“I am a member of both the Australasian and British Ornithologists Unions, and am doing all in my power to instill a love of our native birds into our rising generation".

H.L. White, 1910

The H.L. White collection of Australian birds’ eggs remains the finest of its type, with most native bird species represented. It is housed in a magnificent custom-built maple wood cabinet made by the famous furniture manufacturers Beard Watson Ltd of Sydney in 1908. The collection contains 4,200 clutches, totalling 13,000 eggs.

Henry Luke White (1860-1927) was a wealthy pastoralist who lived at Belltrees near Scone, New South Wales. His passion for collecting Australian birds’ eggs began as a boyhood hobby and continued throughout his life. He purchased large established collections and also employed field collectors to travel throughout Australia collecting bird eggs and bird skins. In 1917, he donated his collection of 8,850 study-skins to the National Museum in Melbourne.

White was a well-known collector in New South Wales and it was controversial that the collection came to Victoria – a direct result of White’s bitter rivalry with the curator of birds at the Australian Museum in Sydney, Alfred North (1855-1917).

The White collection is significant for its coverage of species, displays of egg variation and for the data on breeding