A slim square hardcover book with text by Allen Keast and a record of Australian Bush Sounds. The cover has a photograph of a Black Swan nesting in open wetlands. Inside the left front cover is a pocket with an EP record by Carl and Lise Weismann. The book has explanations of the sounds recorded as well as black and white photographs of the creatures featured. p.20.non-fictionA book and recording of Australian Bush Sounds from the Victorian border to Cape York. It is a follow-up to the previously very successful record of Australian Bird songs by Carl and Lise Weismann in 1957 - 58. All were recorded in their natural surroundings but for the Dingoes which they had to insert the howls of a group in a faunal reserve. The lyrebird was drawn from and excellent sequence by Harold Pollock. The book describes the Sound and Communication in Animals and Insect Sounds.animals, insects, mammals, australian birds, australian animals

Book. ALEC H CHISHOLM COLLECTION. 72 page hardcover book on setting sounds and rhythms of the Australian bush to music. Introduction by Bernard O'Dowd. Published in 1924 by Edward A. Vidler, Melbourne. Printed by Keating-Wood Pty Ltd, Melbourne. Newspaper book reviews - 'Bush Music' pasted opposite title page. Pasted on a separate page is a newspaper article by Henry Tate ''Bush Rhythms'' (Argus, May 1919). Handwritten in ink on flyleaf '183 Henry Tate'. Catalogue sticker ''2146 TAT'' on spine.Henry Tatebooks, collections, music, alec h chisholm collection, henry tate, bernard o'dowd, music, bush sounds & rhythms

A slim square hardcover book with text by Harold J. Pollock and an EP record inside the front cover - Menura the Lyrebird Australian Bush Sounds. The cover has a photograph of a Black Swan nesting in open wetlands. Inside the left front cover is a pocket with an EP record recorded by Harold j. Pollock. by The book has explanations of the sounds recorded as well as black and white photographs of the lyrebirds featured. Pp.20. There is small gift card included with a coloured illustration on the front of The Mountain Pheasant (Lyrebird) On the back of the card is a description of the artist, R Browne, who was a convict artist of little renown. The card was printed to aid: Victorian Association for Mental Health, Camberwell, Vic.3124. Pp.20. non-fictionA book and recording of Australian Bush Sounds from the Victorian border to Cape York. It is a follow-up to the previously very successful record of Australian Bird songs by Carl and Lise Weismann in 1957 - 58. All were recorded in their natural surroundings but for the Dingoes which they had to insert the howls of a group in a faunal reserve. The lyrebird was drawn from and excellent sequence by Harold Pollock. The book describes the Sound and Communication in Animals and Insect Sounds.animals, australian birds, australian animals, lyrebirds, recording

This book was produced with a grant from the Victorian Government Dept of State and Regional Development. Grace Elizabeth Jennings Carmichael (1867-1904), poet and nurse, was born on 24 February 1867 at Ballarat, Victoria, daughter of Archibald Carmichael, a miner from Perthshire, Scotland, and his wife Margaret Jennings, née Clark, from Cornwall, England. . About 1880 the family moved to Gippsland where Henderson managed a station near Orbost. Grace learned to love the Gippsland forest. She began to express in verse her understanding of the sights, scents and sounds of the bush, often writing in some remote clearing, her manuscripts stored for privacy in a hollow trunk. The Bairnsdale Advertiser published her first story, and the Weekly Times an early poem; then on 28 November 1885 her poem 'The Old Maid' was published in the Australasian under her pen name Jennings Carmichael. Encouraged by its editor, David Watterston, Grace sent nearly all her subsequent verse to that newspaper. (Read more by Lindsay Gardiner in Australian Dictionary of Biography.)This is a useful collection of the poetry of Jennings Carmichael, a leading Australian poet who spent much of her childhood in Orbost.A thin, stapled, yellow covered paperback book. It is titled "Grace Elizabeth Jennings Carmichael" and is a limited edition print of Carmichael's poetry. Print is black.poetry literature jennings-carmichael

a. Document ( 5 pages ) outlining common funding agreement for CD production between Department of Premier and Cabinet and Bendigo Historical Society, to produce commemorative CD for Anzac Centenary. Signed by Jim Evans and Neville Davies on behalf of BHS. CD produced by Peter Ellis. B. 7 page rundown on CD production process completed by Peter Ellis, mention of Hans Meinig sound engineer., Emu Creek Bush Band. Some songs to be recorded with audience participation at the Goornong Concert 24th. January 2015.military, world war 1, funding agreement for cd

