Alexander Morris Griffiths (5 October 1911 – 29 July 1998) was an Australian

beekeeper A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees. Beekeepers are also called honey farmers, apiarists, or less commonly, apiculturists (both from the Latin ''apis'', bee; cf. apiary). The term beekeeper refers to a person who keeps honey bees i ...

floriculturist Floriculture, or flower farming, is a branch of horticulture concerned with the cultivation of flowering and ornamental plants for gardens and for floristry, comprising the floral industry. The development of new varieties by plant breedin ...

and conservationist.

Early life

Griffiths was born in New Zealand and arrived in

Currumbin, Queensland Currumbin ( ) is a coastal suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Currumbin had a population of 2,920 people. Geography The suburb extends from Currumbin Creek in the north to Wyberba Street in the south. The Pac ...

in about 1944 where he lived with his parents on two and a half acres in Tomewin Street.

Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

Griffiths founded the 26 hectare

Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary is a heritage-listed zoological garden at 28 Tomewin Street, Currumbin, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1947 onwards. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 18 September 2009. The sanctuary is w ...

on his family property at

in 1947 after he started feeding the local wild

lorikeet Loriini is a tribe of small to medium-sized arboreal parrots characterized by their specialized brush-tipped tongues for feeding on nectar of various blossoms and soft fruits, preferably berries. The species form a monophyletic group within the ...

s to distract them from damaging his flowers, an initiative that grew into a major tourist attraction. Each day, at 4.30pm crowds of people would visit to hold the plates of bread and honey for the birds to gather around. While the spectacle of the birds feeding had featured in a number of magazines, the October 1956 edition of

The National Geographic Magazine ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widel ...

included an article entitled "The Honey Eaters Currumbin". International awareness of the Sanctuary followed and visitor numbers increased. Originally called the

Currumbin Bird Sanctuary Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary is a heritage-listed zoological garden at 28 Tomewin Street, Currumbin, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1947 onwards. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 18 September 2009. The sanctuary i ...

in 1976, Griffiths donated the property to the people of Queensland, to be managed by the

National Trust of Queensland National Trust of Queensland is a membership-based community organisation to "promote the natural, Indigenous and cultural heritage" of Queensland. It was founded in 1963. It is a member of the National Trust of Australia, which federates the e ...

. It holds one of the largest collections of Australian wildlife in the world and has cared for injured wildlife since approximately 1949. In 2009 it was added to the Queensland State Heritage Register.

Conservation work

In addition to his work with native animals, Griffiths was active in trying to protect the natural habitat and local environment. He lobbied to stop sand mining on land adjoining the sanctuary, raised concerns regarding the impact of gravel mining on waterways and was involved in efforts to place restrictions on the trapping of native wildlife and birds.

Awards

Griffths was honoured for his work with numerous awards including being appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian ...

, for services to conservation, in the 1976 Australia Day Honours.

Currumbin Valley Reserve

In 1996 Griffiths bought the

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfo ...

ed property that is now the

Currumbin Valley Reserve Currumbin Valley Reserve is a 4 ha nature reserve in the Gold Coast hinterland of south-east Queensland, Australia, west of Coolangatta, south of Brisbane. It is owned and managed by Bush Heritage Australia (BHA), to which it was donated in ...

and donated it to the

Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland The Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland (Wildlife Queensland) based in Queensland, Australia is a not-for-profit organisation which aims to engage communities to deliver conservation outcomes. Founded in 1962, Wildlife Queensland works ...

. In his will he expressed a wish for

Bush Heritage Australia Bush Heritage Australia is a non-profit organisation with headquarters in Melbourne, Australia, that operates throughout Australia. It was previously known as the Australian Bush Heritage Fund, which is still its legal name. It's vision is: Hea ...

(BHA) to take over ownership and care of the land, and the transfer to BHA took place in 1999.BHA: Currumbin Valley Reserve
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References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Alex Australian beekeepers 1998 deaths Australian environmentalists 1911 births New Zealand emigrants to Australia Members of the Order of Australia