Wilson Roy Wheeler MBE FRAOU (1905–1988), commonly referred to as W. Roy Wheeler, was an Australian postman and professional

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

. He was an active bird bander and was convener of the Altona Survey Group, later part of the Victorian Ornithological Research Group. In 1965 he was awarded the

Australian Natural History Medallion The Australian Natural History Medallion is awarded each year by the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria (FNCV) to the person judged to have made the most meritorious contribution to the understanding of Australian natural history. The idea origin ...

. He was a member of the

Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union The Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU), now part of BirdLife Australia, was Australia's largest non-government, non-profit, bird conservation organisation. It was founded in 1901 to promote the study and conservation of the native b ...

(RAOU), President 1964–1965, and made a Fellow of the RAOU in 1971. He was also very active in the Bird Observers Club (BOCA), serving as President (1951–1954), Honorary Secretary (1954–1971) and Honorary Treasurer (1963–1971). In 2005 he was commemorated, on the occasion of BOCA's centenary, by the creation of a new award, the W. Roy Wheeler Medallion for Excellence in Field Ornithology. In 1979, he set the record for an Australian

big year A big year is a personal challenge or an informal competition among birders who attempt to identify as many species of birds as possible by sight or sound, within a single calendar year and within a specific geographic area. Popularized in North A ...

, with 545 species seen, breaking the record previously held by John McKean (535 species). Wheeler's record has since been bettered, in 1982 by Kevin Bartram (607 species), in 1989 by Mike Entwhistle (633 species), and then in 2002 by Sean Dooley, the current record holder (703 species).

Honours

* 1969 — awarded Member of the British Empire (MBE) for services to nature study and conservation in Victoria *1970 — elected a Fellow of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union

Publications

References

*Robin, Libby. (2001). ''The Flight of the Emu: a hundred years of Australian ornithology 1901–2001''. Carlton, Vic. Melbourne University Press. *Simpson, Ken; & Weston, Mike. (2005). W. Roy Wheeler Medallion. ''Bird Observer'' 836: 3. Australian ornithologists 1905 births 1988 deaths 20th-century Australian zoologists Australian Members of the Order of the British Empire {{Australia-ornithologist-stub