Science in the field: the notebooks of Edmund Gill

Edmund Gill (1908-1986) was a palaeontologist and geomorphologist who, throughout his working life, recorded his fieldwork in some sixty notebooks.  Deakin University Library's Special Collection houses Edmund Gill's manuscript collection which includes seventeen notebooks relating primarily to his fieldwork and findings in Western Victoria.  The remainder of the notebooks and other items are part of the collection of the State Library of Victoria.

The notebooks were Gill's personal records, written in the field for his own use, with no intention that they should ever be made public.  They include his notes, photos and drawings, and cuttings he took from journals and newspapers.  Deakin University Library, in consultation with Edmund Gill's family, has decided to digitise the notebooks for their research value and potential interest to the community of Western Victoria. They are predominantly about geology, archaeology and ecology, but also include notes, quotations and jottings on a wide variety of other subjects.