Description by author of a visit to rookeries of the Little Penguin at the Point Grant end of Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia, during nesting season, 1920. Includes one photograph of 4 penguins. The author, Tom Tregallis, refers to the birds as moulting, but this takes place in March-April, so the article must have been written at that time, before its publication in November, 1920. Or Tregallis was mistaken in thinking some of the birds were moulting, as they do not go to sea during the moult. Tregallis also describes the penguin rookery at the Little Nobby and Shelly Beach nearby.Few accounts of the Little Penguin rookeries on Phillip Island during the 1920s exist in publicly accessible form, so this is a valuable description of the physical area, the numbers of penguins there at the time, feral animals such as foxes, cats and rabbits, perceived behaviour of these animals at the time.Photocopy of Magazine or Newspaper cutting, black and white/greyscale print, 10 paragraphs. Article includes single greyscale photo of four penguins. Photocopy has darker shading towards top and bottom of image.little penguins, phillip island, nobbies, penguin rookeries, penguin moult, tom tregallis

Phillip Island's Little Penguin and other bird species populations became the popular subjects of field naturalist and bird observer field trips from the late 19th century. By 1948 the decline of the Little Penguin population on the island was very evident due to fox predation. There were still many gaps in the knowledge about their breeding and other on-shore activities, as well as their feeding habits at sea. Various magazines and newspapers featured updates of information on occasion. This is an example.The article provides evidence of the level of knowledge about Phillip Island's Little/Fairy Penguins in the last 1940s. Photocopy of magazine or newspaper article. Three separate pages.phillip island, little penguins, fairy penguins, penguin rookeries, fox predation, penguin moult

Three photographs/postcards donated by J Gliddon234-01. Black & White photograph of The Story Map of Phillip Island with allotments shown and extremely detailed information typed on it by Vernon McHaffie. 234-02. Sepia postcard of the penguin rookery on "Little Nobby", Phillip Island. Man sitting on hill looking down at the rookery showing tracks & entrances to burrows. 234-03. Sepia postcard of two people sitting on top of cliff, Headland Rookery, with moulting penguins on their laps. 234-02. "Tom Tregellas" Nature Series No. 1. (Penguins) Phillip Island. Rookery on Little Nobby, showing tracks and entrances to burrows amongst the "pig-face" weed. 234-03. "Tom Tregellas" Nature Series No. 1. (Penguins) Phillip Island. Moulting Burrow on top of Cliff, Headland Rookery, which contained four birds. Note feathers outside burrow.phillip island map, phillip island allotments, vernon mchaffie, wildlife - penguins, penguins phillip island, penguin rookeries phillip island, j gliddon

Written in February 1966, this is a letter from the editor or a journalist to a child who had brought a weak young Little Penguin into the office of the Express newspaper in Wonthaggi. February is the time that adult penguins have what is known as a “catastrophic moult" when they lose all of their feathers within a week or 2 and cannot go to the sea to fish. Any chicks left in the burrow will not be fed and need to go to sea themselves to feed. Some are just not strong enough or have mature feathers to do this and perish. Bert West was a Phillip Island resident and manager at the Penguin Parade, who was very knowledgeable about Little Penguins and was able to explain this to the journalist who then wrote the letter. Presumably the photograph had been in a previous edition so this item in the form of a letter to Simon would be a follow up to the original article. This cutting is significant because it indicates that this Little Penguin had been fishing in the Cape Paterson area, and possibly was not able to find sufficient food there. It also indicates that there was apparently no process in place for dealing with weak birds found by the public. Neither the child nor the photographer knew any better than to allow the child to interfere with or hold a sick Penguin as shown in the photo. That is definitely no longer recommended, as we now know that handling a sick bird in that way is very stressful to them and can contribute to poor outcomes for them. Very poor photocopy of single column with large photo of boy holding penguin under textTHE EXPRESSphillip island, penguin parade, cape paterson, bert west, wildlife care, little penguin