A4 sheet white printer paper with 8 newspaper clippings glued on. Handwritten note reads: Death notices for Peter Ellis - Bendigo Advertiser Wed 20th - Saturday 23rd May 2015. Death Notices. Ellis - Peter OAM. Our college community pays tribute to Peter, a highly respected former staff member and ex-student. He was a highly valued and supportive colleague, mentor and friend. Peter will be remembered for his wealth of scientific knowledge, his love of the natural environment and his contribution to the local and state Lab Technicians Associations. - Principal, staff and Students of Bendigo Senior Secondary College. City of Greater Bendigo. Ellis- Peter. A gentle man with a wonderful passion for Greater Bendigo's natural, built and musical heritage, Peter will be greatly missed by the Greater Bendigo Heritage Advisory Committee. He willingly shared his love and knowledge of the rich and unique heritage around us. Ellis - Peter Nicolaus OAM. You went so quickly. I will miss our trips to Festivals doing crosswords on the way. My sympathy to both families and Brian a great mate to the last. A void impossible to fill. - Mary Smith. Ellis- Peter OAM. A tribute to our intrepid band leader of 34 years who took us on an unforgettable musical journey of preserving and teaching the traditions of dance and music to old and young throughout Australia. You are irreplaceable ' Dirty Pierre' - Past and present members of the celebrated Emu Creek Bush Band. Ellis - Peter OAM. Founder and leader of Emu Creek Bush Band. Australia's largest collector of dancing history. A great friend taken far too young. Au revoir 'Dirty Pierre' - John and Sue Williams. Ellis - Peter OAM. Thanks Pete, you introduced me to a life of extraordinary experiences, amazing friendships, dance and music. We did have some fun. - Marg Hogan. Ellis - Peter. We are so saddened by your passing. Your music and great sense of humour will remain with us. - Wedderburn Old Timers Band. Ellis - Peter. A friend of many years. We will remember your warmth, humour and tireless pursuit to preserve the Natural Environment of Bendigo. Your love and knowledge of the Bendigo Flora was inspirational. - Mary and Patrick Ward. Ellis- Peter. A music and dance man with a warm appreciation and encouragement of diverse talent. - Winzar boys. Death Notices. Ellis - Peter. Greatly respected and loved by his many friends in the traditional music and dance movement across Australia. His achievements were many and he will be missed. - The Traditional Social Dance Association of Victoria. Ellis - Peter. The Bendigo Historical Society is saddened at the passing of fine musician and friend Peter Ellis. - Committee and members, Bendigo Historical Society. Ellis- Peter. A talented musician and long time friend who was always willing to help us. - Members of Euro fest Choir and Inc. Ellis - Peter. Friend and neighbour, nature's gentleman at rest. Sincere sympathy to Robyn, Rick, Ryan and Doug. - Judy Monti. Ellis- Peter OAM Fond memories of 28 years with the band. Sadly Missed. - Stan and Heather Symes. Death Notices. Ellis - Peter OAM Pete, a much loved friend of many years. We fondly remember your knowledge, humour and those great times together, especially in the bush. Deeply missed. - Rob and Glen Moors. Death Notices. Ellis- Peter. Fond memories, so sadly missed. Keep playing your music Peter. Loved cousin Cheryl and families. Ellis -Peter. Loved cousin of Sandra and Phil Jubber and families. Deeply Missed. Ellis - Peter. A long term member of the Bendigo Field Naturalist Club. Deepest sympathy to his friends, he will be sadly missed by all. Ellis - Peter. Leader of the 'Celebrated Emu Creek Bush Band' Memories of lots of great times playing and travelling all over. We learned so much about dancing and music and it just won't be the same. - Don and Julie. Ellis - Peter. Much loved friend, dancer and band leader. - Dianne and Doug Pearse. Death Notices. Ellis - Peter. Peter, you gave so much laughter and happiness to many, many people through your lovely nature and your brilliant music to listen to and dance to. You have left a legacy of music, books and dance as well as unforgettable memories. Rest in peace. - Diana Austin. Death Notices Ellis Peter 27/3/1946 - 18/5/2015 Formerly of Emu Creek Bush Band and the Wedderburn Old Timers). Passed away suddenly at Bendigo Hospice. Loved son of Joan and Allan Nielsen (both Dec). Loving brother of Robyn and Doug. Brother-in-law of Rick and Uncle of Ryan and the extended family. Let the music play on… For Funeral arrangements see later edition. Death Notices. Ellis - Peter Nicolaus O.A.M. Suddenly. An inaugural member of the Bush Dance and Music Club and the Emu Creek Bush Band. A much loved friend, dance instructor and musician. Very generous with his time and knowledge. Passionate collector of dance music and old time dances. Will be sadly missed by all who knew him. - Devastated dance members. Ellis- Peter. OAM 27/3/46 - 18/5/15 Passed away peacefully after a brief illness. Much loved and irreplaceable brother, cousin and uncle to the Lilford, Datson, Burns, Shaw and Kitch families. You enriched our lives. No words can express how much we will miss you. Ellis Pierre (Peter) You were as much a father to me as an uncle. I never told you that or how much I looked up to you. You will be sadly missed - Boswald ( Ryan). Ellis - Peter. We are going to miss our Monday night dinners before rehearsal. A lover of fine wine, good food and great music. Pierre, our Maestro and fearless band leader, we will miss the sound of your squeeze box and your passion for the music. - Paul and Alida Robinson, Emu Creek Bush Band. Ellis - Peter. A close friend colleague, musician, authority on native plants and colonial music researcher. An enormous influence in preserving early Australian dance and dance music. We will all miss you Pete. - Jill and Graeme Balaam. Funeral Notices Ellis. A service of thanksgiving for the life of the late Mr Peter Nicolaus Ellis will be held at the Mulqueen Family Chapel, 15-25 Bridge street, Bendigo on MONDAY (May 25) at 11.00am. A private cremation will follow. Tributes can be left at www.heavenaddress.com Mulqueen Family 15-25 Bridge street, Bendigo Est. 1853 5443 4455.person, individual, peter ellis oam

