Francis James GillenDied 5 Jun 1912 at age 56 (born 28 Oct 1855).Australian anthropologist who did pioneering fieldwork among the Aborigines of central Australia. After working for the South Australian telegraph Department throughout Central Australia (1875-99), he became stationmaster at the Alice Springs Overland Telegraph station. Gillen became very interested in the Aboriginal people. He took a special interest in the Arrentic people who lived near his home. He learned their language, became a friend of the group and was welcomed as a member of their society. He met Baldwin Spencer when, in 1894, the Horn Expedition visited Alice Springs to make an appraisal of the areas geology and the Aboriginal culture. Together, they later made many anthropological expeditions which showed the Aboriginal complex yet subtle culture. |
