Ernest Chinnery

Ernest William Pearson Chinnery (5 November 1887 – 17 December 1972) was an Australian anthropologist, ethnographer, and public servant. He worked as a senior colonial official and held many appointments throughout his career, such as Government Anthropologist in the Territory of Papua and Director of the Northern Territory Department of Native Affairs. He worked extensively in Papua New Guinea and visited communities along the Sepik river.

Early life

Ernest Chinnery was born on 5 November 1887 in Waterloo, Victoria, to John William Chinnery, a miner, and Grace Newton (née Pearson).

Career

Ernest Chinnery began working in public service administration in the Australian territory of Papua at the age of 22. After a year as a clerk he was appointed to be a patrol officer in lands yet unexplored by the Australian settlers. In 1917, he entered the Australian Flying Corps and served as Lieutenant, Air Mechanic 2nd Class, in World War I. After Chinnery was demobilized in England he attended University of Cambridge, where he was mentored by Alfred Cort Haddon, and obtained a degree in anthropology in 1919.

Chinnery returned to Papua in 1921 as a native labor supervisor in the mines at New Guinea Copper. During this time he appealed to the Australian government to fund anthropological and ethnographic study of the Papuan people. This was part of an ongoing debate during the interwar period about the efficacy of anthropology and ethnography in governance and assimilation of Native peoples.