Martin Copley (1940 – 30 July 2014) was a British-born

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n conservationist and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

who established the

Australian Wildlife Conservancy The Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) is an independent Australian nonprofit organisation, working to conserve threatened wildlife and ecosystems in Australia. AWC is the largest private owner and manager of land for conservation in Austral ...

(AWC), an organisation which purchases and manages large areas of land, mainly former pastoral properties, as

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

s (called "sanctuaries") for the conservation of

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

.ABC program archive: George Negus Tonight 38, broadcast 13 April 2004
accessed 8 January 2008 He was the grandson of pioneering Australian pastoralist and banker S. W. Copley. Copley was a British

financier An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital the investor usually purchases some species of property. Types of in ...

and insurance

underwriter Underwriting (UW) services are provided by some large financial institutions, such as banks, insurance companies and investment houses, whereby they guarantee payment in case of damage or financial loss and accept the financial risk for liability ...

. He first visited Australia in 1966. In 1991 he purchased a property containing a large area of natural bushland at

Chidlow, Western Australia Chidlow is a small community in the Shire of Mundaring approximately 45 kilometres east of Perth, Western Australia. History The Chidlow townsite was originally known variously as Chidlow's Flat, Chidlow's Springs or Chidlow's Well after a wel ...

, now the

Karakamia Sanctuary Karakamia Sanctuary is a 2.75 km2 nature reserve in south-west Western Australia, 4 km from Chidlow and 50 km north-east of Perth. It is located within the jarrah forest of the Darling Scarp and is owned and managed by the Austra ...

, for conservation purposes, effectively founding what was to become the AWC. In 1994 he moved to Australia permanently. In 2001 the AWC became a public charitable organisation.Australian Wildlife Conservancy: About AWC
Copley died of cancer on 30 July 2014.Australian Wildlife Conservancy: Board of Directors
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References

1940 births Australian conservationists Insurance underwriters 2014 deaths Members of the Order of Australia British emigrants to Australia 20th-century Australian philanthropists {{environmentalist-stub