Dick Kimber
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Richard "Dick" Glyn Kimber (1939 - 16 September 2024) was an Australian historian and author who wrote extensively on the history, art, culture and wildlife of Central Australia. He published several books, the best known of which is ''Man From Arltunga: Walter Smith, Australian Bushman'' (1986) as well as more than 100 articles and essays. He also gave public lectures and made regular media appearances.


Early life and education

Richard Glyn Kimber was born in 1939 at Freeling in
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
. He went to school in the Riverland area and Brighton and then attended the
University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...
and Adelaide Teacher's College.


Career

Throughout Kimber's career, his focus was on historical research, Aboriginal art and culture, and wildlife. He published several books, the best known of which is ''Man From Arltunga: Walter Smith, Australian Bushman'' (1986)'';'' this book tells the life story of
Walter Smith Walter Ferguson Smith (24 February 1948 – 26 October 2021) was a Scottish football player, manager and director, primarily associated with his two spells as manager of Glasgow club Rangers. A defender, Smith's playing career consiste ...
and this book was based on hours of tape-recordings and shared travelling experiences between 1981 and 1983. Kimber moved to
Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...
in 1970 and taught English, history,
social science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...
and Aboriginal Studies at Alice Springs High School. In 1974 he became the first Sacred Sites Officer in the Northern Territory for the Sacred Sites Authority, before returning to teaching. From 1976 to 1978 he was the Papunya Tula Artists Coordinator and devised Aboriginal Studies materials for schools, after which he again returned to teaching. Beginning in 1976 Kimber undertook research and prepared submissions for land rights and native title claims for over twenty years, in a private capacity and for the
Central Land Council The Central Land Council (CLC) is a land council that represents the Aboriginal peoples of the southern half of the Northern Territory of Australia (NT), predominantly with regard to land issues. it is one of four land councils in the Northern ...
and Ngaanyatjarra Council. During this time he also undertook research for the Australian Institute of Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Studies, the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, the Australian Heritage Commission and the Strehlow Research Centre, regarding locations of Aboriginal homelands and their needs, settlement history, and ownership of sacred objects. He researched the historical records of extinct and rare native fauna for the Conservation Commission of the Northern Territory and provided advice regarding the development of the
Alice Springs Desert Park The Alice Springs Desert Park is an environmental education facility and wildlife park in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is sited on , with a core area of . It is an institutional member of the Zoo and Aquarium Associa ...
and issues relating to Aboriginal land ownership of various parks and reserves. From the mid-1990s, Kimber advised the
National Museum of Australia The National Museum of Australia (NMA), in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''Nation ...
,
Museum Victoria Museums Victoria is an organisation that includes a number of museums and related bodies in Melbourne. These include Melbourne Museum, Immigration Museum, Scienceworks (Melbourne), Scienceworks, IMAX Melbourne, a research institute, the UNESCO W ...
and the Northern Territory Museum regarding Aboriginal artefacts and cultural practices, access to Papunya Tula paintings that incorporated sacred elements, and the return of sacred objects to traditional custodians in central Australia. He consulted for Museum Victoria and the Strehlow Research Centre. His recollections of working with Aboriginal ceremonial collections were recorded by Dr Phillip Batty and Dr Jason Gibson. Since arriving in Central Australia Kimber undertook travels, discussions and other shared experiences with many Aboriginal people, primarily in the south-western
Simpson Desert The Simpson Desert is a large area of dry, red sandy plain and dunes in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland in central Australia. It is the fourth-largest Deserts of Australia, Australian desert, with an area of . The Wangka ...
, western deserts of Central Australia and the deserts of Western Australia through to the
Canning Stock Route The Canning Stock Route is a track that runs from Halls Creek, Western Australia, Halls Creek in the Kimberley (Western Australia), Kimberley region of Western Australia to Wiluna, Western Australia, Wiluna in the Mid West (Western Australia), ...
, and in
Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...
. He privately researched significant historical figures in inland Australia, Australian language usage, and native fauna of the inland including birds, and made important contributions to the '' Australian National Dictionary'' and the ''
Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...
''. and the ''Northern Territory Dictionary of Biography''. He became friends with and learnt much from artist and community leader Wenten Rubuntja.


Other activities

Kimber gave public lectures and made regular media appearances.


Recognition and honours

Kimber was awarded an
Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...
in 2001 for "services to the community through research projects and the recording of information of national interest in the areas of history, anthropology, Aboriginal art, ecology and land management practices in Central Australia". He was awarded a Doctor of Letters, Honoris Causa from the
Charles Darwin University Charles Darwin University (CDU) is an Australian public university with two campuses in Darwin and six satellite campuses in metropolitan and regional areas of the Northern Territory. It was established in 2003 after the merger of Northern Ter ...
in 2006.


Personal life

Kimber married scientist Margaret Friedel in 1975, and they had two children. In 1980, Kimber resigned from the Education Department, "becoming Alice Springs' first publicly acknowledged 'house-husband'" while continuing his active writing life. He was passionate about Australia Rules Football,
lifesaving Lifesaving is the act involving rescue, resuscitation and first aid. It often refers to water safety and aquatic rescue; however, it could include ice rescue, flood and river rescue, swimming pool rescue and other emergency medical servic ...
, as well as history. He was the foundation captain and coach of the Melanka AFL Football Club (now West Football Club).


Death and legacy

Kimber died on 16 September 2024 after a long illness and, after his death Steve Morton stated that: ''" was a great historian. He knew more about Central Australian history than anybody else that I know".'' The
National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...
established the RG Kimber Collection for his correspondence and records; these include his correspondences with David Nash (between 1979 - 2016) and Libby Robin (1999 - 2001).


Works

* 1988 - ''Wildbird dreaming: aboriginal art from the central deserts of Australia'' Nadine Amadio and Richard Kimber * 1986 - ''Man from Arltunga: Walter Smith, Australian bushman'' republished 1990 * 1990 - ''Ancestor spirits: aspects of Australian Aboriginal life and spirituality'' by Max Charlesworth, Richard Kimber and Noel Wallace * 1900 - ''Friendly country - friendly people : an exhibition of Aboriginal artworks from the peoples of the Tanami and Great Sandy Deserts : desert lands, desert peoples, desert art'' * 1990 - ''Hunter-gatherer demography: the recent past in Central Australia'' * 1991 - ''The end of the bad old days: European settlement in Central Australia, 1871-1894'' * 2000 - ''M. N. Tjapaltjarri'' * 2006 - ''Colliding worlds: first contact in the Western Desert 1932-1984'', edited by Philip Batty with essays by Dick Kimber, Jeremy Long and John Kean


References


External links


Dick Kimber's Oral History interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kimber, Dick 1939 births Australian historians People from Alice Springs Members of the Order of Australia