obituary: e. etheridgb, jnr. 49 



OBITUARY NOTICE.— Egbert Etheridge, jnr., 1847-1920. 



The death of Eobert Etheridge, Director and Curator of the 

 Australian Museum, Sydney, on January 4th of this year at the age 

 of 73, removes a familiar name from the active list of the world's 

 palaeontologists. 



He was the son and only child of the late Eobert Etheridge, 

 F.E.S., the distinguished palaeontologist who belonged to the 

 Geological Survey of Great Britain, and who was afterwards 

 appointed on the staff of the British Museum. Our deceased 

 member's early scientific training was obtained at the Eoyal School 

 of Mines in Jermyn Street, soon after which, about 1867, he 

 proceeded to Australia as an Assistant-Geologist on the Geological 

 Survey of Victoria, then under the Directorship of Dr. A. E. C. 

 Selwyn. 



Eeturning home a year or two later through the disbandment of 

 that Survey, Etheridge was next appointed Acting-Palaeontologist 

 to the Geological Survey of Scotland, and subsequently received 

 a palaeontologist's position in the Geological Department of the 

 British Museum, where, during the transfer of the Natural History 

 collections to South Kensington, he took a prominent part in the 

 removal of the invertebrate fossils to the then new building in the 

 Cromwell Eoad, now known as the Natural History Museum, and 

 their arrangement in the various galleries of the Department, 

 whilst he diligently laboured for nearly nine years both as a curator 

 and research worker. His great ambition was, however, to return 

 to Australia, and engage in solving the many interesting problems 

 connected with the geological structure of that continent. Up to 

 that time, a great part of his researches had been devoted to the 

 study of Australian fossils, so that when the demand arose for his 

 further services in Australia he was perfectly equipped for the 

 acceptance of the dual position offered him in 1887 of 

 Palaeontologist to the Australian Museum and to the Geological 

 Survey of New South Wales. He therefore resigned his appointment 

 at the British Museum, and settled down in Sydney for the 

 remainder of his life. Further promotion came in 1895, when 

 Etheridge succeeded Dr. Eamsay as Director and Curator of the 

 Australian Museum, and he retained that post until his death, 

 a period of twenty-five years, with considerable distinction to 

 himself, carrying out a vigorous policy of administration and sparing 

 no efforts to advance the interests of Australian Science. 



Etheridge was elected to the Malacological Society of London 

 at the December jpiieeting of 1905, and although never contributing 

 to its Proceedings he was a voluminous writer on a multitude of 

 organisms found in the more important geological formations and 

 belonging to both the animal and vegetable kingdoms, his memoirs 

 finding a place in most of the Australasian Scientific Serials. 



To show the versatility of his work it may be mentioned that he 

 also studied Ethnological subjects, and published many interesting 



