Walter Drowley Filmer

Walter Drowley Filmer (1 September 1865 – 24 August 1944) was an early pioneer of X-rays in Australia, a wireless engineer, for a time ran the British Royal Train, and a world class entomologist that discovered several new species in his homeland. Filmer was a naturalist and established a private collection at his residence that thousands of people visited.

In 1865, Filmer was born in Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. He was the son of William Filmer (1828–1902) and Amy Filmer née Hatton (1831–1901).^[1] He married Mary Anne Eliza née Chessell (1868–1951) in 1890 in Sydney. The couple had 4 children: son, Walter Harold Alexander Filmer (1892–1964), born on 10 February 1892 in Sydney; daughter, Mary Filmer (1895–1895), born in 1895 in Petersham; son, Leroy Drowley Filmer (1902–1976), born on 5 April 1902 in Newcastle; and son, Eric Filmer (1903–1986), born 10 December 1903 in Toronto.^[2] In 1944, he died at home at Lake Macquarie.^[3]^[4]

In 1876, at the age of 11, he was apprenticed to a boot maker. In 1884, by the age of 19, Filmer became an assistant telegraph line repairer and operator with the New South Wales Post Office. From 1885 to 1912, he was appointed to the New South Wales Government Railways as telegraph officer. In 1890, Filmer was selected to go to England as a cadet to study railway electrical science and safety. In England he lived with an uncle at the Tower of London. At one point he found himself in charge of the British Royal Train that ran from London to Edinburgh. After completion of railway studies in England in 1891, Filmer returned to New South Wales. With newly acquired knowledge and skills, he received appointment as Electrical Inspector for Railways and remained in that capacity until retirement in 1908.^[3]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

In 1909, Filmer was appointed head instructor of electricity for mines at Newcastle Technical College, Maitland Technical College and Cessnock Technical College and taught Applied Electricity. These schools were all mining technical colleges. From 1909 to 1931, he was physics master at Newcastle Technical College, and retired in 1931.^[3]^[9]^[7]^[8]

Professional Service

Institute of Electrical Engineers (London), member
Institute of Engineers (Australia), founding member
Maitland Scientific Society, member

Wireless and X-Rays

Filmer received an appointment as wireless engineer to the Douglas Mawson Expedition to the South Pole, but was unable to accept since the Railway Department would not grant him a release to participate. Filmer and his brother Bert Filmer operated one of the first X-ray installation in Australia, three days after cables were received in Australia that announced the discovery of X-rays. From 1896 to 1910, the Filmer brothers were appointed Honorary Electricians at Newcastle Hospital and were X-rays operators at Newcastle Hospital.^[3]^[6]^[7]^[8]

Entomologist

Accolades

References

↑ Australia Births and Baptisms, 1792-1981. Database. FamilySearch. Filmer. Citing Maitland, Australia; FHL microfilm 991,451.
↑ Editor (16 February 2011). Walter Drowley Filmer. Family Tree Web. Genealogy. Australia.
1 2 3 4 5 Owen, M. (February 1965). WALTER DROWLEY FILMER, 1865-1944: AUSTRALIAN X-RAY PIONEER. Journal of the College of Radiologists of Australasia. 9: 10-23.
↑ Australia Deaths and Burials, 1816-1980. Database. FamilySearch. Walter Drowley Filmer, 1944. Citing reference 303; FHL microfilm 991,451.
↑ Filmer, Walter Drowley. (1897). Letterbook, 1890-1897. Electricity and Railways. Railroads, New South Wales, Electrification. Reports to the Commissioners for Railways, Sydney. Australia.
1 2 Home, R.W. & Needham, P.J. (June 1995). Walter Drowley Filmer. Physics in Australia to 1945. Australian Science Archives Project.
1 2 3 4 Editor. (2009). Filmer, Walter Drowley (1865-1944). Trove. National Library of Australia.
1 2 3 4 Hartley, Dulcie. (2002). Walter Drowley Filmer 1865 - 1944: Physicist, geologist, botanist, biologist & zoologist. Fennell Bay, NSW. Australia.
↑ Filmer, W.D. (1920). Notes on the physiography of Lake Macquarie. Read before the Newcastle Division, Institution of Engineers, Australia on 22 May 1920. Newcastle Division of the Australian Institution of Engineers. Newcastle, N.S.W. Australia.
↑ Baum, Jiří. (1938). On the habits of the Australian spider Dinopis subrufus L. Koch. Mem Soc Vestnik Ceskoslovenske Zoologicke Spolecnosti Prague. (5): 28-32.
↑ Tillyard, Robin John. (1917). Mesozoic and tertiary Insects of Queensland. Plannipenia, Trichoptera and the new order Protomecoptera. In Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. 42(1): 175-200.
↑ Tillyard, R. J. (1926). Upper Permian insects of New South Wales.
↑ Tillyard, Robin John. (1926). The Insects of Australia and New Zealand.
↑ Mitchell, John. (1918). The Carboniferous trilobites of Australia. In Proc. Linn. Soc. NSW. 43(3): 437-494.
↑ Mitchell, J. (1919). On two new trilobites from Bowning. In Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. (44): 441-449.
↑ Mitchell, John. (1919). Some additional trilobites from New South Wales. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. 44: 850-6.
↑ Johnston, T. Harvey. (1931). An amphilinid cestode from an Australian tortoise. Austral. J. Exp. Biol. Med. Sc. Adelaide. 8: 1-7.
↑ Johnston, T. Harvey. (1934). Remarks on some Australian Cestodaria. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. 59(1-2): 66-70.
↑ Smith, Tony. (2009). A short history of the origins of radiography in Australia. Radiography. 15: E42-E47.
↑ Johnston, T.P. (November 2015). Physicians and Radiologists and Other Contributors to the Health Sciences. A Philatelic Look at Health Physics History. Health Physics News. 43(11): 24-25.

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