The William McLennan Personal Papers, held in the Queensland Museum Library, contain over 6,000 pages regarding his expeditions in North Queensland, spanning the years 1906–1923. The material comprises diaries, observation notebooks, letters, and telegrams. In addition to McLennan’s ornithological observations, his detailed record keeping reveals significant geographical, meteorological, and social descriptions from the early 1900s. These also document the triumphs alongside the trials and tribulations of field work.
Who was William McLennan?
William Rae Mclennan (1882-1935) was an ornithology enthusiast born in Sanford, Victoria, Australia. When he was 16, working in Casterton in a local farrier’s shop, McLennan’s keen interest in birds was encouraged by Dr. E.A. D’Ombrain, who added scientific literature and record keeping to McLennan’s self-taught birding knowledge [i]. His reliable observations earned the respect of several key Australian ornithologists, including Dr William MacGillivray, Henry L. White and Gregory M. Mathews. The personal papers include the correspondence McLennan received from these men, which can be read on BHL here.
McLennan’s collecting work included expeditions to Cape York Peninsula between 1909 and 1915, and Gulf of Carpentaria between 1915 and 1916 [ii], both of which are referenced within Mathews’ monumental 12-volume publication The Birds of Australia (1910–1927). Mathews even named a bird genus after him, declaring “[McLennan] …, for Dr MacGillivray and others, has done such good work as a collector.” [iii]: see Maclennania mathewsi.
Maclennania mathewsi, named by Gregory M. Mathews in honour of William Rae Mclennan.
McLennan also captured observational data for the preparation of Neville W. Cayley’s Cayley’s Book of Birds, which informed Cayley’s 1931 publication What Bird is that?. The draft of this data includes sightings, locations, bird calls and descriptions.
The McLennan Collection continues to be an invaluable resource for researchers studying both Australian birds and the history of exploration in Australia. See: Descriptions of the vocalisations of the Painted Button-quail Turnix varius in North Queensland (Webster et al, 2021) and Scambler and Barram's work on Brolgas.
The William Rae Mclennan Collection has been recognized for its importance. In 2021, the Queensland Museum received a financial donation for the conservation of this significant resource. In 2023, the Collection was digitised and made freely accessible on BHL by BHL Australia.
Click here to browse the William Rae McLennan Collection.
[i] E. A. D'Ombrain (1936) William Rae McLennan (1883–1935), Emu – Austral Ornithology, 35:3, 291-293, https://doi.org/10.1071/MU935291
[ii] https://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/biogs/P003170b.htm
[iii] Mathews, G. M. Austral Avian Record, v.3(5), p.127, 27 December 1917. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33271330