David George Stead (6 March 1877 – 2 August 1957) was an Australian

marine biologist Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms in the sea. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifi ...

, ichthyologist,

oceanographer Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamic ...

, conservationist and writer. He was born at

St Leonards St Leonards may refer to: Places Australia *St Leonards, New South Wales **St Leonards railway station *St Leonards, Tasmania, suburb of Launceston *St Leonards, Victoria Canada *St. Leonard's, Newfoundland and Labrador New Zealand * St L ...

in Sydney, and educated at public schools and the Sydney Technical College. In 1909 he was a founder of, and during its early years the main driving force behind, the

Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia The Australian Wildlife Society was founded in Sydney, Australia in May 1909 as the Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia (WPSA) to encourage the protection of, and cultivate an interest in, Australian flora and fauna. The founding preside ...

. In December 1912 he became an inaugural committee member of the Eugenics Society of New South Wales.The Sydney Morning Herald, 11 December 1912
/ref> His career included many government positions both in Australia and in Malaya. He served as the Australian representative on international committees concerned with

fisheries science Fisheries science is the academic discipline of managing and understanding fisheries. It is a multidisciplinary science, which draws on the disciplines of limnology, oceanography, freshwater biology, marine biology, meteorology, conservation, ...

, marine biology and oceanography. He married three times, the third time to botanist and writer

Thistle Yolette Harris Thistle Yolette Harris (29 July 1902 – 5 July 1990), also known as Thistle Stead, was an Australian botanist, educator, author and conservationist. Biography She was one of three daughters born to Charles Thomas Harris and Illma Richardso ...

in 1951. He died at his home in

Watsons Bay Watsons Bay is a harbourside, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Watsons Bay is located 11 km north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Woollahra. ...

, Sydney.The David G. Stead Memorial Wildlife Research Foundation of Australia: David George Stead
accessed 18 August 2018 Stead is commemorated in the David G. Stead Memorial Wild Life Research Foundation of Australia, and the

Wirrimbirra Sanctuary The Wirrimbirra Sanctuary is a heritage-listed fauna sanctuary, native plant nursery, education centre and flora sanctuary located off the Hume Highway at 1305 Remembrance Drive, in outer south-western Sydney in the settlement of Bargo in th ...

Bargo, New South Wales Bargo is a town in the Macarthur Region, New South Wales, Australia, in the Wollondilly Shire. It is approximately 100 km south west of Sydney. It is situated between the township of Tahmoor (north) and the village of Yanderra (south), a ...

, established by his third wife in his memory in the early 1960s. Mount Stead in the Blue Mountains is named after him. He was survived by two daughters and three sons of his second marriage and by the only child of his first marriage, the novelist

Christina Stead Christina Stead (17 July 190231 March 1983) was an Australian novelist and short-story writer acclaimed for her satirical wit and penetrating psychological characterisations. Christina Stead was a committed Marxist, although she was never a me ...

. Sam in ''

The Man Who Loved Children ''The Man Who Loved Children'' is a 1940 novel by Australian writer Christina Stead. It was not until a reissue edition in 1965, with an introduction by poet Randall Jarrell, that it found widespread critical acclaim and popularity. ''Time'' mag ...

'' by

is partly modelled on her father.

Publications

As well as numerous papers and articles, books authored by Stead include: * 1905 – ''Crustaceans: Ancient, Modern and Mythical. With notes on edible crustaceans of NSW''. William Brooks: Sydney. * 1906 – ''Fishes of Australia. A Popular and Systematic Guide to the Study of the Wealth within our Waters''. William Brooks: Sydney. * 1907 – ''Eggs and Breeding Habits of Fishes with Special Reference to Australian Species''. William Brooks: Sydney. * 1908 – ''The Edible Fishes of New South Wales. Their Present Importance and Their Potentialities''. NSW Government: Sydney. * 1923 – ''General report upon the fisheries of British Malaya with recommendations for future development''. A.J. Kent, Govt. Printer. * 1933 – ''Giants and Pigmies of the Deep: a Story of Australian Sea Denizens''. Shakespeare Head Press: Sydney. * 1943 – ''The Tree Book''. Consolidated Press: Sydney. * 1935 – ''The Rabbit in Australia''. Sydney. * 1963 – ''Sharks and Rays of Australian Seas''. Angus & Robertson: Sydney.

References

External links

Wirrimbirra Flora and Fauna Sanctuary
1877 births 1957 deaths Australian biologists Australian marine biologists Australian conservationists Australian non-fiction writers Australian ichthyologists {{Australia-writer-stub

Publications

See also

References

External links