Harold Cooper

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Harold More Cooper , also written Harold Moore Cooper , (born December 29, 1886 in Adelaide , South Australia , Australia , † May 14, 1970 in Glenelg , South Australia) was a radio operator , anthropologist and historian .

Harold Cooper was the eldest son of Robert Cooper, an accountant, and his wife Mary Antill, née Osborne. After his school days and trips to Europe, he worked as a radio operator in a telegraph company until 1926. In his private life, he ran an experimental amateur radio station in his house in Glenelg , through which he made contacts around the world and took part in research into the effects of climate factors and solar turbulence on shortwave radio. He also operated a radio link between the Watheroo Magnetic Observatory in Western Australia and Washington, DC in the United States .

From 1934 Cooper dealt with the historical legacy of the Aborigines at Hallett Cove south of Adelaide and worked on an honorary basis at the South Australian Museum .

In 36 years he explored the culture of the Aborigines of the Kartan on more than 200 excursions from Hallett Cove and on Kangaroo Island . Through his research he published 20 articles in specialist publications. Among other things, he collected 1,400 chopping knives made from pebbles and 150 stone hammers. From 1941 he was employed at the South Australian Museum . Cooper enjoyed the recognition of Norman Tindale , the curator for anthropology of the Aborigines, who described his large collection as the "handiwork of the first Australians" ( German : "handiwork of the first Australians"). Cooper supplemented his archaeological work with finds of animal species, including two land snakes and insects, five of which were named after him. In his spare time he sailed and dived in the deep sea for rare fish, discovering two new species.

During the Second World War , he spent half of the world's largest collection of Aboriginal artifacts in a disused railroad tunnel in the Adelaide Hills and took care of its return to the museum. From April 1944 he served in the Naval Auxiliary and patrolled the Gulf Saint Vincent .

In 1957 his museum service ended. However, he continued to support the museum with his anthropological work until he was seriously ill in May 1969. He died a year later at the age of 83.

plant

In addition to his publications on the Kartan Aborigines, he published the following works in the 1950s:

  • Australian Aboriginal Words and their Meanings (1949)
  • Naval History of South Australia (1950)
  • French Exploration in South Australia (1952)
  • The Unknown Coast (1953)
  • The Unknown Coast , a Supplement (1955)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b adb.anu.edu.au : Hans Mincham: Cooper, Harold More (1886–1970) , in English, accessed December 27, 2012
  2. ↑ a b samuseum.sa.gov.au ( Memento of the original from April 11, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. : Cooper, Harold More (AA 64) , in English, accessed December 27, 2012 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.samuseum.sa.gov.au
  3. ↑ James L. Cohen: Aboriginal Environment Impacts , p. 69. USW Sydney, 1995. ISBN 0-86840-301-6 . Online on google books
personal data
SURNAME Cooper, Harold
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cooper, Harold More; Harold Moore
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Australian anthropologist and historian
DATE OF BIRTH December 29, 1886
PLACE OF BIRTH Adelaide , South Australia , Australia
DATE OF DEATH May 14, 1970
Place of death Glenelg , South Australia