Basedow was born in Kent Town, South Australia. His early education was in Adelaide, South Australia and Hanover, Germany. After finishing his schooling, Basedow studied science at the University of Adelaide where he majored in geology. Basedow later completed postgraduate studies at several European universities and undertook some medical work in Europe.
During his working life, Basedow took part in many major geological, exploratory and medical relief expeditions to central and northern Australia. On these expeditions, he took photographs and collected geological and natural history specimens and Aboriginal artefacts.
Basedow was one of the few people of his time involved in recording the traditional life of Aboriginal Australians.Kaus, David. A Different Time: The Expedition Photographs of Herbert Basedow 1903-1928, National Museum of Australia Press, Canberra, 2008. Extract: Basedow the man. He also actively lobbied government for better treatment of Aboriginal people and campaigned for an improvement in Aboriginal health.
During his career, Basedow published widely on anthropology, geology and natural history. He also published detailed accounts of some of his expeditions and two major anthropological works on Aboriginal Australians.
Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and other First Nations people are advised that this catalogue contains names, recordings and images of deceased people and other content that may be culturally sensitive. Please also be aware that you may see certain words or descriptions in this catalogue which reflect the author’s attitude or that of the period in which the item was created and may now be considered offensive.