A. C. Tutein-Nolthenius

Adriaan Constant Tutein-Nolthenius (16 September 1892– 13 October 1954) was a Dutch-born Ceylonese tea planter, amateur naturalist, author and appointed member of parliament.[1]

Adriaan Constant Tutein-Nolthenius was born on 16 September 1892 in Vlissingen, Netherlands, the oldest son and second child of Henri Paul Jules Tutein Nolthenius (1861–1930), a Burgemeester, and Petronella Adriana van Haeften (1868–1942). He emigrated to Ceylon, taking on British nationality in 1921. Tutein-Nolthenius married Marjorie née Fellowes-Gordon (1885–?), the sister of Harry Fellowes-Gordon and the widow of Denis Rynd (1883–?). In 1925 he took ownership of a tea plantation in West Haputale, adjoining what is now the Horton Plains National Park.[2]

In late 1931 he authored 37 years of Game Protection in Ceylon. A short history of the Ceylon Game and Fauna Protection Society, 1894 to 1931, which records the activities of the Ceylon Game and Fauna Protection Society from when it was first established on 23 May 1894 by E. Gordon Reeves as the Ceylon Game Protection Society to the date of the publication. The book documents the Society's campaign to prevent the indiscriminate slaughter of game for profit.[3]

An amateur naturalist, he was responsible for collecting a number of species of animals from the central highlands, including the Sri Lankan Highland Tree Mouse (Vandeleuria nolthenii) in 1929, the Sri Lankan shrew (Suncus fellowesgordoni) in 1932, and a pair of rare Horton Plains slender loris (Loris tardigradus nycticeboides) in 1937.[4][5][6]

He was appointed as a member of the Parliament of Ceylon on 9 June 1952 and died on 13 October 1954 in Bandarawela.[7][8] He was buried at St. Andrews Church, Haputale.[9]

  1. ^ "Hon. Tutein-Nolthenius, Adrian Constant, M.P." Directory of Past Members. Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  2. ^ Colin-Thome, David (ed.). "A. C. Tutein-Nolthenius". Planters Registry. History of Ceylon Tea. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  3. ^ "Game Protection in Ceylon". The Straits Times. 26 September 1931. p. 12. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  4. ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2009). The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals. JHU Press. p. 294. ISBN 9780801895333.
  5. ^ Srinivasulu, Chelmala (2018). South Asian Mammals: An updated Checklist and Their Scientific Names. CRC Press. ISBN 9780429880896.
  6. ^ Yatawara, Dhaneshi (25 July 2010). "Call to protect slender loris". Sunday Observer. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  7. ^ Goonetilleke, T. V., ed. (1983). Members of the Legislatures of Sri Lanka, 1931-83: Record of Service. Parliament of Sri Lanka. p. 212.
  8. ^ Administration Report of the Director of National Museums (Report). Colombo Museum. 1955. p. 3.
  9. ^ "Tea Country Graveyards". The Kabristan Archives. Retrieved 26 May 2020.