Hi all,
Over 60 years ago as a teenager I met Fred Smith on several of his many trips to the Altona area. Fred would have been a young man in his 20’s then and as I recall the BOC (who I had become a member of) was conducting some sort of survey with nesting Silver Gulls. As it was so long ago and my memory now not so good I don’t remember a lot but I know I went by train (as someone else mentioned) with my friend Stephen Temple Watts and walked to the area we were surveying.
Over the years life takes different courses and I moved away from active bird watching, married and raised children and 40 years ago headed north to Queensland. And it was only then that I, and indeed my whole family, got back into active bird watching when Betty Temple Watts gave me a sub to the RAOU. But over all those intervening years the name of Fred Smith would come up and it was always complimentary about his ability to help new and some older birdwatchers! Another name that remains in my mind from those days in 1950 was Roy Wheeler.
I join with all the bird fraternity and Fred’s family. He will be sorely missed.
John C Walter
Pittsworth Qld
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