Colour photograph. Quite hard to see, photo too dark. Band on stage outside. Banner reading 'The Bush Dance & Music Club of Bendigo with the Emu Creek Bush Band'. Australia flag bunting. Back of photo reads: 5A Sound Shell Rosalind Park Bendigo.entertainment, music, emu creek bush band

Colour photograph. Band on stage outside. Banner reading 'The Bush Dance & Music Club of Bendigo with the Emu Creek Bush Band'. Australia flag bunting. Back of photo reads: 7A Sound Shell Rosalind Park Bendigo.entertainment, music, musicians

Link to 524. Grace Elizabeth Jennings Carmichael (1867-1904), poet and nurse, was born on 24 February 1867 at Ballarat, Victoria, daughter of Archibald Carmichael, a miner from Perthshire, Scotland, and his wife Margaret Jennings, née Clark, from Cornwall, England. . About 1880 the family moved to Gippsland where Henderson managed a station near Orbost. Grace learned to love the Gippsland forest. She began to express in verse her understanding of the sights, scents and sounds of the bush, often writing in some remote clearing, her manuscripts stored for privacy in a hollow trunk. The Bairnsdale Advertiser published her first story, and the Weekly Times an early poem; then on 28 November 1885 her poem 'The Old Maid' was published in the Australasian under her pen name Jennings Carmichael. Encouraged by its editor, David Watterston, Grace sent nearly all her subsequent verse to that newspaper. (Read more by Lindsay Gardiner in Australian Dictionary of Biography.)This is significant to the Orbost region in that it is associated with a woman who is certainly our foremost female poet.A framed photograph of a plaque above a photograph of head and shoulders of a woman. They are framed in a gold wooden frame and mounted on a light brown buff card.carmichael-jennings-grace poet memorial-plaque memento

Grace Elizabeth Jennings Carmichael (1867-1904), poet and nurse, was born on 24 February 1867 at Ballarat, Victoria, daughter of Archibald Carmichael, a miner from Perthshire, Scotland, and his wife Margaret Jennings, née Clark, from Cornwall, England. . About 1880 the family moved to Gippsland where Henderson managed a station near Orbost. Grace learned to love the Gippsland forest. She began to express in verse her understanding of the sights, scents and sounds of the bush, often writing in some remote clearing, her manuscripts stored for privacy in a hollow trunk. The Bairnsdale Advertiser published her first story, and the Weekly Times an early poem; then on 28 November 1885 her poem 'The Old Maid' was published in the Australasian under her pen name Jennings Carmichael. Encouraged by its editor, David Watterston, Grace sent nearly all her subsequent verse to that newspaper. (Read more by Lindsay Gardiner in Australian Dictionary of Biography.) This is a useful collection of the poetry of Jennings Carmichael, a leading Australian poet who spent much of her childhood in Orbost.A 212 pp cloth bound book with a dark purple cover and gold print on the spine and front - "Poems by Jennings Carmichael".Inside cover.carmichael-jennings literature poetry

