Roth, Walter Edmund (1861 - 1933)

W.E. Roth was born in London and studied biology at Oxford. He came to Australia in 1887 and taught at Brisbane Grammar School and Brisbane Technical College. He returned to London to complete his medical training, and in 1894 commenced practice in north-western Queensland. In 1897 he published an important monograph on Aboriginal ethnography, establishing his international reputation in that field. In 1898 he was appointed the first Northern Protector of Aboriginals and, in 1904, Chief Protector. His records of Aboriginal uses of animals and plants are of great natural history interest. His work brought him into some conflict with politicians and settlers, and he resigned in 1906, leaving Australia. Roth was employed by the government of British Guiana in 1907, retired in 1928, and died in Georgetown.

REYNOLDS, B. (1988) Roth, Walter Edmund (1861-1933). Australian Dictionary of Biography 2: 1891-1939: 463-464. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne.

ROTH, W.E. (1981) Food: its search, capture, and preparation. North Queensland Ethnography: Bulletin No. 3: 1-31

Source: Extracted from: A.B. CRIBB, The Queensland Naturalist, Vol.44, Nos.1-3, 2006 (incl. photo)