Awards: National Medal – granted 6 November 1980 ( SenSgt )
1st Clasp to National Medal – granted8 June 1988 ( SenSgt )
Born: Saturday 18 October 1941
Died on: Wednesday 27 January 2016 around 7pm in Canberra Hospital
Cause: existing medical condition
Age: 74 years, 3 months, 9 days
Funeral date: Wednesday 3 February 2016 @ 10.30am
Funeral location: St Raphael’s Catholic Church Lowe Street, Queanbeyan
Buried at: Cremated
Memorial at: ?
NSW POLICE CADET MICHAEL ROBERT KNIGHT
MICHAEL ROBERT KNIGHT ON A POLICE MOTOR CYCLE AT GUNNING.
Sergeants Course Redfern 12/2/79 to 30/3/79 – Back Row (L to R) John Dooley, Clem Rankin, Alan Hines, Ron Hockey, Brian Mays, Noel Parkinson, Mick Knight, Ron Rogerson.
Middle Row Col Campbell, Laurie Carroll, Mike Stephens, Len Maloney, Col Wedderburn, John Wakefield, Gary Jennings
Front Row – Ian Campbell, Barry Cafe, Alex Morton (Instructor), Trevor Thompson (Instructor), Warwick Hensley, Jude Maloney, Bill Shute.
MICHAEL is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance *NEED MORE INFO
FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.
Loving husband to Robyn. Father to Tom, Anna, April, Jamie, Sam and Zach.
Loving brother of Chris, Nick and Sylvia. Poppy to Amy, Lani, Manaal, Lizzie, Daniel and Tyler.
The funeral service for Michael
will be held in St Raphael’s Catholic Church Lowe Street, Queanbeyan
On Wednesday, 3 February 2016, commencing at 10.30 am
Private cremation will follow.
In Lieu of flowers donations may be made to NSW Police Legacy.
Published in The Canberra Times on Jan. 30, 2016
Wednesday, 3 February 2016
~
Kristy Gordon,
QUEANBEYAN, New South Wales
Tuesday, 2 February 2016
My deepest sympathy to Robyn and family on the passing of Mick, So many memories of fun times at The Tumbled Tree Wine Bistro, Shamrock Rode & Thistle. So many stories and great laughs from the past. Love always Cheryl Brooks
~
Cheryl Brooks,
Sydney, New South Wales
Saturday, 30 January 2016
Fond memories of our Cooma days. Deepest sympathy with Robyn and children. Linda & Peter Bower Hopetoun WA
Police dog Diesel passed away on Sunday evening as a result of ongoing medical issues.
Leading Senior Constable Mark Gray and Diesel worked together from 2009 to 2016. During this time they provided an excellent service to Victoria Police and the community with over 120 arrests.
Diesel came from a strong bloodline of police dogs with his father and three half-brothers also serving Victoria Police.
Honorary Life Member of the NSW VRA ( Volunteer Rescue Association )
[alert_yellow]Regd. # 13222[/alert_yellow]
Redfern Police Academy Class 115
Rank: Probationary Constable – 24 June 1968
Constable – appointed 24 June 1969
Senior Constable – 24 June 1977
Sergeant 3rd Class – appointed 1983
Sergeant 2nd Class – appointed 25 February 1984 – Seniority date = 26 January 1984
Inspector – 1992
Superintendent – 1996
Superintendent – retired 2 July 2003
Stations:
1968 – 1970 Regent Street then Glebe.
1970 – 1983 Police Rescue Squad.
1983 – 1985 Liverpool.
1985 – 1988 Police Rescue Squad.
1988 – 1990 Police Air Wing.
1990 State Emergency Management.
Sydney Olympics 2000. Olympic Security Command Sydney Airports Corporation during the Olympics as a Policy and Security Advisor.
2002 – 2003 State Protection Group – retirement
Service Medals :
1977 – Queens Silver Jubilee Medal awarded under the Imperial Honours System for services to the community of NSW.
1978 – Granville Train Disaster Medal in recognition of outstanding service at Granville.
1984 – National Medal.
1994 – First Clasp to the National Medal.
2003 – National Police Service Medal.
2003 – 2nd clasp to the National Medal
Service from pre 24 June 1968to 2 July 2003 = 35 years Service
Awards/Commendations:
1970.
Thiess Toyota Award for Courageous Conduct rescuing a man from the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
The Thiess Toyota Award was awarded annually for the most courageous rescue of the year undertaken by NSW Police Rescue Operators. This award was later opened up to Officers of the Water Police, the Police Air Wing and Dog Squad
1974.
2nd Thiess Toyota Award for Courageous conduct in effecting a rescue
1975.
Recognised for his dedication and teamwork in Rescue Operations in Darwin following Cyclone Tracey.
1979.
Recognised for his efforts at Granville by being Commended for Courage and devotion to duty by the Commissioner of Police
1979.
Senior Constable Dick LAMB, Arthur ACKROYD and Bruce GANE rescued a mentally ill man from the top arch of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Arising from this Rescue, Senior Constable LAMB and ACKROYD were awarded a “Bravery Medal” and Senior Constable GANE was awarded the “Commendation for Brave Conduct”.
