Robert Tonkinson (born 1938) is a retired Australian anthropologist. He was born in Perth, Western Australia. He was the Ronald M. Berndt foundation Professor of Anthropology, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, 1963–1981 and Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, West Australia.
Tonkinson received a Master of Arts for his thesis "Social structure and acculturation of Aborigines in the Western Desert"[1] and a PhD with his thesis "Da:wajil : a western desert aboriginal rainmaking ritual",[2] both from the University of Western Australia.
In 1973–1975, following an assistant professorship at the University of Oregon, Tonkinson and his wife Dr Myrna Tonkinson[3] studied Aboriginal people of the Western Desert under grants from the Australian National University and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies.[4]
Myrna Tonkinson was closely associated with the Cobourg Peninsula Land Claim of 1979, with Nicolas Peterson supplying anthropological material in support of the claim.[5]
He was editor of Anthropological Forum from 2000 to 2011.
Publications edit
- Tonkinson, Robert (1973) Aboriginal Victors of the Desert Crusade ISBN 0846575493
- Tonkinson, Robert (1991) The Mardu aborigines : living the dream in Australia's desert Holt, Rinehart and Winston ISBN 0030322820
- Tonkinson, Robert (editor) (2015) The Wentworth Lectures: Honouring Fifty Years of Australian Indigenous Studies ISBN 9781922059734
References edit
- ^ Tonkinson, Robert; University of Western Australia. Department of Anthropology (1966), Social structure and acculturation of Aborigines in the Western Desert, retrieved 19 September 2023
- ^ Tonkinson, Robert (1972), Da:wajil : a western desert aboriginal rainmaking ritual, retrieved 19 September 2023
- ^ "Advertising". The Canberra Times. Vol. 52, no. 15, 503. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 6 February 1978. p. 20. Retrieved 18 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Escape from the Sick Society". The Canberra Times. Vol. 48, no. 13, 581. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 1 November 1973. p. 3. Retrieved 18 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Cobourg Peninsula Land Claim No. 6". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 19 September 2023.