Richard Weatherly
Encyclopedia
Richard Weatherly is an Australia
n environmentalist
and artist
specialising in natural history
subjects, especially bird
s.
Weatherly spent his childhood on a sheep and cattle station
in western Victoria. While he was studying at Cambridge University he began his career as a wildlife artist with an exhibition of wood carving
s at the Moreland Gallery in London in 1969. After solo exhibitions in London
, and travels in Zimbabwe
where he assisted in wildlife research, he returned to Australia where he became the Foundation President of the Society of Wildlife Artists of Australasia.
From 1977 to 1981 Weatherly undertook extensive fieldwork in Australia and New Guinea
with ornithologist Richard Schodde
, visiting the habitats of, and studying, all species of malurid wrens
, in preparation for an important monograph. This work, with the text by Schodde and illustrations by Weatherly, was published in 1982.
In the early 1990s he was invited by the ANARE
to participate in the Ecosystem Monitoring Project for the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
. Consequently he spent several months based at Mawson Station
in Antarctica, setting up the research project and studying Adelie Penguin
s.
As well as travelling extensively, Weatherly lives and works at Connewarran in western Victoria, the area where he was brought up. He served as inaugural Chairman of Watershed 2000 a project which involves the wider community in the management of their catchment area, part of which is the restoration and management of 800,000 ha of habitat to act as a 200 km connection between the Otway Ranges and the Grampians Ranges
in western Victoria. He is an Honorary Associate in ornithology
at the National Museum of Victoria
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n environmentalist
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
and artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
specialising in natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
subjects, especially bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s.
Weatherly spent his childhood on a sheep and cattle station
Sheep station
A sheep station is a large property in Australia or New Zealand whose main activity is the raising of sheep for their wool and meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or south-west of the country. In New Zealand the Merinos are usually in the high country of the South...
in western Victoria. While he was studying at Cambridge University he began his career as a wildlife artist with an exhibition of wood carving
Wood carving
Wood carving is a form of working wood by means of a cutting tool in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation of a wooden object...
s at the Moreland Gallery in London in 1969. After solo exhibitions in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and travels in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
where he assisted in wildlife research, he returned to Australia where he became the Foundation President of the Society of Wildlife Artists of Australasia.
From 1977 to 1981 Weatherly undertook extensive fieldwork in Australia and New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
with ornithologist Richard Schodde
Richard Schodde
Richard Schodde, OAM is an Australian botanist and ornithologist.Schodde studied at the University of Adelaide where he received a BSc in 1960 and a PhD in 1970. During the 1960s he was a botanist with the CSIRO Division of Land Research and Regional Survey in Papua New Guinea...
, visiting the habitats of, and studying, all species of malurid wrens
Maluridae
The Maluridae are a family of small, insectivorous passerine birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea. Commonly known as wrens, they are unrelated to the true wrens of the Northern Hemisphere...
, in preparation for an important monograph. This work, with the text by Schodde and illustrations by Weatherly, was published in 1982.
In the early 1990s he was invited by the ANARE
Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions
The Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions is the historical name for the Australian Antarctic Program administered for Australia by the Australian Antarctic Division .-The ANARE Name:...
to participate in the Ecosystem Monitoring Project for the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
The Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, also Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, and CCAMLR, is part of the Antarctic Treaty System...
. Consequently he spent several months based at Mawson Station
Mawson Station
Mawson Station is one of three permanent Australian bases in the Australian Antarctic Territory of East Antarctica. Named after Antarctic explorer Sir Douglas Mawson, the base is managed by the Australian Antarctic Division...
in Antarctica, setting up the research project and studying Adelie Penguin
Adelie Penguin
The Adélie Penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae, is a species of penguin common along the entire Antarctic coast. They are among the most southerly distributed of all seabirds, as are the Emperor Penguin, the South Polar Skua, the Wilson's Storm Petrel, the Snow Petrel, and the Antarctic Petrel...
s.
As well as travelling extensively, Weatherly lives and works at Connewarran in western Victoria, the area where he was brought up. He served as inaugural Chairman of Watershed 2000 a project which involves the wider community in the management of their catchment area, part of which is the restoration and management of 800,000 ha of habitat to act as a 200 km connection between the Otway Ranges and the Grampians Ranges
Grampians National Park
The Grampians National Park is a national park in Victoria, Australia, 235 kilometres west of Melbourne. The Park was listed on the Australian National Heritage List on 15 December 2006 for its outstanding natural beauty and being one of the richest indigenous rock art sites in south-eastern...
in western Victoria. He is an Honorary Associate in ornithology
Ornithology
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and the aesthetic appeal of birds...
at the National Museum of Victoria
Museum Victoria
Museum Victoria is an organisation which operates three major state-owned museums in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; these are: the Melbourne Museum, the Immigration Museum and Scienceworks. It also manages the Royal Exhibition Building and a storage facility in Melbourne's City of Moreland.Museum...
.