Before Mt Tarawera erupted, the Pink and White Terraces at Lake Rotomahana in New Zealand’s North Island, were considered one of the wonders of the world. Tourists came to soak in the thermal hot pools and view the marble-like terraces. Due to a volcanic eruption of Mt Tarawera On June 10 1886, between 108-120 people were killed and several settlements were destroyed. It also destroyed the world-famous Pink and White Terraces. The terraces became a crater over 100 metres deep. Within 15 years it filled with water, forming a much larger new Lake Rotomahana. The chain of craters at Waimangu became the site of many new geothermal features, including Waimangu Geyser, the largest in the world, and New Zealand’s largest hot spring, Frying Pan Lake. The Burton brothers (photographers), Alfred Burton was born in 1834 in Leicester and died in 1914 in Dunedin. His brother Walter Burton was born in 1836 and died in 1880. Many of the Burton Brothers' works and original equipment were collected by Dunedin photographer and historian Hardwicke Knight, and are now housed in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington. This album was donated to the Ballarat School of Mines Museum by James Oddie in 1887. (See Cat. No. 458, No. 1720) Alfred Burton was born in 1834 at Leicester and died at Dunedun, New Zealand, in 1914. Walter Burton was born in 1836, and died in 1889. Large green album containing numerous B/W original photographs of New Zealand, especially volcanos. - Includes Pink and White Terraces (no longer in existance). Photos were taken before and after volcanic eruption. A recent inclusion is article on the terraces by Federation University's George Hook and Stephen Carey.Each photo has a caption.pink terrace, white terrace, new zealand, sumner, burton bros, rotokakahi wairoa, rotomahana crater, tikitapu bush, wanganui bridge, maori, canoe, volcano, mount tarawara, james oddie, ballarat school of mines museum, eruption, waterfall, bridge, sulphur pool, crater, mt tarawera, tikitapu lake, rananga house, wairoa, waikato, maori church wairoa, ganaru, taherepokiore, golden bay, paterson, dowling st dunedin, rocky hill, harison's cove, milford sound, tall ship, hydraulic mining, hale's arm, james oddie (donor), george hook, stephen carey, lake rotomahana

Awabakal is the language of the Aboriginal people from the Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Lower Hunter region of New South Wales in Australia. As Lenny takes his walk and collects insects, we learn some words that relate to the bush, to the landscape and the little creatures that would be found there. This book has been printed with sound, which can be heard through an Audio Reader. If you have an Audio Reader, run it over the pages to hear the sound.word lists, colour illustrationsawabakal, newcastle, lake macquarie, hunter region, juvenile literature

In this example, nineteen 33-speed gramophone records are needed for a single title. Labelled with His Master's Voice, and recorded solely for the use of the blind by the Sound Recording Committee by Arthur Bush, they were dispatched via post to members who were in possession of commercial record players. Australian blindness agencies were purchasing overseas titles to expand their libraries for a growing number of users.19 vinyl records :12 in., 33-speed ;in paper sleeves, Reference number JG5433-JG5451audio books, royal national institute for the blind

15 min black and white 16 mm film, no sound. Begins with shots of trees in the bush and piles of cut logs beside a track before moving to a group of men standing by a car with 'Operation Firewood' on the boot. A road sign indicates 'Nathalia 6 1/2', 'Numurkah 22', 'Picola 3'. 'Katunga' and 'Barmah'. Shots of an empty Austin flat bed truck with 'Legacy Operation Firewood', poster on the drivers door covering the truck company name,and other empty flat bed trucks parked along a country town street which looks unsealed. A shot of a wooden sign saying 'Euroa Please slow down' follows with the Legacy car travelling very slowly past it before we see a large group of men throwing up logs onto a nearly fully loaded truck, and then a partially loaded truck with men on the flat bed stacking the logs. Five trucks are shown fully loaded and a crowd of men are gathered around a table. A circular saw (with no safety guards!) is being used to cut the bigger logs into a manageable size for splitting before being loaded by a lot of men of varying ages. The film then moves to the city where we see three men riding on the back of a moving fully loaded truck, before it stops to deliver the cut but unsplit logs to a delighted widow and her children. The logs are hurled into her front garden as a well dressed man photographs the proceedings. Other deliveries follow to further widows, but it is not clear who is going to split the logs, some of which are extremely large. The film ends showing a line of empty trucks, and a fenced city area with a sign saying 'Melbourne Legacy Firewood' holding further a supply of logs. 15 mins 07 sec. Legatees delivered firewood annually until 1995 to widows to help them through the winters in a project called 'Operation Firewood' . See also Cat. No. 000848.A record of Legacy helping widows with supplying and stacking firewood. When open fires were the main source of heating a load of firewood, and help moving it, would have been very important to the widows.Metal Kodak film cannister, silver coloured, with 'Firewood' label on outer casing.No inscriptions on internal film. operation firewood, widows

16mm colour film with no sound - the second B&W workprint not digitised. 13 min 24 sec. Begins with the flag raising ceremony at Somers Camp and then moves to Westernport Airfield where the boys are seen going for flights in Cessnas whilst others learn archery and play volleyball. Moves on to beach activities and dinghy sailing supervised by Legatees. Back at Somers there is a comic performance of Goldilocks in front of a large audience of younger Junior Legatees and the supervising Legatees, which ends with a bearded Goldilocks being taken away in a police car. A service in the bush chapel is then shown before we see the older boys throwing one of their number off a jetty. A volleyball game completes the film. There is no indication of date, but the clothes seem to be 1960s/70s. This film has been digitised to preserve its content. Melbourne Legacy gratefully acknowledges the support of the Victorian Government and Public Record Office Victoria for making this possible.Depicts the work done by Legacy volunteers in helping Legacy families of the time. Volunteer groups such as Legacy supported those in need at a time when government assistance was much less than it is today.Two 16mm black and white films. One film is wrapped in brown paper. Under the wrapping the film is enclosed in a plasic wrap.Canister - patterned Agfa _ Gefaert Fine Grain. / Key No. 170627_02 'Not to be screened under any circumstances! Only to be handled by an expert with the approprate facilities for handling this type of film' on the brown wrapping paper, probably to keep a good copy.somers camp, camp