Senior Constable LAMB’s citation reads:
Be it known that, with the approval of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Australia, I have awarded the Bravery Medal to Richard Anthony Lamb in recognition of an act of bravery in hazardous circumstances”
Citation
“On 28 March, 1979 at around 3pm a man was seen on the upper girders of Sydney harbour Bridge about 80 metres above the roadway. He appeared to be preparing to jump. In company with 2 other police officers Senior Constable Lamb climbed up towards him. Winds at the time were blowing at approximately 70 km/h. After getting close and when the man was preparing to jump Senior Constable LAMB and one of the other officers seized the man and after a brief struggle he was carried to safety
Senior Constable LAMB displayed considerable bravery in effecting a rescue in such hazardous conditions.”
Sir Zelman COWAN.
Governor General, Commonwealth of Australia.”
1980.
Senior Constable LAMB was awarded his Bravery Medal, received a Commissioner of Police Commendation for Courage and was again awarded the Thiess Toyota Award for Courageous conduct in effecting a Rescue. All of these were from the rescue on the Harbour Bridge in March 1979.
1981.
Senior Constable Dick LAMB BM was again awarded the Thiess Toyota Award for a Courageous conduct and in August, 1981 awarded a Commissioners Commendation for Bravery and devotion to Duty for the rescue in company with Constable First Class JOHN LOWE at the Glen Lea Coal Washery at Narellan of Ross CHIDDY was trapped by the blade of a 60 tonne bulldozer when it fell backwards into a crater that formed when a stock pile of crushed coal collapsed.
Born: 7 October 1946
Died on: Monday 18 January 2016 during the afternoon – ON the 39th anniversary of the Granville Train Disaster of 1977
Cause: Bowel Cancer
Age: 69
Funeral date: Thursday 28 January 2016 @ 1pm
Funeral location: Gledswood Homestead,
900 Camden Valley Way,
Gledswood Hills ( CATHERINE FIELD ) x of Catherine Field Rd.
Buried at: Cremated, ashes taken
Memorial at: Awaiting notification from family
[alert_yellow]DICK is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_yellow]
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39 years ago today I was with my family on our way to Brooklyn to see my nanna and pop.
We drove up to a bridge in Granville which we normally drive over. Moments before the bridge had collapsed on a busy commuter train.
My dad, Dick Lamb was the first off duty Policeman on the scene, he made the call to triple o to alert our emergency services of this disaster. My mum left him on the scene, returned home to get him his rescue squad overalls where he worked day and night along side his colleagues of the Police Rescue Squad and other emergency services to save the lives so many.
That day, 83 people died and over 200 people injured.
One of the first people to rush to the scene of the 1977 Granville train disaster has died, one day after the anniversary of the crash.
Off-duty police officer Dick Lamb was one of several volunteers who tried to help those injured when the Mt Victoria to Sydney express train derailed on January 18.
The derailment brought down the Bold St bridge onto the carriages, leaving 83 people dead and more than 200 injured.
Mr Lamb, believed to be aged in his 70s, died from cancer on Tuesday, Granville Memorial Trust president John Hennessey said.
“He was one of the unsung heroes of the disaster,” Mr Hennessey told AAP.
“He was a very brave, humble man and provided great support to all the victims over the last 39 years,” he said.
“We are all in mourning and were saddened to hear of his death”.
Survivors, emergency crews and those who lost loved ones gathered for a ceremony on Monday to commemorate the 39th anniversary of the disaster.
Mr Lamb, who had been battling cancer for the last few months, was unable to attend the memorial.
Dear Cal,
Am just home from the funeral and feel totally emotionally drained.
About 200 people turned out, some were family, some friend’s but mostly were former colleagues comprising of Police Rescue, Volunteer Police Rescue and other parts of the police brotherhood.
As Richard’s coffin was carried from the venue, all of these people formed a guard of honour.
Then a Police helicopter did a fly over. As the hearse drove out the Police Rescue Squad truck followed it closely.
I am overwhelmed at the love that was in that room for my cousin. I was not aware of just how courageous Richard was and felt proud to be there.
As promised, I have the program from the funeral and will get my husband to scan it and send it on.
I have also asked for copies of the photo’s that were taken and will forward these when I get them.
Thank you for your interest in Richard.
I remain
Your’s
Lesley
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Max Sladden, Nev Greatorex, Pete Robb & Dick Cordwell await Dicks arrival at the service.
Gary Smith APM, John Glossop, Col Kelson VA, Brian (Storky ) O’Rourke & daughter, Gary Thornton SC await Dicks arrival.
Dick arrives for the service.
Dicks Hounour Guard saying Farwell.
Dick Lamb BM prepaparing to leave the service.
POL AIR Honour Fly Past for Dick Lamb BM
Dick Lamb BM leaving servicce.
Dick Lamb BM family escort
Dick Lamb BM family escort
Dick Lamb BM Rescue Squad Escort
Dick Cordwell with gary Raymond APM OAM
Dot Smith, ‘Blue’ Thompson, Rod Stewart at Dick Lamb BM send off
Rescue class of 1978 members at Dicks farewell, Max Sladden, Col Kelson VA, Gary Smith APM, Gary Thornton SC
Gary Smith APM, Ken Holmes, Paul Kelly, Gary Thornton SC, Dot Smith, Blue Thompson. with Paul Kelly and George N Gretta Letherbarrow.
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Lyndall Margaret DURBRIDGE
| 03/02/2016
Lyndall Margaret DURBRIDGE
– nee HARRIS ( wife to John DURBRIDGE from BCI # 19408 )
( late of Orangeville Formerly of Malabar )
New South Wales Police Force
Police Academy Class 209
[alert_yellow]Regd. # 21983[/alert_yellow]
Rank: Probationary Constable – appointed 24 April 1985
Constable – appointed 24 April 1986
Sergeant – retired
Stations: ?, Eastern Suburbs District Office ( 1990’s ), Botany Bay – retirement
Service: From?pre April 1985 to 27 March 2003 = 18 years Service
Awards: National Medal – granted 6 April 2001
Born: 26 January 1962
Died on: Wednesday 6 January 2016
Cause: Cancer
Age: 53
Funeral date: Wednesday 13 January 2016 @ 1.30pm
Funeral location: St Judes Church, 106 Avoca St, Randwick
Buried at: ?
