Aldo Massola (9 September 1910 – 6 July 1975) was an Italian- Australian

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

, a

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

at the National Museum of Victoria in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

from 1954 to 1964, who overcame scandal in his personal life to author a number of influential books about

Aboriginal Victorians Aboriginal Victorians, the Aboriginal Australians of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, occupied the land for tens of thousands of years prior to European settlement of Australia, European settlement. Aboriginal people have lived a semi ...

. Born in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Italy, he emigrated with his family to

in 1923. In 1964 he was imprisoned, having been found guilty of the theft of more than 250 rare gold coins. Although his work has been superseded and updated, he remains important because of his pioneering studies in the field. His published books include: ''Bunjil's Cave: Myths, Legends and Superstitions of the Aborigines of South-East Australia'' (1968); ''Journey to Aboriginal Victoria'' (1970); ''Aboriginal Mission Stations in Victoria'' (1970) and ''The Aborigines of South-Eastern Australia As They Were'' (1971).

References

External links

The Aldo Massola Scrapbook

Australian anthropologists Italian anthropologists Anthropology writers Australian curators Italian curators 1910 births 1975 deaths Italian emigrants to Australia 20th-century anthropologists Australian numismatists {{Australia-anthropologist-stub