Archive of past Queensland Entomologists
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Joseph Leathom Hole WASSELL (1908-1966)
Born on Thursday Island where father was Resident Medical Officer. Educated in Sydney from age 7 and started collecting around Sydney during school years with coleopterist H.J.Carter, lepidopterist G.A.Waterhouse and dipterist E.W.Ferguson. Sent beetles to A.M.Lea at SA Museum. Moved to Brisbane in 1931, joined ESQ the same year and was the second treasurer in 1932-33. Served in medical capacity in NG in WW2 and, after being invalided out, in malaria vector training at UQ Brisbane under command of entomologist Captain F.A.Perkins. Collector in UQ Zoology Dept 1946-50. Worked for CSIRO pearl culture in Thursday Island 1951-52. Moved to his wife’s family’s remote cattle property station, Silver Plains, on east coast of Cape York Peninsula in 1955. Made valuable collections there of mosquitoes and their life histories for Dr E. N. Marks. Collected in rainforests of nearby unexplored McIlwraith Range. Discovered and published on unique weevils (Tentegia spp) which roll and breed in macropod dung pellets. Guided many visiting biologists including Harvard’s P.J. Darlington (1959) whom he rescued from a charging scrub bull by shooting it.
Obituary: Marks, E.N. 1968. Joseph Leathom Hole Wassell and his contribution to Australian Natural History. Australian Zoologist 14(3):229-235, Pls V-VI.