Charles Chewings (16 April 1859 – 9 June 1937) was an Australian

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, alt ...

and anthropologist.

Early life

Charles Chewings was born the third son of John Chewings, a pastoralist, and his wife Sarah (''née'' Wall) at Woorkongoree station, near

Burra, South Australia Burra is a pastoral centre and historic tourist town in the mid-north of South Australia. It lies east of the Clare Valley in the Bald Hills range, part of the northern Mount Lofty Ranges, and on Burra Creek. The town began as a single compan ...

. He was educated by a tutor and at

Prince Alfred College , motto_translation = Do Brave Deeds and Endure , established = 1869 , type = Independent, single-sex, day & boarding , headmaster = David Roberts , chaplain = Reverend Ma ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

. After engaging in sheep farming, Chewings travelled to the

Finke River The Finke River, or ''Larapinta'' (Arrernte), is a river in central Australia, one of four main rivers of the Lake Eyre Basin and thought to be the oldest riverbed in the world. It flows for only a few days a year and when this happens, its wa ...

in Central Australia in 1881 with two camels and found them so useful that he imported more of them and started a carrying business. He gave some account of his explorations in his ''The Sources of the Finke River'' (1886). Chewings married Miss F. M. Braddock in 1887, and they had two sons and two daughters.

Career

Chewings went to Europe in 1888 and studied geology at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

and

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, B ...

, obtaining the degree of Ph.D. After returning to Australia, Chewings worked in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

reporting on mines before going back to

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

to resume camel carrying. He was much interested in the

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples o ...

and made a careful study of them. Chewings was very interested by the discovery of marine fossils on Tempe Downs station by his manager F. Thornton and in 1891 published "Geological notes on the Upper Finke Basin" in the ''Transactions and Proceedings of the

Royal Society of South Australia The Royal Society of South Australia (RSSA) is a learned society whose interest is in science, particularly, but not only, of South Australia. The major aim of the society is the promotion and diffusion of scientific knowledge, particularly in rel ...

''. He listed the fossils and began a tentative interpretation of the region's succession of rock strata. Chewings became a mining consultant in

Coolgardie, Western Australia Coolgardie is a small town in Western Australia, east of the state capital, Perth. It has a population of approximately 850 people. Although Coolgardie is now known to most Western Australians as a tourist town and a mining ghost town, it wa ...

, in 1894, and later worked in Central Australia for almost 20 years.

Late life

After the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

, Chewings retired to Adelaide and contributed several more scientific papers relating to central Australia to the ''Transactions''. He worked on a dictionary of the

Aranda language Arrernte or Aranda (; ) or sometimes referred to as Upper Arrernte (Upper Aranda), is a dialect cluster in the Arandic language group spoken in parts of the Northern Territory, Australia, by the Arrernte people. Other spelling variations are A ...

and towards the end of 1936 published a popular book on the Indigenous Australians titled ''Back in the Stone Age''. He died on 9 June 1937 and was buried in

West Terrace Cemetery The West Terrace Cemetery is South Australia's oldest cemetery, first appearing on Colonel William Light's 1837 plan of Adelaide. The site is located in Park 23 of the Adelaide Park Lands just south-west of the Adelaide city centre, between ...

. Chewings was a fellow of the

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 ...

and of the Berlin Geological Society.

References

*Hans Mincham
"Chewings, Charles (1859 - 1937)"
'' Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 7, MUP, 1979, pp 634–635 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chewings, Charles 1859 births 1937 deaths People educated at Prince Alfred College Australian geologists Australian anthropologists Alumni of University College London Fellows of the Geological Society of London Burials at West Terrace Cemetery People from Burra, South Australia