Memorial at: ?
[alert_yellow]LYNDALL is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_yellow] *NEED MORE INFO
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Funeral location:
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FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.
Beloved wife of John, adored daughter of Meg and Bruce.
Much loved sister of Andrew and Phillip.
Aged 53 years
Will be sadly missed by family and friends.
LYNDALL’S family and friends are warmly invited to attend her Funeral Service to be held at St Jude’s Anglican Church, 104 Avoca Street, Randwick on Wednesday, January 13, 2016 commencing at 1:30pm.
Lyndall Durbridge nee Harris passed away last Wednesday night after a long battle with a very complicated type of cancer. Lyndall worked in the Eastern Suburbs District Officer in the 1990s.
Her funeral will be held next Wednesday the 13th January 2016 at St Judes Church, 106 Avoca St, Randwick at 1.30pm and afterwards at Randwick Golf Club.
Posted on behalf of Kara Leonard.
___________________________
On a personal note, my work over a number of years required continuous interactions with Lyndall whilst she worked at the District Office. Lyndall was simply a lovely young lady who always offered a smile, was soft spoken, sincere and loved a giggle. Lyndall was a loyal and professional Police Officer.
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Dear Lyndall, you will be the brightest star in the night sky, and when those who love you look up you will sparkle, and they will know you are watching over them and your pain is no more.
Rest in Peace beautiful Lady
Colleen lit a candle
Sydney, Australia
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May you now Rest in Peace Lyndall and look out for John at his most difficult time. God Bless from all of us xx
Jacinta Samiakos lit a candle
Riverview, Australia
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Your determination to fight the disease is evidence of you strength Lyndall. Your ongoing support between John and yourself through this ordeal is your special love for each other. Prayers and loving thoughts. John 5:28
Ventry is survived by his wife Donna and two daughters Julia and Loretta.
May you forever Rest In Peace.
At the time of his death, Ventry was a cane farmer living on Warregah Island on the Clarence River near Maclean in Northern NSW.
LEWIS, (Roderick) Ventry
Late of Warregah Island.
Adored Husband to *Little Girl* Donna.
Cherished Father to Lauretta and Julia and to their partners respectively Cameron and Emily.
Loving Son to Thomas (decd) and Dot (decd).
Much loved Brother and Brother-in-law to Milton and Roslyn, and Brian and Mavis.
Dearly loved by the extended Lewis and Colnan families.
Passed away peacefully 1 January 2016.
Those who knew and loved Ventry are warmly welcome to attend His Memorial Service to be held at the Maclean High School, Saturday 9 January 2016, commencing at 10:00am.
Hope & Alan Bennett
Riverview Funeral Home & Crematorium
Maclean
THE pollution of Ashby’s Sandy Creek with 690,000 litres of waste water from the Harwood Sugar Mill in 2009 has proven costly for three companies operating in the Lower Clarence as fines of more than $92,000 were handed down at the Maclean Court House on Tuesday.
Magistrate David Heilpern imposed the fines on the NSW Sugar Milling Co-operative, Lewis Brothers (Chatsworth) Pty Ltd and BD and MC Lewis Pty Ltd after they pleaded guilty to charges including polluting waters and transporting waste to an unlawful facility.
Between November 27 and December 8, Lewis Brothers transported the waste water – which contained dirt, sugarcane fibre and sugarcane juice – to Wilcocks Quarry on Tullymorgan Rd at Ashby.
As instructed by Stephen King from Harwood mill, the water was spread over a grassed area at the quarry.
From there the water ran into Sandy Creek and deoxygenated the water – confirmed in readings taken by the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water.
An affidavit from Ventry Lewis of Lewis Brothers stated he spoke with Mr King, who said he had spoken with the EPA about renewing a licence for disposal and he felt because the water was non-toxic a licence wasn’t needed.
In his written judgment, Mr Heilpern stated: “It was incumbent upon all corporate citizens to keep up to date with modern pollution prevention regulations.”
The NSW Sugar Milling Co-operative has two prior convictions for similar offences.
In 1991 the co-operative was fined $60,000 for two breaches of the Clean Waters Act, and in 1995 the mill was fined $37,500 for a similar offence at its Condong mill.
NIXON, Betty Margaret.
5.8.1924 – 29.12.2015
Aged 91 years.
Loved wife of Ross for 65 years and wonderful mother to Len, Christine and Mark. Grandmother to Emma, Amy, Sam, Brady and to new grandchild Matilda. Mother-in-law of Karen, John and Sarah.
Betty survived the Depression, served in the Australian Army Nursing Service 1945, was *Allambie Heights Brown Owl for 21 years, and secretary and member of the Methodist-Uniting Church Allambie Heights for 40 years. Betty worked for many years at Coles and Avon. She gave great support to her family, friends and the community and is greatly missed.
Betty like many others never deserved to be struck down by the incurable disease of dementia. The Nixon family pay special tribute to Alexander Nursing Home Brookvale for their outstanding care of Betty over the last 4 years.
Deeply missed, may Betty rest in peace.
