Edmund Dwen Gill (11 December 1908 – 13 July 1986) was a prolific Australian

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...

specialising in

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

museology Museology or museum studies is the study of museums. It explores the history of museums and their role in society, as well as the activities they engage in, including curating, preservation, public programming, and education. Terminology The w ...

palaeontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

and

geomorphology Geomorphology (from Ancient Greek: , ', "earth"; , ', "form"; and , ', "study") is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or n ...

. He was also known for his work as deputy director of the

National Museum of Victoria National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, president of the

Royal Society of Victoria The Royal Society of Victoria (RSV) is the oldest scientific society in the state of Victoria in Australia. Foundation In 1854 two organisations formed with similar aims and membership, these being ''The Philosophical Society of Victoria'' (fou ...

and a

research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a pr ...

in the

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentar ...

Division of Applied Geomechanics.

Life

Gill was born in Mount Eden, Auckland. In December 1935 he married Kathleen Winnifred Brebner (1912-) in

Warrnambool Warrnambool ( Maar: ''Peetoop'' or ''Wheringkernitch'' or ''Warrnambool'') is a city on the south-western coast of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Warrnambool had a population of 35,743. Situated on the Princes Highway, Warrnambool (Al ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

with whom he had three sons and a daughter. His eldest son was Adrian Gill, a leading

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 dynamics ...

and

meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while t ...

, who predeceased him by three months.

Education

Gill was educated at Gisborne High School before going overseas to study the

Licentiate of Theology The Licentiate in Theology or (in Britain) Licence in Theology (LTh or, in Australia, ThL) is a non-degree qualification in theology awarded in Canada and previously awarded in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. A qualification simila ...

at the

Melbourne College of Divinity The University of Divinity is an Australian collegiate university of specialisation in divinity. It is constituted by eleven theological colleges from eight denominations. The University of Divinity is the direct successor of the second oldest ...

. He then gained a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

and a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...

Career

Gill first worked for the

Baptist Union Baptists Together (officially The Baptist Union of Great Britain) is a Baptist Christian denomination in England and Wales. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance and Churches Together in England. The headquarters is in Didcot. H ...

of Victoria as a director of their youth and religious education departments. However he became increasingly interested in science and in 1938 he published his first paper, on Yeringian

trilobite Trilobites (; meaning "three lobes") are extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. Trilobites form one of the earliest-known groups of arthropods. The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record defines the base of the At ...

s in the

Victorian Naturalist ''The Victorian Naturalist'' is a bimonthly scientific journal covering natural history, especially of Australia. It is published by the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria and is received as part of the membership subscription of that club. From ...

. Much of his career was focused around the

, where in 1944 he was made an honorary associate in palaeontology. His views on

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

were incompatible with those of the Baptist Union and in 1948 he resigned from the ministry and became the museum's Curator of fossils, succeeding Alexander Robert Keble (1884–1963). He went on to be appointed assistant director in 1964, deputy director in 1969 and remained at the museum until his retirement in 1973. During his career Gill's work covered a broad range of scientific disciplines, publishing approximately 400 scientific papers in his lifetime. His papers covered a wide range of subjects and many had a particular focus on the landscape of western and coastal Victoria, and the

region. He kept comprehensive field notes on sea level changes and marine processes in the area in his geological notebooks. In retirement he became a research fellow in the

Division of Applied

Geomechanics Geomechanics (from the Greek prefix ''geo-'' meaning "earth"; and "mechanics") is the study of the mechanical state of the earth's crust and the processes occurring in it under the influence of natural physical factors. It involves the study of th ...

, and continued to work on coastal processes. Dr Gill, left his research about the region with

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia. Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn Ponds, ...

Library in Warrnambool.

Honours and awards

Australian Natural History Medallion The Australian Natural History Medallion is awarded each year by the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria (FNCV) to the person judged to have made the most meritorious contribution to the understanding of Australian Natural History. The idea origina ...

(1973) * Fellow,

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

* Fellow,

Geological Society of London The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

* Fellow,

Geological Society of America The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitchco ...

* Foundation member,

Geological Society of Australia The Geological Society of Australia (GSA) was established as a non-profit organisation in 1952 to promote, advance and support earth sciences in Australia. The founding Chairperson was Edwin Sherbon Hills. William Rowan Browne was a founder of th ...

* Foundation member,

Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), established as the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (AIAS) in 1964, is an independent Australian Government statutory authority. It is a collecting, ...

* Vice President,

Anthropological Society of Victoria The Anthropological Society of Victoria was formed in 1934, in response to the efforts of gifted lecturer Frederic Wood Jones who attracted an enthusiastic non-academic audience to his public lectures in the 1930s. In 1976 it amalgamated with the ...

* President,

References

1908 births 1986 deaths Australian curators 20th-century Australian geologists Australian paleontologists 20th-century Australian Baptist ministers Australian geomorphologists New Zealand geomorphologists People from Auckland Scientists from Melbourne {{Australia-scientist-stub