Tarlton Rayment


Percy Tarlton Rayment FRZS was an Australian artist, author, broadcaster, poet, naturalist, entomologist and beekeeper. He is especially renowned for his extensive pioneering studies of Australia’s native bees.
Apart from numerous papers and articles in the entomological literature and in natural history journals and popular magazines including Walkabout, books authored by Rayment include:
Although Rayment is currently best remembered as a person who wrote expertly about beekeeping in Australia, he spent a considerable amount of time with the Aruntja people of Central Australia. He had no formal training as an anthropologist, but his wide-ranging intelligence was a good alternative to such training. He was sufficiently accepted by the Aruntja people that, although a white-man, he was regarded as an honorary member of their tribe.
In The Prince of the Totem, Rayment himself drew the striking black-and-white illustrations that vividly depict the characters, and events.