Herbert Basedow (27 October 1881 – 4 June 1933) was an Australian anthropologist, geologist, politician, explorer and medical practitioner.
Basedow was born in Kent Town, South Australia. His early education was in Adelaide, South Australia and Hanover, Germany. After finishing his schooling, Basedow studied science at the University of Adelaide where he majored in geology. Basedow later completed postgraduate studies at several European universities and undertook some medical work in Europe.
During his working life, Basedow took part in many major geological, exploratory and medical relief expeditions to central and northern Australia. On these expeditions, he took photographs and collected geological and natural history specimens and Aboriginal artefacts.
Basedow was one of the few people of his time involved in recording the traditional life of Aboriginal Australians. He also actively lobbied government for better treatment of Aboriginal people and campaigned for an improvement in Aboriginal health.
Elected at the 1927 election as an independent to the three-member seat of Barossa, Basedow served as a member of the South Australian House of Assembly for a three-year term. He was defeated at the 1930 election but was again elected at the 1933 election, shortly before his death in June that year.
During his career, Basedow published widely on anthropology, geology and natural history. He also published detailed accounts of some of his expeditions and two major anthropological works on Aboriginal Australians.
Personal life
Herbert Basedow was born in Kent Town, South Australia, the youngest son of Martin Peter Friedrich Basedow and his second wife Anna Clara Helena, née Muecke (or Mücke). Martin and Anna were both born in Germany and met after immigrating to Australia.
Basedow's early education was in Adelaide. The Basedow family visited Germany between 1891 and 1894, and for part of that time Herbert Basedow attended high school in Hanover. He completed his schooling at Prince Alfred College, Adelaide. Between 1891 and 1902, Basedow completed a Bachelor of Science degree at the School of Mines, Adelaide, and the University of Adelaide. He majored in geology, but also studied botany and zoology.
Basedow was elected an associate member of the Royal Society of South Australia in 1901 and a fellow in 1904. He was also a member, honorary member and fellow of other geographical and geological societies in Australia, Great Britain and Germany.
After completing his university degree in 1902, Basedow held some short-term government appointments including as one of four prospectors on the 1903 South Australian Government North-West Prospecting Expedition. In 1905, he joined South Australian Government Geologist Henry Yorke Lyell Brown and mining inspector Lionel Gee on a geological expedition to the Northern Territory. On his return to Adelaide, Basedow was appointed curator of the geological and mineral collections of the South Australian School of Mines where he classified the 2500 specimens in the School's geological collection. His catalogue was published in 1907.
Basedow was a keen photographer, and throughout his career he used photography to record his scientific work and his travels in remote parts of Australia. A set of 200 images taken on the 1903 South Australian Government prospecting expedition are the earliest known photographs by Basedow. He included more than 500 of his photographs in the articles and books he published and used them to illustrate his public lectures.
In 1907, Basedow accepted an invitation from German anthropologist Hermann Klaatsch to study in Germany. In Europe, he completed postgraduate studies at several universities, including Heidelberg, Göttingen, Breslau and Zürich, and undertook some medical work. Basedow returned to Australia with a PhD in geology and two postgraduate qualifications in medicine. The medical degree he was awarded based on his work on the craniometric measurements of Aboriginal Australians, combined with his practical medical work in Europe, later allowed Basedow's registration as a medical practitioner in Australia.