RZS NSW News

Remembering the remarkable Frank Talbot 

3 January 1930 – 15 October 2024

Frank – in his office at Australian Museum in 1975 - Courtesy of the Australian Archives, series 391, M642-13

Professor Frank Hamilton Talbot, a distinguished marine biologist, environmentalist, and museum director, passed away peacefully on October 15, 2024, at the age of 94. His remarkable life was marked by significant contributions to museum research and management on three continents, as well as the crucial role museums play in documenting and conserving biodiversity.

During his tenure as Director of the Australian Museum (1966-1975), Frank significantly enhanced the museum’s research into Australia’s biodiversity, particularly in the marine environment, and its engagement with environmental issues in New South Wales. He established the One Tree Island Research Station, which is now managed by Sydney University, as well as Lizard Island Research Station. Even in retirement after serving as Director of the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., Frank played a pivotal role in the formation of the Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS).

Many of you may have had the privilege of knowing Frank Talbot personally or have benefited from the research facilities he established to facilitate Australian marine research. 

For further information about Frank’s significant contributions, please read the recently published open-access paper in Australian Zoologist (https://doi.org/10.7882/AZ.2025.004) written by three of Frank’s former colleagues (Pat Hutchings, Winston Ponder and Harry Recher).

 

Pat Hutchings