Gould in the field

Fiery Parrakeet (Platycercus ignitus)
John Gould. The Birds of Australia, 1840-48, vol.5, pl.30
Australian Museum Research Library

Hobart Town. De M. Dumont-D'urville. Voyage au pole sud et dans l'ocèanie sur les corvettes L'Astrolabe et La Zèlèe... Atlas Pittoresque. v.2, pl.156 1846. Australian Museum Research Library

Great Brown Kingfisher (Daceld gigantea). John Gould. The Birds of Australia, 1840-48, vol.2, pl.18. Australian Museum Research Library

The success of Gould's various business and scientific endeavours relied on an uninterrupted supply of bird specimens that had been collected from all around the world. A number of Gould's contemporaries suggest that he was more at home behind a desk sorting his bird skins than out in the bush collecting them.

For much of his life, Gould gained access to material by working the international specimen trade and coordinating the activities of his employees and associates out in the field.

However, Gould did venture out into the field himself. He spent a challenging 19 months in Australia, during one of its worst droughts, observing bird and mammal life in the wild and collecting thousands of specimens.

John and Elizabeth in Australia

Recognising the lack of any comprehensive publication on The Birds of Australia, John Gould sailed for Australia in May 1838 to collect data. His travelling party included his wife, eldest son, and his collector, John Gilbert. During their stay, John and Elizabeth Gould were separated for extended periods of time and their experiences are documented in their letters. While John was out in the field in Tasmania, New South Wales and South Australia, Elizabeth spent much of her time in Hobart preparing sketches and waiting for the birth of their son, Franklin Tasman.

In August 1839, the Gould's travelled from Tasmania to New South Wales, visiting Sydney and Newcastle before basing themselves at Stephen Coxen's property at Yarrundi, near Scone

Gould collected 800 bird specimens, 70 quadrupeds and the nests and eggs of more than 70 species of birds and the skeletons of all the principal forms, making notes on them and their habitats. Once enough material had been collected to commence The Birds of Australia, Gould and his family departed Australia on 9 April 1840.

Maps of Gould's journey through Australia. Keith Hindwood Photograph Collection, Australian Museum Archives.