A Celebration of Betty’s Life will be held in the South Chapel of Northern Suburbs Crematorium, 199 Delhi Rd, North Ryde on Wednesday, January 6, 2016 at 12pm.
Surrounded by loving family Bernie passed away on 23rd December 2015.
Beloved husband of Dawn. Dearly loved father and father in law of Troy, Jillyan and Paul.
Much loved Poppy of Grace and Lawson.
Bernie will be sadly missed by his loving family and many dear friends.
Aged 86 Years
Forever in our hearts.
A funeral service to celebrate the life of Bernie will be held in The Autumn Chapel, Wollongong City Funerals, 48 Baan Baan Street Dapto on Wednesday 30th December 2015 at 11:30am.
If pelicans could cry – the passing of the pelican man
By Justine Frazier and Jonathan Atkins
Sixty year old Lance Ferris died on Sunday the 14th of October, 2007 at Lismore base Hospital after suffering a stroke on Saturday.
Lance Ferris from Australian Seabird Rescue collects dead birds from the beach areas of Evans Head. It is thought the birds died from botulism after eating dead fish.
The man many of us fondly knew as the “Pelican Man” has passed away leaving a massive whole in the community. Sixty year old Lance Ferris died on Sunday the 14th of October, 2007 at Lismore base Hospital after suffering a stroke on Saturday.
Lance dedicated his life to the rescue, rehabilitation and preservation of seabirds, turtles, and in particular the magnificent pelican and it was through his many years as a dedicated volunteer, using his own money and whatever donations he could find that Australian Seabird Rescue (ASR) came into existence in Ballina, New South Wales in 1992.
Close friend Marny Bonner said, “We’re receiving emails and phone calls from all over Australia from people who are so deeply saddened and shocked.”
Marny Bonner says, “Lance has always had huge compassion for Australia wildlife, his entire life has been rescuing and rehabilitating wildlife. It wasn’t until he noticed not one but two pelicans with hooks in their legs, on the same day, that he realised that there was a problem out there. So he borrowed a boat and had a look around the Richmond River and found that 37 out of 100 pelicans were injured.”
After surveying other estuaries, Lance Ferris realised that what was needed was a huge education program campaign and the passion began.
“We got good support from the North Coast community and some important sponsorship. Over the last 15 years we’ve managed to reach 20,000 children, so there will be a lot of children upset about losing the Pelican man.”
Since that time, ASR volunteers have been involved in the rescue and rehabilitation of seabirds and shorebirds, marine turtles and to date, have rescued over 1000 Australian Pelicans.
Lance Ferris never lost his passion the rescuing injured seabirds.
Marny Bonner believes, “Ultimately that’s what claimed him, his passion for wildlife led to him not looking after himself as well as he might have. It led to many, many hours in loss of sleep trying to save those little lives.”
“I would like to absolutely commend the staff at Lismore base Hospital who worked so hard with Lance. It was a very upsetting time for everybody because everybody knew who he was and knew how hard he’d worked to save so many lives and yet there was nothing we could do to save this most important life,” says Marney Bonner.
In 2004 as president of Australian Seabird Rescue, Lance led the volunteer organisation to win the inaugural National Coastcare Community award.
In an earlier life Lance worked a police officer based in Casino and was a member of APEX. He also worked as a teachers aid for children with disabilities, was a well respected musician and a member of the Sonset Orchestra and could be found at any given weekend at the Lismore Car Boot Markets. Ballina Mayor, Phillip Silver says the death of Lance Ferris is a huge loss for the community.
“I guess in many ways he was ahead of his time in terms of the recognition of that vulnerability of the environment and the water animals. Because he was doing it 20 years ago when it was certainly happening but people weren’t thinking about it,” said mayor Silver.
ASR is always looking for more volunteers and as Marny Booner says “the pelicans have lost their best friend, if pelicans could cry, there would be a wailing around the nation that could not be ignored. It will take an army of volunteers to replace Lance Ferris”.
Jason Ferris believes his Dad would never really let on if he was feeling unwell.
Jason recalls, “At 3am on Saturday morning he sent out a bunch of emails with instructions regarding seabird rescue, so we suspect over the last week or so, he was aware something was going on.”
“My Dad’s always run pretty close to the edge. Dad lived and breathed seabird rescue 24/7. I would often find him sleeping in all sorts of places in the back cars, on seats… his focus was never on his own health, more on the animals in care,” said Jason.
A passion that Jason and Lance shared was music.
“I developed an interest in music as a result of Dad. Dad was really an amazing musician and beautiful singer. In my 20’s he and I started playing music together around the North Coast. Definitely some of my most treasured memories of Dad,” said Jason.
As much as it can be…it will be business as usual for Australian Seabird Rescue.
According to Jason, “Dad’s put 13 or 14 years into this organisation, you can’t just pull the plug. He would be most unhappy with me if that happened.”
In 2003, ABC TV’s Australian Story took a look at a Ballina based former police officer called Lance Ferris, who’s dedicated his life to fixing the plight of the pelicans… read more
ABC North Coast reported when Lance Ferris and his team of seabird rescuers headed to Victoria for a series of training sessions with wildlife carers… read more
A public memorial service will be held for Lance Ferris.
“Thank you to the ABC crew for your lovely, sincere tribute to Lance, and thanks to all who phoned to share the ways in which Lance touched their lives. Lance’s life and work will be commemorated at the WildlifeLink Sanctuary in Ballina this Friday 19/10 at 11am. All are welcome to join us. The centre will be open from 10am. It is located at the end of North Creek Rd, which runs off the Pacific H’way as it heads out of Ballina towards Bangalow. On behalf of Jason’s family and Australian Seabird Rescue volunteers, thank you for your condolences and support… Marny.”
