Stephen Marchant,
AM (1912 – August 2003) was born in
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...
, studied
geology
Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...
at
Gonville and Caius College
Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges an ...
,
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
, and worked in the
oil exploration
Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for hydrocarbon deposits, particularly petroleum and natural gas, in the Earth's crust using petroleum geology.
Exploration methods
V ...
business in many countries, using the opportunities arising from his postings to study birdlife around the world. He wrote classic papers on the birds of the
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
, the
Gold Coast,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
,
Borneo
Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...
,
Ecuador
Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
and
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
.
[ In 1963 he emigrated to Australia where he joined the ]Bureau of Mineral Resources
Bureau ( ) may refer to:
Agencies and organizations
*Government agency
*Public administration
* News bureau, an office for gathering or distributing news, generally for a given geographical location
* Bureau (European Parliament), the administra ...
in Canberra
Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
.
Biography
Marchant was born in Weston-under-Lizard
Weston-under-Lizard is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Blymhill and Weston-under-Lizard, in the South Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. It is known as Weston-under-Lizard (the name of a hill in nearby S ...
, a village in the English county of Staffordshire.[Davies, Stephen. (2004)]
Obituary: Stephen Marchant, 1912-2003
''Emu
The emu (; ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is a species of flightless bird endemism, endemic to Australia, where it is the Tallest extant birds, tallest native bird. It is the only extant taxon, extant member of the genus ''Dromaius'' and the ...
'' 104: 89-90. In Australia, Marchant was immediately involved in organised ornithology
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 ...
through 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) where he was a strong force for what he perceived to be necessary reform. Here he was instrumental in founding the ACT Group of the RAOU, which later became the Canberra Ornithologists Group (COG). He also initiated the RAOU Nest Record Scheme and was a founding member of the RAOU Field Investigations Committee.[ As part of a reformist makeover of the RAOU, in order to strengthen its scientific rigor and ornithological credibility, in 1968 he became Editor of the RAOU's journal the '']Emu
The emu (; ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is a species of flightless bird endemism, endemic to Australia, where it is the Tallest extant birds, tallest native bird. It is the only extant taxon, extant member of the genus ''Dromaius'' and the ...
'', which he transformed into an internationally respected scientific journal.[
Following a 12-year stint as ''Emu'' Editor, he turned his attention to a new project, a comprehensive handbook of Australian birds, an endeavour which expanded in scope to become the '']Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds
The ''Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds'', known as ''HANZAB'', is the pre-eminent scientific reference on birds in the region, which includes Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, and the surrounding ocean and subantarctic ...
'' (HANZAB) of which he was the editor-in-chief of the first two volumes.[
For most of his later years from 1975, he lived at ]Moruya
Moruya ( ) is a town located on the South Coast (New South Wales), far south coast of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Moruya River. The Princes Highway runs through the town that is about south of Sydney and from Canberra. At the , ...
in the Eurobodalla Shire
Eurobodalla Shire is a Local government in Australia, local government area located in the South Coast (New South Wales), South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is located in a largely mountainous coastal region and situated ...
of the NSW South Coast.[ Here, he continued to be active in natural history, helping found the Eurobodalla Natural History Society in 1986, serving as its President as well as editor of its journal '' Nature in Eurobodalla''.][ Stephen Marchant's earlier ornithological work resulted in the award of the ]British Ornithologists' Union
The British Ornithologists' Union (BOU) aims to encourage the study of birds (ornithology) around the world in order to understand their biology and aid their conservation. The BOU was founded in 1858 by Professor Alfred Newton, Henry Baker ...
Medal in 1971 and, later, his election as a Corresponding Fellow of the American Ornithologists' Union
The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society. Its ...
.[ Appreciation for his service to the RAOU led to him being elected a Fellow of the RAOU in 1975. His contribution to Australian ornithology was recognised by his being made an Honorary Member in the General Division 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 ...
(AM) in 1994, and by being awarded the RAOU's John Hobbs Medal in 1997. Marchant died in August 2003, at a nursing home between the 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 ...
towns of Moruya
Moruya ( ) is a town located on the South Coast (New South Wales), far south coast of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Moruya River. The Princes Highway runs through the town that is about south of Sydney and from Canberra. At the , ...
and Narooma
Narooma () is a town in the Australian state of New South Wales on the far south coast. The town is on the Princes Highway, which crosses the Wagonga Inlet to North Narooma. The heritage town of Tilba, New South Wales, Central Tilba is nearby t ...
.[
]
See also
* List of ornithologists
References
*Anon. (1975). RAOU Fellow: Citation. Stephen Marchant. ''Emu
The emu (; ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is a species of flightless bird endemism, endemic to Australia, where it is the Tallest extant birds, tallest native bird. It is the only extant taxon, extant member of the genus ''Dromaius'' and the ...
'' 75: 244.
*Davies, Stephen. (2004). Obituary. Stephen Marchant, 1912–2003. ''Emu
The emu (; ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is a species of flightless bird endemism, endemic to Australia, where it is the Tallest extant birds, tallest native bird. It is the only extant taxon, extant member of the genus ''Dromaius'' and the ...
'' 104: 89–90.
*Higgins, Peter. (1994). RAOU People. Stephen Marchant. ''Wingspan
The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...
'' 16: 6–7.
*Robin, Libby. (2001). ''The Flight of the Emu: a hundred years of Australian ornithology 1901-2001''. Carlton, Vic. Melbourne University Press.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marchant, Stephen
1912 births
2003 deaths
Australian ornithologists
Honorary members of the Order of Australia
20th-century British zoologists
20th-century Australian zoologists