Without in any way seeking to diminish Penny Olsen’s well justified honour, can I (as a currently displaced but proud Queenslander) extend to Far North Queensalnd the satisfaction that can be felt by Aussie birders with work of the committees determinging the 2011 Australia Day Honours List.
I transpose the citation, for an AO, for Margaret Thorsborne, of Cardwell in North Queensland, below.
Many may not know Margaret, publicity is not her way. With her late husband, Arthur, beside her for many of her activist years, they fought major conservation battles in Queensland. Their’s was the path of many ancient religious devotees – self effacing, disciplined, unswerving resolve, quiet charm, impeccable example. Anybody who received Margaret’s hand painted letters and envelopes showing the birds and butterflies of Cardwell will testify to that.
The extent of her interests and the campaigns she has fought can be seen in the citations below. The preservation of Hinchinbrook island, one of the most stunningly diverse national parks in Australia, is just one.
Perhaps the birding contribution of the Thorsbornes can best be exemplified by their campaign to stop the destruction of the Pied Imperial (Torresian) Pigeon. The cultural habits of the Old World, often found in the recreational shooting instincts of local cane farmers and workers, formerly looked upon the habits of the magnificent fruit eating pigeons of FNQ as deliverance of the bounty of their new home. The pigeons returned to their roosts and nests on near offshore islands after a day of feeding in the mainland rainforest every evening. Extensive rainforests, tiny islands. Stand with shotguns on the shores of the islands and the birds fell out of the sky – in their thousands. The results were devastating. Margaret and Arthur literally stood between the guns and the birds on their local Brook islands. National Park status achieved. Preservation ensured. Numbers of this magnificent bird recovered.
Margaret and Arthur have left their Cardwell property, situated in important coastal habitat, to conservation.
An honour to one who should truly be honoured.
Angus Innes.
“OFFICER (AO) IN THE GENERAL DIVISION OF THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA
Mrs Margaret Grace THORSBORNE, Cardwell Qld 4849
For distinguished service to conservation and the environment through advocacy roles for the protection and preservation of wildlife and significant natural heritage sites in Australia, as a supporter of scientific research, and to the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland. Member, Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland, since ca1964; Life Member; current Patron. Founding Member, Gold Coast and Hinterland Branch, since 1960s. Active Member, Tully and District Branch, since 1970s. Founder/Senior Trustee, Thorsborne Trust, since 1991. Member, Australian Rainforest Conservation Society, since 1985. Life Member, The Wilderness Society. Life Member, North Queensland Conservation Council. Involved with the Australian Conservation Foundation; Australian Marine Conservation Society; and Conservation Councils in Cairns and Townsville. Founding Member, Community for Coastal and Cassowary Conservation, Mission Beach, since 1990. Founding Member, Friends of Hinchinbrook, Cardwell. Current President and Founding Member, Alliance to Save Hinchinbrook, since 2000. Collects botanical specimens for the Queensland Herbarium. Involved in team that collected the Blue Banksia (Banksia plagiocarpa) specimen considered ‘lost’. Co-Founder in 1965 and participant since in the annual monitoring of migratory Pied Imperial Pigeons on the Brook Islands. Co-Author, Hinchinbrook Island: the land time forgot, 1988. Involved with ABC wildlife documentary, Cassowaries. ”
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