ULLRICH (Lance):
Loved brother and brother-in-law of Steve and Roseanne, uncle to Renae, Kate, Meagan and Matt. Respected Police Officer with over 30 years service to the community of WA. Sympathy to Larraine and family.
Rest in peace
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Saturday, 19 December 2015
ULLRICH (Lance ): Loved son of Win and Norm (dec). Brother of Jan, Lyn, and Steve.
Rest Peacefully Lance.
Published in: The West Australian
Saturday, 19 December 2015
ULLRICH (Lance):
Loved brother and brother-in-law of Steve and Roseanne, uncle to Renae, Kate, Meagan and Matt. Respected Police Officer with over 30 years service to the community of WA. Sympathy to Larraine and family.
Rest in peace
Published in: The West Australian
Saturday, 19 December 2015
ULLRICH
(Lance Norman):
Loved brother and brother- in-law of Lyn and Mike. Uncle of Paul, Fiona and Mathew.
Happy memories.
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.
DAILY life throws plenty of challenges in the path of Myrle and Ken Hauser but the Mannering Park couple take each day as it comes.
Mrs Hauser has been Mr Hauser’s carer since about mid-2005, when he developed vascular dementia.
Dementia affects thinking, behaviour and the ability to perform everyday tasks.
Vascular dementia is the second most common form of dementia, after Alzheimer’s disease, and is associated with problems of circulation of blood to the brain.
The Hausers, who have been married for 64 years, will share their story with the nation as part of a television documentary.
Location – Broken Hill, Mitch Hardaker, John Hardakers son, was told that this was taken whilst Mad Max 3 was being filmed out there. You can see the old bus on the left of the picture. This picture is of John Hardaker and other officers. Most probably Don BRATTAN with his back to camera and the large Crown ( Sgt 1/c ) on the left sleeve.
Grave of Donald BRATTAN
Robert William Frederick FREDEWELL
| 20/12/2015
Robert William Frederick FREDEWELL
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # 8266
Rank: Probationary Constable – appointed on 7 November 1955
Sergeant 2/Class – appointed on 21 December 1978
Stations: ?, Ryde – retirement
Service: From?pre 7 November 1955 to 17 May 1982 = 27+ years Service
Awards: ?
Born: 11 February 1927
Died on: Monday 30 November 2015
Cause: ?
Age: 88
Funeral date: Friday 11 December 2015 @ MD
Funeral location: Greenway Chapel & Memorial Gardens, 460 Avoca Drive, GREEN POINT
Buried at: ?
Memorial at: ?
[alert_yellow]ROBERT 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.
DWYER, Colonel Brian Michael (Michael).
(Ret’d) AM RFD ED MB BS
251888
14th April 1929 ~ 19th November 2015
Aged 86 years
Passed away peacefully at Longueville Private Hospital
Late of Hunters Hill, formerly of Gosford
Beloved husband of Carlin, much loved father of Anthony, Justin, Megan, Casey and Fabian
Son of Sydney Keith and Alice, brother of Allan and Jean (all dec’d), stepbrother of Phillip
Loving Grandfather and Father-in-Law
Medical Practitioner, Army Officer,
Police Medical Officer.
Family and friends are invited to celebrate his life at a Requiem Mass at
St Peter Chanel, Futuna Street, Hunters Hill
10am on Wednesday
25th November 2015
And afterwards at the Hunter’s Hill Club, 12 Madeline Street, Hunters Hill for refreshments.
A private cremation will take place following the service.
In lieu of flowers please consider donations to the Vanuatu Earthquake Appeal
In the loving care of
All Suburbs
1300 74 00 74
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Tuesday, 24 November 2015
So sad to hear of Doc’s passing. He was a great man and a mentor of mine both in Canberra and Sydney. His family can be proud of his life and the influence he had on us all. I can’t be there on Wednesday but I will be there in spirit. RIP
~
Gary Tuckwood,
Mardi, New South Wales
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Tuesday, 24 November 2015
As a young Constable in Canberra there were many occasions when a wise Doc Dwyer provided a voice of common sense in tense investigations. His laconic sense of humour was legend as was his ability to cut down some pretentious pumped up crook many times without them realising the same. A man of class and integrity, they sure as heck don’t make them like him any more. RIP Doc
~
Phil Spence BM,
CANBERRA, Australian Capital Territory
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Saturday, 21 November 2015
Happy memories of many years ago.RIP.