LANCE FERRIS WHARF: Ballina’s mayor, Cr Phillip Silver, (right) with acting general manager of Australian Seabird Rescue, Keith Williams, announcing the naming of the wharf at Fawcett Park as the Lance Ferris Wharf.
IT’S official.
The wharf at Fawcett Park is now the Lance Ferris Wharf, named after the late Lance Ferris – the Pelican Man – who founded Ballina-based organisation Australian Seabird Rescue.
And work is currently being undertaken on the design for a statue of a bronze pelican to be perched on the jetty in Ballina’s CBD.
Ballina’s mayor, Cr Phillip Silver, was due to make the official announcement on the naming of the wharf at the inaugural Lance Ferris Memorial Dinner scheduled for December 12.
But with last week’s decision by Australian Seabird Rescue to postpone the dinner, the announcement was made early.
He said council wanted to recognise the work of Mr Ferris, who died in October 2007, aged 60.
After Mr Ferris’ death, council resolved to rename Fawcett Park as Lance Ferris Park. But that move was knocked back by the NSW Geographical Names Board following objections.
There won’t be any problem with the naming of the wharf, Cr Silver said, as it is a piece of council-owned infrastructure.
Keith Williams, acting general manager of ASR and partner of Mr Ferris’ daughter, Rochelle Ferris, welcomed the decision to name the wharf after Lance.
He said the move not only acknowledged the work of Mr Ferris but also the Richmond River which Mr Ferris was so passionate about.
“This is a fantastic,” he said on behalf of the family and the broader family of ASR volunteers.
He is the father of Finn, Lance’s grandson, who was born just over a month ago.
Mr Williams said he enjoys taking Finn to the wharf.
“This (naming the wharf) is to say ‘your granddad was someone really special’. And much of the respect (for Lance) comes from the community – you can’t manufacture that,” he said.
A local artist has been commissioned to create the life-size bronze statue of a pelican which will be installed on the wharf early next year.
Cr Silver said the council had budgeted $10,000 for the statue, which had come from the staff operational budget.
He said he hoped the pelican would become an icon for Ballina now that nothing stood in the way of the demolition of the Big Prawn at the southern entrance to the town.
“Whether it (the pelican statute) evolves to be an icon of the town is a function of the community,” he said.
Cr Silver has already suggested Ballina could rebrand itself, replacing the seahorse, so the shire can be Ballina bypass-ready. Work on the new highway route is expected to be finished by 2012.
He said a rebranding of the shire wouldn’t be expensive, as things like stationery stocks would be used up in time.
Meanwhile, the Lance Ferris Memorial Dinner will be held on June 5 next year, World Environment Day.
Mr Williams said anybody who had purchased a ticket would receive a full refund.
This Friday, 24 September, 2010, Mayor Phillip Silver will unveil a sculpture at Fawcett Park, Ballina, to commemorate and acknowledge the work of the late Lance Ferris.
The sculpture is dedicated to the coastal conservation work carried out by Mr Ferris, affectionately known as ‘the Pelican Man’.
“In fostering and supporting local art, council commissioned a local artist to create a unique bronze sculpture that is befitting of the animal conservation work carried out by Lance. The artist behind the sculpture is Wollongbar-based sculptor Frank Miles,” Cr Silver said.
As part of the commemoration Cr Silver will also be officially name the wharf in Fawcett Park ‘Lance Ferris Wharf’.
“It is an appropriate place to acknowledge Lance’s work which started in earnest in 1992 on the sand spit opposite the Fawcett Park wharf after he noticed pelicans were injured by fishing line and hooks,” Cr Silver said.
“The pelicans were rescued, rehabilitated and released. The work soon extended from pelicans to other coastal birds as well as marine turtles.
“Lance was passionate about educating the community in preserving and protecting the coastal environment and all marine wildlife, and it’s fitting that we not only acknowledge his work but also raise awareness for the continued operation of the organisation he founded, the Australian Seabird Rescue.
“Based in Ballina, the volunteer organisation continues to operate around Australia to protect and rescue seabirds and shorebirds.
“This is also largely due to the continued dedication of the Ferris family and the support they receive from volunteers and the community in enduring Lance’s legacy.”
Lance Ferris family members representing the Australian Seabird Rescue service will be present at the unveiling ceremony which will take place at 11am at the wharf in Fawcett Park.
A recent unveiling on 24th September of Frank Miles life-size bronze pelican “Steptoe”, (pictured left) commissioned by the Ballina Shire Council, at the Fawcett Park Wharf. This wharf was renamed on the day to the “Lance Ferris Wharf” in honour of the late Lance Ferris the towns’ famed ‘Pelican Man’. This was a very exciting moment for Frank as well the Australian Seabird Rescue Service and Lance’s family members.
If there’s one Australian bird that we’ve all watched with awe it’s the pelican.
But as we’ve admired this bird we are mostly oblivious to the tragedy that the nation’s most popular hobby, fishing, is visiting upon our feathered friends.
Accidental hooking by recreational fishing, discarded hooks and fishing line have become the birds’ most lethal enemy. Bills, legs and wings are being hooked or entangled. The result, all too often, is a painful death.
Tonight’s Australian Story is about one man, a Ballina based former police officer called Lance Ferris, who’s dedicated his life to fixing the plight of the pelicans.
