Person

Tindale, Norman B. (Norman Barnett), 1900-1993

• Tindale, Norman B., 1900-

1900-1993

Norman Barnett Tindale was born on 12 October 1900 in Perth, Western Australia. He was an Australian archaeologist, anthropologist, entomologist and linguist. He began his career as an entomologist at the South Australian Museum and later transitioned to anthropology after undertaking fieldwork in the Northern Territory. Tindale is best known for his work mapping Aboriginal Australian tribal territories and for extensive field research documenting Aboriginal languages, cultures and genealogies. He published a continental map of Aboriginal territories in 1940 and a more comprehensive version in 1974. He also contributed to linguistics, archaeology, and natural history, and held teaching positions in Australia and the United States. After emigrating to California in 1965, he made the United States his home. Tindale's wife, Dorothy May Gibson, died in 1969. He then married Muriel Nevin in 1970. Tindale died on 19 November 1993 at Palo Alto, California, shortly after receiving unofficial notice of his appointment as an Officer of the Order of Australia. His large collection of research materials were bequeathed to the South Australian Museum. His work has been influential in the study of Indigenous Australian cultures and land rights.

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Created, Kymberley Doyle, 09-Jun-2025.

Jones, P. (2020). Tindale, Norman Barnett (1900–1993). Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, accessed online 10-Jun-2025.