Published: (1934, June 26). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), p. 11. Published title: VICE-ROYALTY GREETS THE KING OF THE BEASTS AT THE ZOO. Published caption: Lord Huntingfield experienced a pleasant “induction ceremony” as Patron of the Royal Zoological and Acclimatisation Society yesterday, when he made a tour of the Zoological Gardens. The picture shows the Governor, accompanied by Lady Huntingfield, inspecting the King of Beasts, who is submitting to a little playful treatment from the Director of the Gardens, Mr. Wilkie, while the Director whispers in his ear that a distinguished visitor has come to see him. (Inset), is a picture of Lord Huntingfield greeting one of the Koalas. Trove article identifier: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204818472 Description: A man wearing a hat, scarf and overcoat reaches up to pat a koala in a tree watched by a man in a hat and suit. Research by project volunteer, Fiona Collyer: In 1932, the Zoo built an Australian native animal enclosure which visitors could enter and closely view koalas, wallabies, kookaburras and magpies all placed together. The branches of the trees in the enclosure were cut so that visitors could easily see and feed the koalas sitting in them. The cost to feed each koala fresh gum leaves was fifteen shillings per week. By 1924, Queensland was the last stronghold in Australia for the koala. They were functionally extinct in South Australia, only a few hundred in NSW, and an estimated population of 1000 animals remained in Victoria. There had been a six-month open season on koalas in Queensland in 1919 where over a million had been slaughtered, however with its vast, dense forests it was impossible to accurately know their numbers. Koala fur is tough, warm and waterproof and was in high demand from consumers in Canada, Britain and the US to make hats and gloves and for lining greatcoats. In 1927, with Queensland suffering a crippling drought and high unemployment, the cash-strapped McCormack Labor Government declared an “Open Season” on koalas and “opossums” for their skins, for the month of August. (Possums were often called “opossums” at this time but they are actually possums). There were widespread protests from many groups including the Nature Lovers League, Wild Life Preservation Society of Australia, Queensland Museum, C.W.A. Royal Australian Ornithologist Union, Boy Scouts, religious and women’s groups. There were letters to newspapers from ordinary people, editorials and pleas to women to refuse to wear or purchase koala fur. People questioned the masculinity of koala hunters as it was felt that no proper bushman or sportsman would kill such a defenceless creature. The Brisbane Courier newspaper led the campaign, devoting six columns a day to “Spare the Bear”. Author Vance Palmer sent an impassioned letter to the editor of the The Brisbane Courier, 19 July 1927: “Sir- It is be hoped that the disgust which all humane people have felt at the declaration of an open season for native bears in August will not be allowed to fade away until some protest... so overwhelming and effective that the question will never be raised again. For the shooting of our harmless and loveable native bear is nothing less than barbarous. His case is entirely different from that of other furred animals. No one has ever accused him of spoiling the farmers’ wheat, eating the squatters’ grass or even spreading the prickly pear. There is not a social vice that can be put down to his account. In addition, he is comparatively defenceless. He affords no sport to the gunman, and can be trusted to present a sitting target to the creature mean enough to aim at him. For this reason he has been almost blotted out already from some areas, in days when our fauna and flora were held in such little regard that the settlers’ first instinct was to shoot every strange animal and to sink his axe into every unfamiliar tree.” The Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane, Gerald Sharp, had his letter published in The Brisbane Courier on 16 July 1927: “Sir... The extermination of fauna so distinctive of our country, especially of such harmless and pretty creatures as our native bears, seems to me a shameful thing, and this is likely to mean their extermination.” But it was all to no avail. Known as “Black August”, the government was unmoved by the public’s outrage. 10,000 licences were issued to hunters and “the slaughter of the innocents” went ahead. The newspapers were full of stories of dreadful cruelty against the helpless, benign creatures by the heartless hunters who not only used guns and spotlights but wire snares and cyanide baits so that pelts wouldn’t be damaged. Infant koalas were left orphaned and unlikely to survive without their mothers. Top quality pelts were sold at an average price of 56 shillings and 9 pence per dozen, poor quality skins for as little as 2 1/2 pence each. In December 1927, the Minister for Agriculture and Stock, Mr W. Forgan Smith told the Parliament that during the August open season 597,985 koala pelts worth £139,595 had netted the state’s coffers £6000. 