With spectacular physical agility, he “bribes” the pelicans with fish and then dives to catch injured animals so they can be treated and saved.
Over the past 12 years, often living well below the poverty line, he has rescued and rehabilitated hundreds of birds and conducted educational workshops in schools and fishing clubs up and down Australia’s east coast.
Featuring stunning wildlife images, Australian Story retraces the rough, tough and exciting life of Lance Ferris.
We see first hand his unconventional but effective pelican catching methods and the extent of this problem along with the solutions he has employed.
REX HUNT: Hello. I’m Rex Hunt. Tonight’s Australian Story is about a man who has dedicated his life to solving the problems sometimes unwittingly created by us anglers. He is Lance Ferris – known as ‘The Pelican Man’ for his incredible work in saving these magnificent birds from terrible injuries. And his efforts are changing attitudes on the water. This is Lance’s story.
EVAN KOSACK – VET:Lance and the fishermen in the area started out being at loggerheads a little bit.
LANCE FERRIS: I don’t think they believed that the problem was as bad as it was. Pelicans torn to pieces, basically, by fishing tackle.
EVAN KOSACK – VET: Lance was telling people, basically, that their beloved hobby was causing a lot of damage and that they were acting irresponsibly. Lance is not the norm.
ANTHONY MUYT: He’s very independent, he’s very focused, he thinks outside of the square. He’s a bit of a mad scientist. He was just some joker who rolled up and was jumping off boats into pelicans. They thought he was nuts at first – thought he was a madman. He is extremely professional. He likes perfection. He’ll work at something until he has it.
DEBBI DEVINE – SAM’S MUM :I look at him sometimes and I think, “Wow. This grown man – the way he is with these animals.” It’s amazing. It’s like they’re his children.
LANCE FERRIS: We were on an excursion with the children from the special school. I noticed a pelican in a park that had a hook buried in its leg. So, I grabbed some fish from a bait shop and the bird came up to me and I grabbed it, held it and looked down at it, and I thought, “The hook’s in the left leg. “I’m sure the bird that I saw “before I got the bait had a hook in the right leg.” I was absolutely positive of it. I made up some posters to hang in shop windows – “Wanted, a pelican with a hook in its leg.” I thought, “There’s another bird out there. I know there’s another one.”
MARNY BONNER: There are many, many people that would go, “Oh, gee. “Gee, fancy seeing two pelicans in one day, you know, “both with hook injuries,” and continue about their business. But the interesting thing is that it engaged Lance’s curiosity such that he went out and searched to see if there was an even bigger problem.
LANCE FERRIS: That led us into going out on the island to see if there were other pelicans out there. 108 birds on the island, there were, with 37 tangled up in fishing line on our first visit.
MARNY BONNER: For Lance, standing there with binoculars in hand observing bird after bird after bird coming into his vision with crippling, cruel injuries would be very overwhelming.
LANCE FERRIS: I was in shock and horror. I couldn’t believe how bad the situation was. I went back to the boat and cried for half an hour. I just couldn’t believe… I’m no bronze Anzac hero. I might have been in the police force, but that doesn’t mean to say you don’t get cut up when you see so much damage. There were some with amputated wings and gangrene in their legs. It was a horrible thing. Being a wildlife carer for some years, at that stage, I was just amazed that I wasn’t aware of it and nor had it been brought to our attention by any member of the public or any other wildlife people.
ROCHELLE FERRIS: He was so devastated by that, but he was also looking at the bigger picture, and he sat back and thought, “You know, how many estuaries are there in Australia “that are so populated by humans? “And I’m only looking at this one.” And the problem just blew out in his head.
LANCE FERRIS: I knew we had a major problem on our hands. I had caught a couple and I’d caught them, I suppose, relatively easily, but when I saw so many I just got back to the boat and thought, “How do I cope with so many injured? “How can I catch that many? “They’re everywhere.”
MARNY BONNER: Lance fell asleep that night surrounded by crippled and injured birds and woke up and he was still surrounded by crippled and injured birds, and was compelled to do something – to start action right there and then.
LANCE FERRIS: It was three months and I had that 37, but as I was getting that 37, more became entangled as I went.
ROCHELLE FERRIS: The focus on getting out there and attending to all these sick pelicans really did take over his life.
MARNY BONNER: That was the dawning of the obsession and the birth of Australian Seabird Rescue.
LANCE FERRIS: I didn’t really think about it changing my life at that time.
MARNY: In the early days, some of these injuries were quite old. They had had longstanding chronic injuries and they did require a lot of treatment. And to his amazement, the local vets were extremely interested and extremely supportive.
LANCE FERRIS: I had to look closely at the pelicans to see a line trailing under a wing, or a hook somewhere.
MARNY BONNER: Because it’s difficult to see injuries on pelicans, people don’t notice. I believe pelicans don’t look sick when they are injured. Pelicans can’t cry.
LANCE FERRIS: Everybody believed that the hook would rust away in two or three days. We’ve done some tests on all different sorts of hooks and it’s at least six months before the hooks rusted away. So there were lots of things that make people not sort of bother.
ROCHELLE FERRIS: He was so concerned and frustrated by the lack of interest from the community that these birds were just all being tangled and no-one seemed to care.
LANCE FERRIS: But it’s not all bad out there. There are some people who really have the right concept. If the bird’s quiet and fairly well under control, we give everyone that opportunity to, say, pat a pelican or to have a close contact with it.
MARNY BONNER: Lance experienced quite a lot of loneliness in his childhood. He didn’t have a lot of affection in it. He is essentially a shy person and a bit of a loner.
