Alfred William Howitt (1830–1908)

Australian anthropologist and geologist. Educated in Heidelberg and at University College School, London. Went to Australia with his father and brother in 1852, and stayed as a farmer and cattle-drover after they left. Led the 1861 expedition in search of the explorers Robert O’Hara Burke and William John Wills. Police magistrate and warden of the goldfields in Gippsland, 1863–89. Admitted to the secret ceremonies of the Kurnai people of Gippsland. Studied the social organisation of Australian Aboriginal people. Published Kamilaroi and Kurnai (1880) with Lorimer Fison. Also wrote on Australian geology and Gippsland flora. Secretary of mines, Victoria, 1889; commissioner of audit, University of Melbourne, 1896. Retired in 1901.