Clemency Thorne Fisher - The importance of early Victorian natural historians in the discovery and interpretation of the Australian fauna, with special reference to John Gilbert, 1992

MLMSS 7537/Box 1X

fonds

1992

446358

0.16 metres of textual material (1 outsize box)
Textual Records - (typescript)

Clemency Fisher is Curator of Birds and Mammals, Liverpool Museum, National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside.

A thesis submitted in part fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the Council for National Academic Awards, Liverpool Polytechnic, School of Natural Sciences.
The importance of the collections of Australian birds and mammals in the Liverpool Museum is observed. The period 1835-1850 appears to have been the main boom period in Australian history for the expansion of agriculture, the exploration of the interior and the discovery of new upper vertebrate species; all these are interlinked. The reasons for this and the connection with world-wide development of the science of natural history are examined. John Gilbert's life and career are discussed in detail and also his relationships with other naturalists and collectors such as Ludwig Leichhardt. A description of the taxonomic significance of Gilbert's specimens is made and specimens collected by other collectors in the period 1835-1850 are also analysed.

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