AFUW-ACT
Inc. Meeting Report
Topic: A Comparison between the Australian bird environment
prior to European settlement and its state today.
Speaker: Emeritus Prof. Henry Nix
On the 5th May Professor Henry Nix, formerly the Director of the Centre
for Resource and Environmental Studies (CRES) and a continuing Visiting
Fellow gave us a most interesting comparison between the Australian
environment as it was prior to European settlement and its state today.
Ludwig Leichhardt took on his expeditions two naturalists - John Gilbert
and John Gould. They kept records and specimens of the environments
they traveled through which included the birds. The scientific contributions
of Ludwig Leichhardt were considerable. He was the best natural scientist
of the 19th century.
WHAT DID AUSTRALIA LOOK LIKE PRIOR TO EUROPEANS ARRIVAL? There is a
lot of argument about it. What do bird records tell us? There was no
taxonomy and no binoculars so guns were used to collect specimens.
Leichhardt went on an overland expedition from Toowoomba to Darwin taking
with him two Aboriginals - Charlie Fisher a good tracker and hunter
and Harry Brown who was a good hunter. These two played a key role in
providing food. Leichhardt and Charley developed a high regard for each
others cultures - Charley was surprised that Leichhardt could name trees
in the country they passed through. Charlie shot a big fish in the McKenzie
River -it was one Leichhardt had seen as a fossil in Germany - it was
40 million years old.
They had a dry wet season and had fevers on their second expedition.
The third expedition into western Queensland ended in their disappearance.
WHICH BIRDS ARE WHERE & WHY?
Diaries of Leichhardt show a fantastic knowledge of the birds. --
THE EMU -Leichhardt reported seeing them on most days including round
the Gulf - now there are very few. It was an aboriginal hunting ground
so emus were plucked and eaten on the spot. Now emus are found in the
pastoral areas.
FLOCK BRONZEWING - originally there were hundreds seen along Leichhardt’s
track, they can’t exist where there are sheep.
CRESTED PIGEON - not recorded by Leichhardt. Now they are rife throughout
northern Australia.
THE GALAH - Was recorded only twice by Leichhardt, now they are everywhere.
PARADISE PARROT is now extinct, Leichhardt saw a number of them.
YELLOW THROATED MINER can be seen throughout Queensland but Leichhardt
didn’t see it at all.
CHIRRUPING WEDGEBILL -is really a dry country bird but Leichhardt saw
it near the coast.
CRESTED BELLBIRD - Leichhardt heard it every day now it is only inland.
Man has provided corridors to the coast and lots more grassland. There
was a drought prior to the expedition. Modern records are scanty because
people don’t go there in summer. There have been huge changes in the
environment but birds are adaptable.
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