Arnold Eric Temple-Perkins (1890-20 June 1972) was a New Zealand-born government official, big game hunter and game ranger in Uganda.
He also served as the 11th President of The Uganda Society between 1942 - 1943.
Background.
Temple-Perkins was born in New Zealand to Arnold Temple and Emily Kate Perkins.
Career.
Having served in World War One with the Royal Field Artillery, Temple-Perkins joined the colonial service in the then British East. He was first posted as Assistant District.
Commissioner in Teso between 1918 to 1922. He was later appointed District Commissioner of Karamoja but only served for three months after which he was named Labour Commissioner in the Labour Department.
In the following year, Temple-Perkins variously served as "District Commissioner of Ankole (1924-ca.1929), District Commissioner of Masaka (ca.1929-1932) and Provincial Commissioner of Buganda (1932-1934) of Toro (1935-1936) and of the Eastern Province of Uganda (1937-1938)".
During World War Two, Temple-Perkins was made Director of Security and Intelligence in Uganda. His last official appointment was Resident of Buganda in 1944 after which he retired in 1945. He chose to remain in Uganda where he lived near Queen Elizabeth National Park and was referred to as "Purple Tomkins" by his colleagues.
He was later made an Honorary Warden of Uganda's National Parks in 1952. In 1955, he published a book about on his big game hunting experiences - 'Kingdom of the Elephant'.