952,194 “opossum” pelts were sold and £9000 made for the State. The backlash that followed helped topple the Queensland Labor Government in 1929. The Wild Life Preservation Society of Australia lobbied the Prime Minister Mr Stanley Bruce to refuse to issue exportation permits for koala pelts and from 10 November 1927 the Commonwealth Government suspended the issuing of permits. In 1930, the Society made a direct appeal to USA President Herbert Hoover and he signed an order prohibiting the importation of koala and wombat fur to USA, eliminating a major market. Koala pelts were often deliberately mislabelled “wombat” to get around restrictions. The ban most likely saved the koala from probable extinction. Three years later the Australian Federal Government banned the export of koala products. This movement against koala killing was really the first conservation campaign in Australia. It raised awareness of the vulnerability of a beloved animal and eventually brought about national parks and national laws for their protection. By 1936, community opposition to possum open seasons was beginning. The koala was made a Protected Species in all states in 1937, meaning no one is allowed to harm a koala, however the laws protecting the gum trees they rely on for food and shelter are weak. The Australian Government estimates the wild koala population in Australia is between 225,000 and 500,000 in 2024. The Australian Koala Foundation estimates the national population at less than 60,000 in 2021 with a 30% decline in three years. Habitat loss from land clearing, dog attacks, road deaths, chlamydia, bushfires and drought exacerbated by climate change, continues to cause their decline. Over eight million koalas were killed for their pelts between 1888 and 1927. Any one of the annual harvests killed more koalas than are alive now. At this time, children were also being taught to appreciate Australian native animals. In 1933, “Blinky Bill: The Quaint Little Australian” book for children was published by Angus and Robertson. It was written and illustrated by New Zealand-born author Dorothy Wall and “Dedicated to my son Peter and all other Peters and Johns and Bobs and Toms and Marys and Bettys and Joans and Pats and all kind children.” The book tells the story of Blinky Bill - a mischievous, patched knickerbocker-wearing koala and his mother and father. The story has messages of conservation and instances of human unkindness and cruelty. Mr. and Mrs. Koala and young Blinky lead a mostly idyllic family life amongst a variety of other animals in the forest. However it all changes in chapter two, when Blinky Bill’s father is distressingly shot by a hunter. There is a harrowing description of Mr. Koala’s shooting and eventual death. “The Koala family lived so happily; never thinking of harm, or that anything could happen to disturb their little home, as all they asked for were plenty of fresh gum-leaves and the warm sun. They had no idea such things as guns were in the world or that a human being had a heart so cruel that he would take a pleasure in seeing a poor little body riddled with bullets hanging helplessly from the tree-top... That same being might just as well take his gun and shoot baby kookaburras, so helpless were they all and so trusting.” “Poor Mr. Koala one day was curled up asleep in his favourite corner, when the terrible thing happened. Bang! He opened his eyes in wonder. What was that? Did the limb of the tree snap where that young cub of his was skylarking? ... bang! again. This time he felt a stinging pain in his leg... Peering over the bough of the tree he saw a man on the ground with something long and black in his arms... Another bang and his ear began to hurt. Bang! again and now his little body was stinging all over. He grunted loudly and slowly climbed up the tree, calling Mrs. Koala and Blinky as he went. He managed to reach the topmost branch... Tears were pouring down his poor little face. He brushed them away with his front paws and cried just like a baby. Fortunately Mrs. Koala and Blinky Bill were hiding in the leaves quite motionless, and the shadows of the tree made them appear as part of it. The man with the gun stood and waited a long time, then walked away, whistling as he went - the only sound to be heard in the bush except the cries of the little bear far up in the tree.” Blinky and his mother quietly and fearfully wait for Mr. Koala to wake. In the morning, grunting and crying, they feel his lifeless body with their paws. Eventually Mrs. Koala realises that her husband is dead and that they need to move to a safe place. After travelling deeper into the forest, Mrs. Koala and Blinky meet koalas Mrs. Grunty and her son Snubby and she describes how she was captured as a baby by koala fur trappers to be a pet for a little girl. The trapper forgot to bring gum leaves for the koala so they try to feed her cake, milk and bananas, making her sick. The little girl’s father relays something he read in the paper: “During the year 1920 to 1921, two hundred and five thousand six hundred and seventy-nine koalas were killed and their skins sold to the fur market, under the name of wombat.” They place the koala in a box with a teddy bear for company. The baby koala’s health deteriorates and the alarmed trapper returns her to the bush. Mrs. Grunty tells Mrs. Koala that she and Blinky are the only bears that she has seen for ten years: “I remember well the little girl’s father telling her... that not so many years ago the bush was alive with us bears, from Queensland to the south of Victoria. Now, we are so rare that we have become a curiosity, something to put in zoos, for children to see; and actually in museums. I believe our grandparents sit there in glass cases, stuffed with something inside to make them appear alive, and, oh dear, glass eyes. In New South Wales, I think we could wander for miles from one corner to another and never meet a bear. I don’t know why we were all killed. As you know, we don’t eat the farmers’ crop or ruin their orchards. All we asked for were our own gum-trees.” At the end of the book, Dorothy tells her readers - “The kindest action of all would be to leave the koala baby in his own bushland, among his own playmates, with the sun, the sky, the birds, and the