| Activity | Gilbert Whitley's contributions to natural history seem to have been just about as many-directioned as humanly possible. As a museum administrator he is credited with building the research collection in the Department of Fishes at the Australian Museum into a major resource; he also performed a variety of executive, editorial, and bibliographic functions for several different professional societies. He published over five hundred writings, and these ran the gamut of length and purpose, from reviews and encyclopedia entries to popular pieces and scores of technical descriptions of new species. More than half of his works concerned fish, but he also wrote a good deal on other natural history subjects, plus many historical and bibliographic ones. He was considered a fine illustrator, and made use of this talent frequently. Last but not least, he traveled a good deal, whether for leisure or to capture specimens in the field, or to attend conferences.
1922 joined the staff of the Australian Museum. 1923 - 1924 studies Zoology at the University of Sydney. 1926 -1964 Icthyologist in charge at the Department of Fishes, Australian Museum. 1936 founding member of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History. 1942 - 1946 assists the CSIRO Division of Fisheries in the war effort, investigating edible fish resources. 1947 - 1971 serves as editor of the publications of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales. 1963 - 1964 president of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. 1967 receives the Australian Natural History Medallion. 1970 receives the Clarke Medal from the Royal Society of New South Wales. 1972 president, Australian Society of Fish Biology. 1973 - 1975 3rd term as president of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales.
He collected insects in Tasmania, Eastern Australia and Lord Howe Island. |