~
Margaret & Arthur Fogarty
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Published in The Sydney Morning Herald on Nov. 21, 2015
Died on: 24 April 1885 ( 10 days after her husband )
Funeral date: Sunday 26 April 1885
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Regd. # ‘Q‘ 2523
For the purposes of this website ‘Q‘ represents those Police joining between 1 March 1862 ( commencement of NSWPF ) – 23 February 1915 ( Commencement of NSWPF current numbering system )
Rank: Probationary Constable – appointed 25 March 1875
Constable – appointed ? ? ?
Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ?
Final Rank: Senior Constable
Stations: ?, Balmain 1879 to 1882, North Willoughby Station ( O.I.C. during 1884)
Service: From 25 March 1875 to 14 April 1885 = 9+ years Service
Awards:
Not a Police award but a civilian one
Another lengthy report was in the SMH Tuesday 3″ June 1879:
On the presentation of the gold watch and chain and an address as an acknowledgement of Constable Ross, intrepid conduct rescuing two persons at the risk of his own life. Three cheers were given by the 50 residents attended the Balmain Council Chambers for the presentation.
The inscription: Presented to Constable John Benoni Ross by the inhabitants of Balmain, in admiration of his heroic conduct in rescuing two lives at a well accident, 18 April 1879. Balmain 2 June 1879.
A letter from the Inspector General of Police was noted at the 27 June 1879, Balmain Council meeting, having reference to the gallant conduct of Constable Ross at the recent well accident.
The watch remains in the Ross family treasures.
Born: ? ? 1852, Caithness, Scotland
Died on: Tuesday 14 April 1885 at Police residence, Chatswood Police Stn, North Willoughby
Cause: Typhoid Fever as did his wife Sarah 10 days later aged 30 and their infant daughter Sarah aged 1
Age: 32
Funeral date: Wednesday 15 April 1885
Funeral location: ?
Buried at: Pioneer Memorial Cemetery, corner Mowbray Road West and Pacific Highway, Chatswood. (opposite the Great Northern Hotel)
Memorial at: ?
In Memory of Senior Constable John B. Ross Died 14th April 1885 aged 32. Also Sarah Ann, Wife of the above. Died 24th April 1885 aged 30. Also infant child Sarah. Erected by his comrades & friends.
JOHN 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.
Kevin Banister May 4 2020 at 4:59 PM Went for a trip this afternoon (4/5/2020) to the Pioneers Memorial Reserve, Mowbray Road, Chatswood and took a couple of photos of the resting place of Senior Constable John Benone ROSS and family. This little cemetery is a heritage site and is being maintained by Lane Cove Council and what a wonderful job they are doing. The ribbon had fallen off and I re-attached it. In the bottom left corner of the plot is a rose bush as is on most other marked graves. Even these are pruned.
The Sydney Morning Herald Wednesday 15 April 1885 P 1 of 16
ROSS. – April 14, at his residence, Police Station, North Willoughby, John Binnone Ross, aged 33 years, native of Caithness, Scotland, leaving a wife and five children and large circle of friends to mourn their loss.
ROSS. – April 14, at the Police Station, North Willoughby, Senior-constable John Ross ( late of Balmain ), leaving a wife and five children to mourn their loss.
The Sydney Morning Herald Wednesday 15 April 1885 P 16 of 16
THE FRIENDS of the late Mr. JOHN B. ROSS are respectfully invited to his Funeral ; to leave his residence, Lane Cove-road, THIS DAY Wednesday, at 3 o’clock, for the Wesleyan Cemetery, Willoughby.
W. H. HOWARD, Undertaker, Walker-street, St. Leonards.
Balmain Observer & Western Suburbs Advertiser Saturday 18 April 1885 P 3 of 4
Senior Constable Ross, well known in Balmain about four years ago and lately in charge of North Willoughby, died on Monday night, from, consumption.
It will be remembered that he made a very plucky rescue of two men from a well in the neighbourhood of Beattie street, in which was foul air while he was stationed in Balmain, the effects of which he has since suffered from.
The Sydney Morning Herald Saturday 25 April 1885 P 20 of 20
THE FRIENDS of the late Mrs. ROSS, widow of the late Senior-constable Ross, of Chatswood, are respectfully invited to attend her Funeral ; to leave her residence at 3 o’clock TO-MORROW, Sunday, for Wesleyan Cemetery.
