It was sponsored .
It was authored by wealthy Australia amateur ornithologist Gregory Mathews , with considerable assistance from his collaborator and private secretary Tom Iredale , and was published by H.F. & G. Witherby of London over a 17 - year period from 1910 to 1927 .
It was sponsored and authored by wealthy Australia amateur ornithologist Gregory Mathews , with considerable assistance from his collaborator and private secretary Tom Iredale , and was published by H.F. & G. Witherby of London over a 17 - year period from 1910 to 1927 .