Vale: Elery Hamilton-Smith, founding father of Australian leisure studies

Australasian Leisure Management has learned of the death of Elery Hamilton-Smith, one of the founding fathers of Australian leisure studies, who passed away on Saturday 27th June.

Elery had a distinguished career in academia and private consulting, working in leisure studies before leisure studies existed as a discipline in Australia.

His work in community development and youth work helped to form the fledgling field of what became leisure studies in the early 1970s.

With a very strong sense of social justice, Elery had an expansive knowledge across parks, leisure, eco-tourism and course caves and karst landscapes. Internationally he led the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Caves & Karst Specialist Group for 12 years and also advised on World Heritage Areas especially in Asia.

After his retirement he became an adjunct professor of Environmental Studies at Charles Sturt University.

The citation for his award of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2001 reads “for services to conservation and the environment, particularly in the areas of national parks, wilderness, cave and karst management; to the development of leisure and recreational activities; and to the community as a contributor to of social policy development and through programs dealing with youth issues.“

Elery Hamilton-Smith was 85.

A well attended memorial service was held at St Francis Church Pastoral Centre in Melbourne on Wednesday 1st July.

Image courtesy of the Australian Sociological Association.

Click here to read a fuller account on Elery's life.