W. H. HOWARD, Undertaker, Walker-street, St. Leonards.
The Sydney Morning Herald Saturday 30 May 1885 P 5 of 24
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES.
Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction.
In the Intestate Estate of JOHN B. ROSS, late of Willoughby, Senior Constable, deceased.
CREDITORS are to forward to me ( through the Post Office if they think fit ), at my office, in the Supreme Court, Sydney, their details for proof, verified by affidavit, on or before the fifteenth day of June next, or they will be excluded from all benefit from this estate.
‘Balmain Association’ newsletter dated April 2001.
P o l i c e H e r o i c R e s c u e
A letter from Mrs Meg Chamberlin formally of Ferdinand Street, Balmain and now of Macley Island, Queensland, stated that some information on her family history could be of interest to the Association. While cleaning out a draw on a visit to her mother at the family home, a letter was found with an interesting PS, relating to a presentation of a gold watch to Constable John Benone Ross in 1879.
Constable Ross was stationed at the Watch House from 1879 to 1882 and lived in Darling Street, Rozelle, near Red Lion Street. He then moved to Chatswood where he, his wife Sarah Ann and a child died within a few days of each other in a Typhoid epidemic in April 1885. John was 32 years and Sarah was 30 years and daughter Sarah 1 year. They were buried in the church yard of the Methodist Church, Chatswood. Comrades and friends erected the headstone. Grandmother Sarah Ann Robinson reared the other four children.
In a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, Tuesday 21″ April 1879:
On Friday morning a man named Albert Drave was nearly suffocated by descending into a newly dug well 25 feet deep behind the Bellevue, now Sackville Hotel, Darling Street. A blast had just taken place at the bottom of the well and the smoke not having thoroughly cleared way before Drave descended, he was almost suffocated when he reached the bottom. His distress having been noticed by the proprietor of the allotment Mr Barthrope, he at once descended to retrieve Drave, but he was likewise became overpowered by the fumes of the powder. Constable Ross being near the spot, volunteered to descend and succeeded in bringing up to the surface first Drave, then Barthrope. Drs. Brennan and Evans were quickly on the spot and industriously applied the usual restoratives. Both men are doing well at the latest accounts.
Another lengthy report was in the SMH Tuesday 3″ June 1879:
On the presentation of the gold watch and chain and an address as an acknowledgement of Constable Ross, intrepid conduct rescuing two persons at the risk of his own life. Three cheers were given by the 50 residents attended the Balmain Council Chambers for the presentation.
The inscription: Presented to Constable John Benoni Ross by the inhabitants of Balmain, in admiration of his heroic conduct in rescuing two lives at a well accident, 18 April 1879. Balmain 2 June 1879.
A letter from the Inspector General of Police was noted at the 27 June 1879, Balmain Council meeting, having reference to the gallant conduct of Constable Ross at the recent well accident.
The watch remains in the Ross family treasures.
Goulburn Evening Penny Post ( NSW ) Saturday 26 April 1884 p 4 of 10
Suspicious Death.
ON Wednesday evening Senior-constable Ross, who is in charge of the North Willoughby station, received intelligence from a man named Henby that a death under suspicious circumstances had taken place in the district. He accordingly proceeded to a house near Burn’s Bay, Lane Cove Road, occupied by William Cox, who is stated to be an old resident of the district. In one of the rooms was found the body of Ann Sophia Cox in bed, looking to all appearance dead.
Dr. Rorke, of North Shore, was at once communicated with. He soon arrived, and expressed an opinion that deceased had probably met with her death in consequence of external injuries. The only female clothes in the house beyond those found on the woman were a chemise and another garment, both of which were stained with blood.
Under the circumstances the constable apprehended William Cox, the husband of the deceased, at a late hour last night, and he his now lodged at the St. Leonards police station.
Upon being questioned as to the occurrence the prisoner declared that he knew nothing of the cause of his wife’s death beyond that she had sustained a fall, and expressed ignorance concerning the garment stained with blood. It appears that Cox informed Henby of the death of the woman in the first place.
The police state that prisoner has been often seen of late under the influence of drink, and his domestic matters did not seem to have been of a happy character. He is described as of no occupation.
