Margaret Alison Cameron AM, FRAOU (1937 – 2023) was a noted

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

librarian A librarian is a person who professionally works managing information. Librarians' common activities include providing access to information, conducting research, creating and managing information systems, creating, leading, and evaluating educat ...

, administrator, and amateur

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

. She was the foundation librarian of

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974 with antecedent history since 1887, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia and a founding father of Australian Fede ...

between 1977 and 1996, and pro vice-chancellor of the University from 1986 to 1990. She joined 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 conservation of the native b ...

(RAOU) in 1969 which she served as President from 1986 to 1989.

Personal life

Cameron was born in

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 ...

Australia on 10 September 1937. As a child, her interest in birds was fostered by her father and life in the country. However, this initial interest remained dormant until opportunities through becoming a librarian for

Flinders University Flinders University, established as The Flinders University of South Australia is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across a number of locations in South Australia and ...

arose for field trips and educational lectures that sparked a deeper passion for birding and conservation. Following her stint at Flinders, Cameron moved on to

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a Public university, public research university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the Sydney metropolitan area. ...

from 1969 to 1977. It was here that she honed her skills in field ornithology, and inspired other birders with her enthusiasm and enquiring mind.

Career

Cameron began her career as a librarian at the Public Library of Queensland from 1959 to 1962. She spent the following year in the United States of America at the Australian Reference Library in New York. She returned to Australia in 1964 to be Thatcher Librarian at the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

. From 1965 to 1969 she worked at Flinders University. Following this, she moved to New South Wales to be a Reader Services Librarian at Macquarie University where she stayed until 1977. In 1977 Cameron became the foundation librarian at Deakin University where she worked until her retirement in 1990. During this period between 1980 and 1987 she was also the editor of the Geelong Naturalist, a publication of the Geelong Field Naturalists Club. She returned to Queensland before her death in September 2023.

Awards and recognition

Cameron received the following awards and recognitions; * 1987 Fellow of the Library Association of Australia * 1990 Member of the

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 ...

for "service to library services, education and to ornithology" * 1993 Fellow of the RAOU * 1999 honorary Doctor of the University from Deakin University * 1999 was awarded Australian Natural History Medallion Cameron was the recipient of an Australian American Education Foundation (Fulbright) University Administrator Grant as well as a British Council Cultural Visitor.

References

*Anon. (1993). RAOU Fellow: Citation. Margaret Alison Cameron. ''Emu'' 93: 299. *Robin, Libby. (2001). ''The Flight of the Emu: a hundred years of Australian ornithology 1901-2001''. Carlton, Vic. Melbourne University Press. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Margaret Australian ornithologists Australian women ornithologists Members of the Order of Australia Australian librarians Australian women librarians People educated at St Margaret's Anglican Girls' School 1937 births 2023 deaths