LANCE FERRIS: I can remember vividly as a boy, after I’d found a little frog with a broken leg, I think we taped it up with a matchstick, and for the life of me I can’t remember whether it survived or not.
MARNY BONNER: That’s what I saw in Lance when I first met him, was this uncanny ability to really spend a lot of time thinking about how he could improve life generally for a particularly severely disabled child. Lance had his fairly demanding job of teacher’s aide with disabled children. The realisation of the enormity of the problem on Pelican Island did change Lance’s life, but I don’t think he was conscious of that at that time. He was merely solving the problem on the day.
LANCE FERRIS: But then there were cutbacks with the school and then came the word that said, There’s no more work. I’m sorry, we have to put you off. There’s no more funding. We don’t have enough children. And I had to drive away from the place. And I…I won’t forget that day.
I wept all the way home. I was at a little cattle dairy, a converted place. The very next day the landlord drove down the paddock and I went up and I said, “About the rent…” He said, Oh, yeah. He said, I was gonna tell you about that. He said, I really like what you’re doing with the pelicans and things. That’s fantastic, that’s a really good thing. And he said, And you’ve rescued my cattle out of the bogs here from time to time, “and I’ve decided not to charge rent anymore. Oh. You know, sort of looking around waiting for lightning to strike and pinching myself to see if I was awake. I was just ecstatic.
MARNY BONNER: Days rolled into weeks, and weeks rolled into months, and he was spending more and more time doing everything he possibly could to catch all the birds. And so it just became increasingly consuming of his time and his resources – all his resources. So it became a situation for Lance where if there was a choice of providing food for himself or getting fish to catch an injured pelican, the fish for catching the injured pelican always came first.
LANCE FERRIS: And I thought, “Oh, no, what am I doing?” And I thought, This is absolutely crazy. No-one would ever believe this, for starters, and this is just madness. I looked at the pelicans in the cage and they were eating, you know, the best fish at 10 a box and I just thought, I don’t think I can do this anymore. But then I took my shoes off and plodded round in the grass under the tree and found a bowl of bush nuts, macadamia nuts. I pigged out till I just couldn’t eat another macadamia and I’m sitting there going, Yes. Yes, I’m right. I looked at the pelicans. It’s alright, fellas. Everything’s under control.
MARNY BONNER: When I first met Lance he was living very, very frugally. And if he was unable to pay his electricity bill or his gas bill he would simply accept that and go scrummage around the tip or something and come out with some ingenious way of getting hot water for himself. Or he would just not eat cooked food.
LANCE FERRIS: And I thought, Well, I’ve got no power. And the answering machine – it was the biggest problem, because it was the mainstay of Seabird Rescue when I wasn’t there. I had some electronic knowledge and I had a little solar panel. And I had an old battery. It worked like a dream. Nobody knew my predicament. Nobody knew how we were running the show. It still looked OK on the surface. You know, if we sort of still had some credibility – I had an answering service – Oh, well, they must be alright. You know, so it gave me a feeling of, I suppose, wellbeing.
That first one, as I held it in my arms, I was awe-struck by the majesty of it. I think the immense size of the bird, no-one would realise that a pelican is as gentle as it is.
MARNY BONNER: A beautiful, benign creature that doesn’t deserve the treatment that it gets. If pelicans could cry, there would be a wailing across the nation that could not be ignored. We could open a tackle shop on the hooks and line and sinkers and traces and lures that we have extracted from the pelicans we’ve caught to date, easily.
LANCE FERRIS: Everyone loves Percy Pelican, and they don’t want to see anything injured irrespective of what species it is.
ROCHELLE FERRIS: And pelicans were dying and, you know, no-one really counted and knew how vast the problem was. The people from one estuary don’t really communicate with the people from the next estuary what they’ve seen.
In a small percentage of cases, there are people who deliberately hook pelicans. But again, it’s never an approach of accusing or retribution – always a case of education. And for him to do something about that, he needed money to do it. You know, it’s not… He was broke as it was. So he needed to get that information out there to make them aware.
MARNY BONNER: Lance’s move from the dairy to the house on the same property was quite timely in a way because Seabird Rescue really required a bit more space to accommodate volunteers. But clearly there’s no point continuing to rescue birds if you don’t do something about the cause of it. How do you start re-educating millions of fisherfolk and hundreds and hundreds of waterside residents in such a way that they stay on your side, that they will work with you and not be offended? There is no room for blame or guilt or anything else.
LANCE FERRIS: I had to get volunteers and I had to get public support to address the whole of the coastline, and I knew that media was the way to go. So I hammered every media outlet – television, newspaper – everything that I could get my hands into. A lot of it was rejected. Then one of the local papers said, Would you like to do a column? So I got the column going and things just took off from there. Quite often we were getting phone calls from the TV stations locally, and saying, Can we do a story on this?
ROCHELLE FERRIS: After Dad’s first media exposure and the call backs he got from that, and people recognising him in the street and patting him on the back and saying, Good job, he twigged. He said, I’m onto something here, and this is going to make the difference. From that day on, every time there was a really badly injured pelican, he would be on the phone to them so quick. So this media coverage that went to all those communities was priceless in being part of the solution and making them open their eyes and, yeah, pick up their tackle.
LANCE FERRIS: I could see that educating the children was really important.
