Williams, Keith Albert Walter (1916–2003)

With a wide range of natural history interests — fish, both marine and freshwater; birds; insects, particularly butterflies; and native plants, Keith Williams, as well as being a practical, expert naturalist and photographer, was a dedicated member of The Queensland Naturalists’ Club. An astute observer of wildlife, Keith started writing Nature Notes for the Club Newsletter in May 1963 with his note on the Golden Bower Bird, following this with notes on subjects as diverse as koalas, snakes, geckoes, and birds such as white faced herons, red-backed wrens and all kinds in between.

His writing was not restricted to informal Nature Notes, for Keith’s magnum opus was Native Plants — Queensland, the first volume of which was published in 1979 and the fourth and final volume in 1999. These four volumes, of over 1,400 pages, have been, and will continue to be, used by many naturalists and aspiring botanists. If he had no other achievements, this work alone would assure Keith Williams of a place in the 'Naturalists’ Hall of Fame'.

Keith wrote a number of more formal papers for The Queensland Naturalist among which was one on the fishes of North West Island (1969) which, together with the generous giving of his time, helped many members identify the small fishes of the coral reef pools on future trips.

Tylophora williamsii P.I.Forst. was named in honour of Keith WIlliams and his contributions to scientific knowledge of the flora of Queensland.

Sources: Extracted from: D.Reeves, The Queensland Naturalist, Vol.44, Nos.1-3, 2006; eponymy added Jan. 2016 via reference to the Australian Plant Name Index (APNI) database