gum-trees, where he will grow to manhood and live for many years - happy as he should be.” In 1934, a “Wild Zoo”, the Sir Colin Mackenzie Sanctuary, opened on 32 hectares of land, formerly part of Coranderrk Aboriginal Reserve in the Yarra Valley, exclusively displaying Australian native animals, birds and reptiles. It was later renamed Healesville Sanctuary and is now managed by Melbourne Zoo and home to over 200 species of Australian native fauna. The Sanctuary is committed to rescuing, breeding, researching and raising awareness of the vulnerability of Australian animals. Andrew Arthur Wellesley Wilkie, 1853-1948, was Director of the Melbourne Zoo from 1923 to 1936 and was associated with the zoo for 70 years. He first worked as a horticultural assistant to Government botanist Baron Ferdinand von Mueller at the Botanical Gardens at the age of 13, along with his older brother David. One of Andrew’s jobs was to capture moths for the National Herbarium. In 1857, a group of prominent Melburnians assembled at St. Patrick’s Hall to form the Zoological Society of Victoria, with the aim of introducing animals and plants from overseas. It was conceived, “For the purposes of science and for that of affording the public the advantages of studying the habits of the animal creation in properly arranged zoological gardens.” The Victorian Government granted 32 acres (13 hectares) of land to the Zoological Society at the southern end of Richmond Paddock on the opposite bank to the Botanical Gardens. (This is where AAMI Stadium and Collingwood Football Club now stand.) In 1861, the Zoological Society of Victoria was renamed The Acclimatisation Society of Victoria. Unfortunately the Yarra River frontage was damp, swampy and subject to flooding, so the animals were briefly housed at the Botanical Gardens until in 1862, the City of Melbourne donated 55 acres (22 hectares) of land at Royal Park for the fledgling zoo. Baron von Mueller secured employment at Royal Park for Andrew and David and they helped to lay out the gardens, plant trees and take care of a collection of deer, pheasants, hares and partridges. Initially the zoo was used for the acclimatisation of animals recovering from the long voyage to Australia and for breeding them for sport. In 1872, the zoo bought two lions, a leopard and a cheetah that had been seized from circus showmen Keith and Phillips when they were unable to pay the bill of butcher Mr T K Bennet of Bourke Street. The first zoo director, Mr. Albert Le Souef, negotiated with captains of ships to buy animals at overseas ports they visited and soon a multitude of exotic species arrived, including a ten-year-old Indian elephant in 1878. In 1923, after being head keeper for some years, Andrew was appointed director of the zoo. By 1933, the zoo had 110 different species of animals, 200 species of birds and 72 species of reptiles under Andrew’s care. He had personally planted all but six trees and laid out the garden beds. As director he lobbied authorities for funds to build more humane enclosures for the animals. In June 1928, Table Talk magazine wrote of Andrew Wilkie: “Up at the Zoo there is a humble gentleman who is a lion among the lions, who knows the proper specific to employ when the boa constrictor has chilblains, and who is a friend and confidant of Queenie the elephant. His fount of zoological lore has never been plumbed. It is bottomless, like his good fellowship and geniality. Every day he may be seen somewhere in the grounds of that growing sanctuary for the strange and arresting fauna and creeping things of the world, and I assure you as one who is privy to his passion that that area and its inhabitants are rarely out of his thoughts.” Andrew retired from the zoo in 1936 at the age of 83 and in 1948 died at his home in Brunswick aged 94. He and his wife Josephine had six children. The Victorian Acclimatisation Society was founded in 1861 by Edward Wilson, 1813-1878, then owner and editor of The Argus newspaper. He said that Australian indigenous animals were practically useless, providing only “a little sport and an occasional meal”. The Society believed that Australia’s plants and animals were vastly inferior to those in Europe. They wanted to introduce and acclimatise to Victoria “all innoxious animals, birds, fishes, insects and vegetables, whether useful or ornamental” for sport and for the table, and to spread indigenous animals and plants from the colony around the world. Their motto was “if it lives, we want it”. The Society was primarily responsible for introducing sparrows, starlings, sambar and hog deer, ostriches, brown trout, blackberries, and carp to the Murray River. They released the European songbirds, thrush and blackbird to quell the homesickness of British settlers. The Society also sent Australian animals like platypus, echidnas, kangaroos and koalas to Europe for scientific and novelty purposes. Thomas Austin, a wealthy sheep farmer of Barwon Park, Winchelsea (property now owned by the National Trust) was a member and in 1859 he introduced hares, blackbirds, thrushes and partridges onto his property. He is probably best known for introducing 24 breeding rabbits onto his estate as game for shooting parties. Thomas quipped, “The introduction of a few rabbits could do little harm and might provide a touch of home, in addition to a spot of hunting." In 2022, genomic data confirmed that Australia’s feral rabbit population is entirely descended from these rabbits. Biological control has brought the rabbit population down from an estimated high of 10 billion rabbits in the 1920s to approximately 200 million today, inhabiting 70% of Australian landmass (5.3 million square kilometres). In 1872, the