Joseph Elsey

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Possible copyright infringement

If you have just labeled this page as a possible copyright infringement, please add the following to the bottom of Wikipedia:Copyright_problems/2008_June_11/Articles * {{subst:article-cv|:Joseph Elsey}} from [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A040141b.htm]. ~~~~

The previous content of this page appears to infringe on the copyright of the text from the source(s) below and is now listed on Wikipedia:Copyright problems: http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A040141b.htm Do not edit this page until an administrator has resolved this issue. To write a new article without infringing material, follow this link to a temporary subpage. State that you have done so on this article's discussion page. Note that simply modifying copyrighted text is not sufficient to avoid copyright infringement—if the original copyright violation cannot be clearly identified and the article reverted to a prior version, it is best to write the article from scratch. An administrator will move the new article into place once the issue is resolved. If you hold the copyright to this text and permit its use under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License: Explain this on this article's discussion page, then either display a notice to this effect at the site of original publication or send an e-mail from an address associated with the original publication to permissions-en at wikimedia dot org or a postal letter to the Wikimedia Foundation. These messages must explicitly permit use under the GFDL. Note: Articles on Wikipedia must be written from a neutral point of view and must be verifiable in published third-party sources; copyright issues aside, your text may not be appropriate for inclusion in Wikipedia. If this text is in the public domain, or is already under a license suitable for Wikipedia: Explain this on this article's discussion page, with reference to evidence. Unless the copyright status of the text on this page is clarified, it will be deleted one week after the time of its listing.

Posting copyrighted material without the express permission of the copyright holder is a violation of applicable law and of Wikipedia policy. If you have questions about copyright, see Copyright FAQ. Those who repeatedly post copyrighted material will be blocked from further editing. Temporarily, the original posting is still accessible for viewing in the page history. You are welcome to submit original contributions.

Maintenance use only: {{subst:Nothanks-web|pg=Joseph Elsey|url=http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A040141b.htm}} ~~~~

This page has few or no links to other articles. (Tagged since May 2008). You can improve this article by adding links to related material, within the existing text. For some link suggestions, you can try Can We Link It tool. (You can help!)

This article is orphaned as few or no other articles link to it. Please help introduce links in articles on related topics. (May 2008)

This article does not cite any references or sources. (May 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (May 2008)

Sections should be added to this article, to conform with Wikipedia's Manual of Style. Please discuss this issue on the talk page. This article has been tagged since May 2008.

This article or section needs to be wikified to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please help improve this article with relevant internal links. (May 2008)

Joseph Elsey was born on the 14th of March 1834 in London, England. He was the only son of Joseph Ravenscroft Elsey, a Bank of England official. He was educated at Mill Hill School and trained in medicine at Guy's Hospital. In March 1855 he qualified at the Royal College of Surgeons and the College of Chemistry, and soon after was appointed surgeon and naturalist to the North Australian Exploring Expedition, led by A.C. Gregory. Before leaving England in April Elsey sought advice on meteorology from Charles Sturt. In July 1855 he reached Melbourne in the Marco Polo and went on to join Gregory in Sydney. The expedition, in which Elsey ranked fifth and Ferdinand Mueller sixth, sailed from Port Jackson and reached the mouth of the Victoria River near the end of September. Elsey had made notes on coastal history and natural history, and while quartered at the Victoria was diligent in medical work and the study and collecting of birds and insects; he also bred caterpillars in boxes, gave attention to fish and crocodiles, made geological and meteorological observations, and cultivated vegetables. Some of his most interesting beetles, which frequented treetops, were obtained from the stomachs of high-flying birds. 'You cannot imagine', he wrote to his parents, 'what delight my work as a naturalist affords me. Not a day passes but some wonder or novelty shows itself'.

In June 1856 Joseph Elsey, with the two Gregory brothers, Ferdinand Mueller and three stockmen, trekked overland to Brisbane, a journey of more than 2000 miles that took six months. Earlier Elsey had obtained two new species of birds, now known as the lilac-crowned wren and the buff-sided robin, and on the overland journey he discovered a third novelty, the golden-shouldered parrot. These species were named by John Gould, who acknowledged the informative nature of numerous field notes furnished by Elsey.

Joseph Elsey returned to Sydney and in March 1857 sailed in the Alnwick Castle for England. There he was assured that Gregory's tribute to his conduct had been officially noted with 'great satisfaction'. He was then offered appointment as government surgeon at the Seychelles Islands; but his health had become seriously ill in London and he went instead to the West Indies, where he hoped to do natural history work in a better climate. He died at St Kitts on 31 December 1857 because of his sickness.

Joseph Elsey was named after a tortoise named 'Elseya' and also named after a pastoral property in Northern Territory, Australia named 'Elsey Station'.