William Edward Harney

William Edward Harney (born April 18, 1895 Charters Towers in Queensland , Australia , † December 31, 1962 in Mooloolaba , Queensland) also known as Bill Harney , was an Australian writer, naturalist and Chief Protector of Aborigines in the Northern Territory .

Life

Harney was the third child of parents born in England. At the age of twelve he worked as a drover in western Queensland. In 1915 he joined the Australian Imperial Force and received military training in Egypt to be used later on the Western Front during the First World War . In 1927 he married Kathleen Linda Beatti, with whom he had two children. Both his children and his wife died early. Subsequently, the Wardaman lived with a woman from the Aboriginal tribe , with whom he had his son Bill Yidumduma Harney .

After the war he worked in various jobs, especially in the Northern Territory . From 1940 to 1947 Harney was in the government as the Protector of Aborigines and senior officer. In addition to his writing activities, he hired himself as an adviser to expeditions of the National Geographic Society in Arnhem Land and Melville Island . He was also an advisor to the film Jedda in 1955.

In 1959 he was named Uluru (Ayers Rock) first ranger . He held the post until he retired in 1962. He passed away that year.

Honor

A fat-tailed bag-mouse was named after him, a sandstone dibbler ( Pseudantechinus bilarni ), which reproduces his name Bilarni in an Aboriginal language in Arnhem Land.

plant

Herney spent most of his life in the outback , so his work is mostly dedicated to the Northern Territory Aboriginal people . In addition to his book editions, Harney also has numerous articles in popular magazines. Books that he or he has written with other authors are:

1943 - Taboo
1949 - Songs of the Songmen
1957 - Life Among the Aborigines (with AP Elkin)
1958 - Content to Lie in the Sun
1960 - Bill Harney's Cook Book (with Patricia Thompson)
1961 - Grief, Gaiety and Aborigines
1963 - The Shady Tree (completed by Douglas Lockwood)
1990 - A Bushman's Life (published by Douglas and Ruth Lockwood)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Harney, William Edward
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Australian writer, naturalist
DATE OF BIRTH	April 18, 1895
PLACE OF BIRTH	Charters Towers , Queensland
DATE OF DEATH	December 31, 1962
Place of death	Mooloolaba , Queensland