I’m sure that I could still have been a lifelong lover of nature if I hadn’t grown up in the bush, but I doubt if I would have regarded as many creatures as my ‘friends’. Dad was kind to all animals and he had a special love of birds. He taught us a great deal about respect for the ‘wild’ nature of creatures, but he was always ready to step in and attempt to foster an orphan. We had the joy of feeding poddy lambs and calfs, and we became adept at the messy task of feeding pin-feathered galahs and other birds that had fallen from damaged nests. He did draw the line once when the population of our pet frilled-neck lizards became too large. However we didn’t ‘catch on’ to his role in liberating them until much later. 

Our ‘pet’ lizards were housed in a couple of pine boxes with a gauze netting lids. We devoted a lot of time and energy each day to catching food for them, and as this kept us happily occupied mum tolerated the frilled-necks. At her insistence the boxes for these ‘pets’ had to be kept within a verandah sleep-out that was fully enclosed with insect mesh - “the gauze room”. Dad regularly inspected the population, and at night he would remove the largest lizard, or a few of the smaller ones from the boxes and set them free. The next morning he would either tell us “the big one must have escaped,” or “the big one must have eaten them.” We would mutter a bit, and then set out happily for a day in the paddocks looking for more.

One outstanding gift that my time at the Cunnamulla School gave me, was to introduce me to the wonder that was a ‘Nature Table’. The tops of the cabinets at the rear of the classrooms were used as display surfaces for the nature treasures that pupils and parents regularly brought to school. My brothers and I were happy enough to bring things along for “Show and Tell”, but I could see little merit in OUR nature treasures being left at school where we couldn’t enjoy them over the long holidays. After persistent pleading we were given permission to set up our own museum. We used the top of the large dresser and the surface of the beds in one of Werona’s spare rooms and organised displays of rocks, insects, feathers, birds’ nests, snake skins, bones, wasps nests, leaf galls and paper daisies. We used the gummed white edge strips from sheets of stamps to make labels for our collections.

Both of my brothers built upon this strong foundation of a love of nature and scientific method in their careers. Peter dedicated his life to working for the Queensland Department of Primary Industries in the varied role of a Biosecurity Officer and Stock Inspector. Grant became a veterinarian and gained advanced training in animal reproduction and obstetrics. His clinical expertise was well recognized and resulted in speaking engagements throughout the United States and around the world. 

My Bush Friends