Acclimatisation Society was renamed The Zoological and Acclimatisation Society of Victoria and they focused on importing exotic animals for display purposes to the zoo. In 1937, the Royal Acclimatisation Society of Victoria was recreated as the Zoological Board of Victoria with a focus on research of native animals threatened with extinction. In an editorial for The Argus newspaper, 16 March 1856, Edward Wilson lamented: "...this country has been shamelessly stolen from the blacks. Had they been like the New Zealanders or the North American Indians, we should have bought their land, and supplied them with the means of living when we took it... In less than twenty years we have nearly swept them off the face of the earth. We have shot them down like dogs. In the guise of friendship we have issued corrosion sublimate in their damper, and consigned whole tribes to the agonies of an excruciating death. We have made them drunkards, and infected them with disease which has rotted the bones of their adults, and made such few children as are born amongst them a sorrow and a torture from the very instant of their birth. We have made them outcasts on their own land, and are rapidly consigning them to entire annihilation. There are but a few of them left, comparatively. This is what we would do for that few. We would feed and clothe every one of them.” [Note: this last sentence is italicized in the original newspaper article text]. Lord Huntingfield, (William Charles Arcedeckne Vanneck) 1883-1969, Governor of Victoria 1934-1939, was a British Conservative Party politician and the first ever Australian-born Governor of an Australian state (although he was always considered British). He was patron of the Royal Zoological and Acclimatisation Society of Victoria and was acting Governor-General for six months during the absence of Lord Gowie in 1938. Lady Huntingfield (née Margaret Eleanor Crosby) 1884-1943, his American-born wife showed great interest in social welfare and the advancement of women and children. She was president of the City Newsboys Society and Patroness of the Girls Friendly Society. In 1937, rose breeder Alister Clark named a yellow hybrid tea rose for her. In 1940, the City of Melbourne opened the Lady Huntingfield Free Kindergarten in North Melbourne, now the Lady Huntingfield Early Learning and Family Services Centre. Lady Huntingfield died in London in 1943 after her house was bombed during a German airstrike. The Lady Huntingfield Memorial Scholarship was established after the City of Melbourne raised £1000 in a public appeal conducted in her memory for students undertaking a Social Work degree at the University of Melbourne. It is awarded annually to this day. The Queen Victoria Hospital named a bed in her honour. References: VICE-ROYALTY GREETS THE KING OF BEASTS AT THE ZOO. (1934, June 26). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), p. 11. Retrieved August 23, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204818472 Prominent Personalities ANDREW WILKIE (1928, June 7). Table Talk (Melbourne, Vic. : 1885 - 1939), p. 15. Retrieved August 29, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article146562949 'Edward Wilson (journalist)', Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Wilson_(journalist) 'Thomas Austin (pastoralist)', Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Austin_(pastoralist) 'The Acclimatisation Society was driven by misguided ideals about 'fixing nature' in Australia', ABC News, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-04/acclimatisation-society-introduced-species-history-listen/101588262?utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web Blinky Bill: the quaint little Australian (eBook); by Dorothy Wall, 1933, 2023, Project Gutenberg Australia, https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks04/0400571h.html "Black August": Queensland's Open Season on koalas in 1927 (thesis); Glenn Fowler, 1993, Australian National University, https://www.savethekoala.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Black-August.pdf Unfair game: Queensland's Open Season on koalas in 1927; Jacqui Donegan, 2000, University of Queensland, https://mesto-ku.narod.ru/koalas.pdf OPEN SEASON CONDEMNED. (1927, July 19). The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), p. 15. Retrieved September 5, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article21863465 COUNTRY WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION. (1927, July 30). The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), p. 25. Retrieved September 20, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article21866965 AUSTRALIA: Barnardo's children at Melbourne Park Zoo (1929), British Pathé, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Wcrbo_cHpI 'Kodak Cinegraph Compilation No 8', ACMI Collection, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCrBng5RwFI KOALA SKINS. EXPORT BAN SOUGHT. (1927, August 4). The Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), p. 10. Retrieved September 15, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article21868746 THE ABORIGINES. (1856, March 16). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 5. Retrieved September 28, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4833244 Koala Bears (1937), British Pathé, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbqgMtyuzwE Australian Koala Bear (Earliest Archive Footage: 1929), Pond5, https://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/item/152767491-australian-koala-bear-earliest-archive-footage-1929Photographer notations on slide: "Vice Regal visit to zoo B42".1930-1939, zoos, governors, koalas, conservation, possums, botanic gardens