author
Herbert Basedow
1881–1933
An energetic Australian scholar-adventurer, he moved between anthropology, geology, medicine, politics, and long expeditions across central and northern Australia. He is especially remembered for his fieldwork and for writing The Australian Aboriginal in 1925.
1 Audiobook
The Australian aboriginal
by Herbert Basedow
About the author
Born in Kent Town, Adelaide, on October 27, 1881, Herbert Basedow was educated in both South Australia and Germany. He studied science and medicine, and over the course of his career worked as an anthropologist, geologist, explorer, medical practitioner, and politician.
Basedow joined major expeditions in inland Australia early in the 20th century and became known for his close interest in Aboriginal languages, culture, and material life. He later served in work connected with Aboriginal affairs in the Northern Territory and published widely, with The Australian Aboriginal becoming his best-known book.
His life combined scholarship with public activity: alongside research and medical practice, he also entered politics in South Australia. Basedow died in Kent Town on June 4, 1933, leaving behind a body of writing and photographs that still shape how people study his travels and ethnographic work.