Walter Reginald Brook Oliver (7 September 1883 – 16 May 1957) was a New Zealand
naturalist,
ornithologist
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...
,
malacologist
Malacology is the branch of invertebrate zoology that deals with the study of the Mollusca (mollusks or molluscs), the second-largest phylum of animals in terms of described species after the arthropods. Mollusks include snails and slugs, clams, ...
, and museum
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 ...
.
Biography
Born in
Launceston, Tasmania
Launceston () or () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, Launceston has a population of 87,645. Material was copied ...
, Oliver emigrated with his family to New Zealand in 1896, settling in
Tauranga
Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...
. Having already developed an interest in nature during his childhood, he systematically recorded natural observations throughout much of his life, joining other naturalists on an expedition to the
Kermadec Islands
The Kermadec Islands ( mi, Rangitāhua) are a subtropical island arc in the South Pacific Ocean northeast of New Zealand's North Island, and a similar distance southwest of Tonga. The islands are part of New Zealand. They are in total ar ...
in 1908.
In 1910, Oliver became a member of the
Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union
The Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU), now part of BirdLife Australia, was Australia's largest non-government, non-profit, bird conservation organisation. It was founded in 1901 to promote the study and bird conservation, conservati ...
(RAOU) for which body he served as branch secretary for New Zealand from 1914 to his death in 1957, a period of office of 43 years. During this period, he also served as RAOU vice-president from 1942 to 1943, and as president from 1943 to 1944.
Oliver was appointed director of the
Dominion Museum
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...
in 1928,
and in 1930, he published the seminal guide ''New Zealand Birds'', which was updated and expanded in 1955. The guide contained many colour plates by
Lily Attey Daff, although she was not credited with the work. Oliver retired from the position of director in 1946.
Oliver was active in numerous scientific societies, and was a prolific contributor to New Zealand scientific literature over his career. He was government representative on the Council of the
Royal Society of New Zealand
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a cit ...
for many years, its president from 1952 to 1954, and editor of its ''Transactions'' from 1948 to 1954.
Oliver described several
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
new to science, including:
*
Snares penguin
The Snares penguin (''Eudyptes robustus''), also known as the Snares crested penguin and the Snares Islands penguin, is a penguin from New Zealand. The species breeds on the Snares Islands, a group of islands off the southern coast of the South ...
* ''
Calliostoma waikanae'', a sea snail
*
Shepherd's beaked whale
Shepherd's beaked whale (''Tasmacetus shepherdi''), also commonly called Tasman's beaked whale or simply the Tasman whale, is a cetacean of the family Ziphiidae and the only species in the genus ''Tasmacetus''. The whale has not been studied ...
A species of New Zealand lizard, ''
Oligosoma oliveri
The marbled skink (''Oligosoma oliveri'') is a species of skink in the family Scincidae. The species is endemic to New Zealand.
Etymology
The specific name, ''oliveri'', is in honor of New Zealand ornithologist Walter Oliver.Beolens, Bo; Watki ...
'', is named in his honour.
In 1935, Oliver was awarded the
King George V Silver Jubilee Medal.
References
Further reading
*
*
Dell RK (1998). "Oliver, Walter Reginald Brook 1883-1957". ''
Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
The ''Dictionary of New Zealand Biography'' (DNZB) is an encyclopedia or biographical dictionary containing biographies of over 3,000 deceased New Zealanders. It was first published as a series of print volumes from 1990 to 2000, went online i ...
'' 4: 389–390
HTM
External links
WRB Oliverfrom Encyclopedia of New Zealand (1966)
in ''
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, Walter
1883 births
1957 deaths
New Zealand curators
New Zealand malacologists
New Zealand naturalists
New Zealand ornithologists
People from Tauranga
Victoria University of Wellington alumni
People from Launceston, Tasmania
Presidents of the Royal Society of New Zealand
Australian emigrants to New Zealand
New Zealand paleontologists
20th-century New Zealand zoologists