (VT 2372)
Diving for shells, drilling, shell money, necklace, Solomon Island (VT 2373)
Hunting dolphins, part 1 (VT 3952)
Hunting dolphins, part 2 (VT 5237)
Hunting dolphins, part 3 (VT 5238)
Muscle evisceration, humpback (VT 2374)
Silkie chickens and lizard (VT 2375)
Alert (VT 2376)
Inspecting specimens and captured crustaceans (VT 2377)
Paddling canoes (VT 2378)
Dolphin hunters of the South Seas, segments (VT 2379)
Tonga, 1A (VT 2381)
Tonga, 2A (VT 2382)
Unidentified (VT 2383)
Tractors and scoops source (VT 2384)
Donias (?) [Dovies?], Mutton birds and Tuataras (VT 2385)
Original trio, July 1954, reel 1 (VT 2386)
Original trio, July 1954, reel 2 (VT 2387)
Unidentified (VT 2388)
Unidentified (VT 2389)
Whaling (VT 2390)

This material is held in cold storage and requires 3 working days notice to retrieve. Please submit your request through Ask a Librarian - Applies to VT 2384 only

Copyright restrictions may apply:
Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales and Courtesy copyright holder

For the separate consignment of 87 boxes located in the S/B Mitchell Wing, the following 7 boxes have been previously transferred to other institutions: 32, 36, 46, 52-53, 82-83. The following 9 boxes actually comprise two boxes labelled A & B: 18, 34, 37-38, 40, 45, 47, 84-85.

There are two further consigments (totalling 49 boxes) located on S2 - Macquarie Street Wing. These two separate consignments comprise boxes numbered 1-39 and 1-10.
Film reels: There is a 2 page unlined handwritten document showing Dawbin's notes for editing, appears to be a series of imagined sequences showing spinners, dolphins and pilot whales moving from open sea to the Marineland aquatic tourist attraction in Queensland. There is also a folded foolscap lined page showing Dawbin's personal listings of films shot.