John Wamsley
Encyclopedia
Dr John Wamsley is an Australian environmentalist
. He was the Prime Minister's
Environmentalist of the Year for 2003. Wamsley is known for his attempt to set up a network of wildlife sanctuaries across Australia.
Wamsely was born in Ourimbah, New South Wales
in 1938. His passion for Australian wildlife was born when the seven year old Wamsleys family moved to a 67 hectare bushland block at Niagara Park. At age sixteen Wamsley became a trainee metallurgist with BHP. Dissatisfied with the job he became a labourer in BHP's open-hearth furnaces and worked a second job renovating run down houses. By age 23 Wamsley was a millionaire. Approximately two years later Wamsley entered the University of Newcastle, Australia
. The thirty year old Wamsley graduated with a PhD
in Mathematics
and moved to Flinders University
to lecture. His doctoral thesis from the University of Queensland, at only 70 pages, is among the shortest theses in the library.
June 1969 saw the purchase of a dairy farm at Mylor, South Australia, that was to become Wamsley's first sanctuary, Warrawong
. Wamsely eradicated all feral plants and animals from the sanctuary and erected a surrounding fence to preserve the sanctuary's feral free state. Wamsley entered the public eye when he attended a tourism awards ceremony wearing a hat made from the pelt
of a dead feral cat
. The ensuing controversy led to a change in the law, allowing feral cats to be legally killed.
Warrawong was opened to the general public in 1985 with a view to generating enough money to set up more sanctuaries. His second major project was Yookamurra Sanctuary
in the South Australian mallee
country. A company, Earth Sanctuaries Limited, was started in 1988 with a forty year strategy to create a network of eighty sanctuaries, spanning all of Australias habitats.
The company was listed on the Australian stock exchange
on 8 April 2000. The float was under-subscribed leaving the company A$10 million short of funds and unable to complete its network of sanctuaries in the eastern states of Australia. During the mid-2000's Earth Sanctuaries Limited was delisted from the Australian stock exchange.
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
. He was the Prime Minister's
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Environmentalist of the Year for 2003. Wamsley is known for his attempt to set up a network of wildlife sanctuaries across Australia.
Wamsely was born in Ourimbah, New South Wales
Ourimbah, New South Wales
Ourimbah is a small township and a suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, located about north of the Sydney CBD. The township today consists of small scattered local shops and businesses along the Pacific Highway, as well as the Central Coast campus of the University of...
in 1938. His passion for Australian wildlife was born when the seven year old Wamsleys family moved to a 67 hectare bushland block at Niagara Park. At age sixteen Wamsley became a trainee metallurgist with BHP. Dissatisfied with the job he became a labourer in BHP's open-hearth furnaces and worked a second job renovating run down houses. By age 23 Wamsley was a millionaire. Approximately two years later Wamsley entered the University of Newcastle, Australia
University of Newcastle, Australia
The University of Newcastle is an Australian public university that was established in 1965. The University's main and largest campus is located in Callaghan, a suburb of Newcastle in New South Wales...
. The thirty year old Wamsley graduated with a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and moved to Flinders University
Flinders University
Flinders University, , is a public university in Adelaide, South Australia. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of navigator Matthew Flinders, who explored and surveyed the South Australian coastline in the early 19th century.The university has established a reputation as a leading research...
to lecture. His doctoral thesis from the University of Queensland, at only 70 pages, is among the shortest theses in the library.
June 1969 saw the purchase of a dairy farm at Mylor, South Australia, that was to become Wamsley's first sanctuary, Warrawong
Warrawong Sanctuary
Warrawong Sanctuary is a wildlife reserve near Adelaide, South Australia. Warrawong was established by Dr John Wamsley to conserve endangered Australian wildlife. He purchased the first , a degraded dairy farm, in 1969, with later added...
. Wamsely eradicated all feral plants and animals from the sanctuary and erected a surrounding fence to preserve the sanctuary's feral free state. Wamsley entered the public eye when he attended a tourism awards ceremony wearing a hat made from the pelt
Fur
Fur is a synonym for hair, used more in reference to non-human animals, usually mammals; particularly those with extensives body hair coverage. The term is sometimes used to refer to the body hair of an animal as a complete coat, also known as the "pelage". Fur is also used to refer to animal...
of a dead feral cat
Feral cat
A feral cat is a descendant of a domesticated cat that has returned to the wild. It is distinguished from a stray cat, which is a pet cat that has been lost or abandoned, while feral cats are born in the wild; the offspring of a stray cat can be considered feral if born in the wild.In many parts of...
. The ensuing controversy led to a change in the law, allowing feral cats to be legally killed.
Warrawong was opened to the general public in 1985 with a view to generating enough money to set up more sanctuaries. His second major project was Yookamurra Sanctuary
Yookamurra Sanctuary
Yookamurra Sanctuary is a 50 km2 nature reserve in the Murraylands region of South Australia, between the eastern slopes of the Mount Lofty Ranges and the Murray River, 24 km north-east of the town of Sedan...
in the South Australian mallee
Murray Mallee
The Murray Mallee is the grain-growing and sheep-farming area of South Australia bounded to the north and west by the Murray River, to the east by the Victorian border, and extending about 50 km south of the Mallee Highway....
country. A company, Earth Sanctuaries Limited, was started in 1988 with a forty year strategy to create a network of eighty sanctuaries, spanning all of Australias habitats.
The company was listed on the Australian stock exchange
Australian Stock Exchange
The Australian Securities Exchange was created by the merger of the Australian Stock Exchange and the Sydney Futures Exchange in July 2006. It is the primary stock exchange group in Australia....
on 8 April 2000. The float was under-subscribed leaving the company A$10 million short of funds and unable to complete its network of sanctuaries in the eastern states of Australia. During the mid-2000's Earth Sanctuaries Limited was delisted from the Australian stock exchange.
External links
- John Wamsley - Slaughter Down Under
- Cat hat man runs out of lives? Interview on ABC radio. Retrieved on 2008-10-1.