Helen Groger-Wurm, birth name Helene Gröger (1921–2005), was an Austrian-Australian

ethnologist Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). Scien ...

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

and

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

. After earning a Ph.D. from the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

in 1946, she married the Hungarian-born linguist Stefan Wurm. In 1954 the couple moved to Australia where they obtained Australian citizenship. They carried out field research in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

and in northern Australia. From 1962 until her 1974, Groger-Wurm was a research officer (also co-founder) at the

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, ...

, lecturing in parallel on the Aboriginal way of life at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

. She went on to take up work a librarian at the

Australian National Library 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 ...

until her retirement in 1982. She is remembered in particular for her work in connection with Aboriginal bark painting.

Early life and education

Born on 21 February 1921 in Vienna, Austria, Helene Gröger was the daughter of the bank employee Wilhelm Emanuel Gröger and his wife Antonia née Vecera. After completing her gymnasium schooling, from 1940 she studied ethnology combined with African languages and

Egyptology Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Ancient Greek, Greek , ''wiktionary:-logia, -logia''; ) is the scientific study of ancient Egypt. The topics studied include ancient Egyptian History of Egypt, history, Egyptian language, language, Ancient Egypt ...

at the University of Vienna. In 1946, she earned a Ph.D. with a dissertation titled ''Die Musikinstrumente im Kult der Afrikaner'' (Musical instruments in African culture). In May 1946, she married the Hungarian linguist Stefan Wurm and accompanied him to London where she took a post-graduate course in

social anthropology Social anthropology is the study of patterns of behaviour in human societies and cultures. It is the dominant constituent of anthropology throughout the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where it is distinguished from cultural anthropology. In t ...

under

Raymond Firth Sir Raymond William Firth (25 March 1901 – 22 February 2002) was an ethnologist from New Zealand. As a result of Firth's ethnographic work, actual behaviour of societies (social organization) is separated from the idealized rules of behavio ...

at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

Career

In 1954, the couple emigrated to Australia where Stefan had been invited to teach at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

. In 1955 and 1956, together with her husband, she undertook anthropological visits to the native peoples of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and Southern

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, recording their indigenous languages. Helen worked there as an administrative assistant until 1956 when she moved with her husband to Canberra as he had been engaged as senior fellow in the department of anthropology and sociology. In December 1957, they both obtained Australian citizenship. They carried out field research in

in 1958. In 1961, Groger-Wurm and her husband were among the founders of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies. From 1965 to 1974 she worked at the institute, compiling collections from various ethnic groups as she accompanied her husband on field trips, making frequent visits to northern Australia. Working for the Australian Institute of Anatomy, she systematically catalogued the items she had collected. In 1973, she published ''Australian Aboriginal Bark Paintings and their Mythological Interpretation'' based on the sacred art of Eastern

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territorial capital, Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compa ...

. While her husband was interested principally in the languages of the indigenous peoples they visited, Groger-Wurm documented the material aspects of their development and culture. Each year she spent some four months on field trips, devoting the rest of her time to lecturing on aboriginal culture, in particular by giving evening courses at the Australian National University's Department of Adult Education. Until her retirement in 1982, she worked as a librarian at the National Library of Australia in Canberra. Helen Groger-Wurm died on 18 September 2005 in Canberra. She is remembered today as a significant contributor to our understanding of the material culture of Australian aborigines.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Groger-Wurm, Helen 1921 births 2005 deaths Scientists from Vienna Austrian ethnologists Austrian women anthropologists Australian ethnologists Australian women anthropologists Australian anthropologists Austrian emigrants to Australia University of Vienna alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics