Cain, Walter   (1886 - 1972)

Walter was born at 'back O' the Town Farm', Ince Blundell, Lancashire, England, on 2 August 1886; emigrated to Australia from London on the Omrah, arriving at Fremantle, WA, on 16 July 1908; died at Millswood (Adelaide), SA, on 15 November 1972.

Cain was the seventh of 11 children born to Christopher Charles and Ellen Cain. He was apprenticed to be a joiner at the age of 15 at Samuel Websters Woodyard, near Liverpool, completing his trade in 1907.

In July 1908 Walter emigrated to Fremantle, WA, but he was unable to find sufficient work and caught a steamship to Port Adelaide, SA, where he was employed as a joiner.

About 1912 he sought employment with Andy Fisher & Co, who was preparing to construct the East West Railway, and worked for them as a carpenter (carriage builder) for 38 years, stationed at Port Augusta, SA.

While Walter's interests in birds originated during his childhood in England, his interest in botany and ornithology in Australia stems from his early meetings with A.W. Jessop, then director of the Botanic Gardens, Melbourne and Messers White and Francis from Queensland.

Source: Extracted from book: 'Passions in Ornithology: A century of Australian Egg Collectors' (2020), Mason & Pfitzner, Canberra. [consult for source references]
Portrait Photo: Extracted from: above.

Collecting localities for 'Cain, W.' from AVH (2021)

Data from 145 specimens