Percy Tarlton Rayment FRZS (27 November 1882 – 17 June 1964) was an Australian artist,

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

, broadcaster,

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

, naturalist, entomologist and

beekeeper A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees. Beekeepers are also called honey farmers, apiarists, or less commonly, apiculturists (both from the Latin '' apis'', bee; cf. apiary). The term beekeeper refers to a person who keeps honey bees i ...

. He is especially renowned for his extensive pioneering studies of Australia’s native bees. Apart from numerous papers and articles in the entomological literature and in natural history journals and popular magazines including ''

Walkabout Walkabout is a rite of passage in Australian Aboriginal society, during which males undergo a journey during adolescence, typically ages 10 to 16, and live in the wilderness for a period as long as six months to make the spiritual and traditiona ...

'', books authored by Rayment include: * 1916 - ''Money in Bees in Australasia''. Whitcombe & Tombs: Melbourne. (Handbook to beekeeping). * 1933 - ''The Prince of the Totem''. Robertson & Mullens: Melbourne. (Collection of Aboriginal tales and legends for children). * 1935 - ''A Cluster of Bees''. Endeavour Press: Sydney. (Major monograph comprising 60 essays on Australian bees). * 1937 - ''The Valley of the Sky''. Ivor Nicholson & Watson: London. (Novel). * 1945 - ''Eagles and Earthlings. A metrical tribute to the air crews in the war''. Author. (Poetry). * 1946 - ''Profitable Honey Plants of Australasia''. Whitcombe & Tombs: Melbourne. (Handbook to beekeeping). * 1953 - ''Bees of the Portland District''. Portland Field Naturalists Club. Although Rayment is currently best remembered as a person who wrote expertly about beekeeping in Australia, he spent a considerable amount of time with the Aruntja people of Central Australia. He had no formal training as an anthropologist, but his wide-ranging intelligence was a good alternative to such training. He was sufficiently accepted by the Aruntja people that, although a white-man, he was regarded as an honorary member of their tribe. In ''The Prince of the Totem'', Rayment himself drew the striking black-and-white illustrations that vividly depict the characters, and events.

References

External links

Rayment, Percy Tarlton (1882–1964) Australian Dictionary of Biography adb.anu.edu.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rayment, Tarlton Australian naturalists Australian entomologists Australian non-fiction writers Australian beekeepers 1882 births 1964 deaths 20th-century Australian poets Australian male poets 20th-century Australian male writers Beekeeping in Australia 20th-century Australian zoologists 20th-century naturalists Male non-fiction writers