Memoirs of the Queensland Museum – Nature 66

Mr Longman's hunter and collector: J. Edgar Young and the Queensland Museum

Rix, A.

Published: 30 July 2025

Citation

Rix, A. (2025). Mr Longman's hunter and collector: J. Edgar Young and the Queensland Museum. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum – Nature 66: 45–62. https://doi.org/10.17082/wrnc4153

Accepted

17 June 2025

Published

30 July 2025

Peer reviewed

Yes

DOI

https://doi.org/10.17082/wrnc4153

Keywords

Heber Longman, Temple Bay, Telemon Station, Marathon Station, Papua, Queensland Naturalists Club, Xanthostemon, Grevillea sessilis.

Abstract 

J. Edgar Young (1871–1956) was a Queensland field naturalist who was well known in his day. He assisted Hubert Wilkins on his Australian collecting expedition for the British Museum in 1923, and then became an honorary collector for the Queensland Museum. This was at a time when the museum did not have the staff or resources for collecting specimens, relying on public assistance. Young ranged widely throughout Queensland for some 20 years collecting fauna and flora, taking part in official expeditions to the Low Isles on the Great Barrier Reef and the Carnarvon Ranges. Most significantly, he discovered the most complete specimen of a Cretaceous ichthyosaur (Platypterygius australis) near Hughenden. Young was a prolific contributor to natural history activities in Queensland, and his fossil discovery has greatly assisted palaeontological understanding of the Australian Ichthyosauria. This paper traces Young’s life and career, his travels, contributions and achievements.

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