MARNY BONNER: Kids these days are growing up with the environmental message. Getting to the kids and educating the kids is one of the most important activities that we do. They’re the ones that will carry that message. On many an occasion we see them run off and tug on Dad’s shirt or Mum’s shirt and say, You mustn’t drop that, Mum. Mustn’t drop that, Dad. Have to pick this up now. And….the parents are kind of shamed into being more environmentally responsible than they might otherwise have been.
ROCHELLE FERRIS: I guess when Dad started to realise that the problem was so national, he knew he needed volunteers. He couldn’t pay them – he can’t pay himself. Once word got out, it definitely made a difference. There was some real dedicated people.
LANCE FERRIS: The volunteers come from all walks of life. They all have their own areas of expertise, if you like. We’ve got Jenny, who’s just absolutely marvellous. She’s got a lovely, lovely rapport with the birds.
MARNY BONNER: Young Sam in particular was a fairly troubled child when Lance first met him – so much so that Lance thought that he was even beyond his ability to rescue him, if you like.
SAM DEVINE: I was just playing up in class, then he just started doing talks at the school about Seabird Rescue. I could talk to him and he would help me with my work… ..when I was having trouble.
MARNY BONNER: He’s turned around from a child who did not want to cooperate or be involved in school work or achieve anything.
SAM DEVINE: If it wasn’t for Lance I probably would be in a behavioural class.
LANCE FERRIS: Anthony was a person that came up here to study science with a background of being a member of the police SWAT team.
MARNY BONNER: He was a very quick learner, but more importantly, he was most definitely an action man. He’s almost a younger, more energetic Lance, if you like.
It’s very important to have volunteers that won’t be too offended if we’re not always as socially adept as we ought to be. We both suffer from burnout, from exhaustion, and in so doing, Lance in particular might sometimes forget to pay attention to his manners or be as thoughtful of that person or as considerate of that person as he…as he might be.
He is consumed by this calling. The unfortunate consequence of that kind of dedication is that Lance can neglect important relationships in his life.
ROCHELLE FERRIS: Having Marny in Dad’s life has been his Rock of Gibraltar. And, you know, they’ve had their quarrels, and people do. If Marny wasn’t in his life – God, I would have so much on my hands.
MARNY BONNER: It’s been very difficult for everyone that’s close to Lance. Even acquaintances frequently become offended, um, by his lack of presence.
ROCHELLE FERRIS: I wanted to throw a tantrum and get so angry because he’d missed my birthday or he’d forgotten Mother’s Day or, you know, just everything else in his life seemed to fade out.
MARNY BONNER: Those of us that are close to Lance can really joke that, you know, maybe if we pierced our ears and hung a jag hook in one and a lure in the other, he might look at us intensely and say, How are you?
LANCE FERRIS: We started recording all the problems that happened to the pelicans. It was very difficult for us to convince National Parks or Fisheries or anyone in the first few years that there was a problem.
ROCHELLE FERRIS: He gathered so much information over time about pelican behaviour, but he needed that notoriety from the scientific community to understand what he was talking about and for him to be able to approach them on their terms, academically.
LANCE FERRIS: Marny’s got the letters after her name, so too has my daughter, being a marine biologist, and that was a blessing to me. I had the information. They basically put it together and shaped it.
ROCHELLE FERRIS: It was really good for our relationship, writing that paper together, to get a bit of recognition from him from what I’d studied and learnt. And I wasn’t this little girl anymore who was wide-eyed and looking at everything he did, and I…I had something to give him.
LANCE FERRIS: When the report on the impact of fishing was accepted, or when they called for more copies at NSW Fisheries, I was just overjoyed. I thought, Finally! We’re gonna have to start working fairly quickly. As fast as we catch ’em, they’re getting entangled now. RecFish Australia included some of our concepts in their code of conduct for fishermen, and NSW Fisheries handed us one of their ex-service boats. Petrol companies offered fuel for the vehicle. A telephone company offered us a mobile phone. The council offered us free ferry journey. And the Coastcare, under the Natural Heritage Trust, gave us two grants so far of 26,000, which has enabled me to get to the schools and teach the children. I look back at the road we’ve travelled and people are taking more care. Well, I mean, some fishermen who used to say, Shoot the bastards… ..come up to me in the pub and say, You owe me a beer, mate. I caught one of your bloody pelicans. And don’t tell anybody about it either. I gave him a fish too after I took the hook out.
MARNY BONNER: People began to call us when they noticed other things on the beach. Well done. And so the turtles were added to the repertoire of pelicans, seabirds.
LANCE FERRIS: To see trained personnel at strategic locations all around the coast of Australia – that would be the ultimate goal. In July we have to vacate the premises we’re in at the moment. We were in big trouble. It was very, very heart-warming to realise the strength of the support we got from the council. The council has offered us some land for free and also a second-hand house. It’s been a fairly hard road. I guess Marny and I will have to start really getting on really, really well together, and not fighting on occasions.
MARNY BONNER: I do have grave concerns about his emotional and physical health because there is so little balance in his life. He does not take the time to rescue himself, I suppose. But I can’t live that life for him. The best thing that I can do is be his best friend.
LANCE FERRIS: I couldn’t have done this without her – there’s no doubt about that – irrespective of the rocky road that we’ve been along.
MARNY BONNER: He’s extremely important to me. He sets a fine example constantly of what can be achieved with patience, sheer determination, a great deal of tolerance and, above all, extraordinary compassion for creatures that can do nothing to alleviate their own suffering.
CAPTION: Lance and SeaBird Rescue are currently homeless while they wait for clearance of the council owned land and rebuilding. The latest injured pelican tally is 595.
