The Australian Bilby Appreciation Society, with the bold Mr Bilby leading the way, paid a visit to Charleville  in Queensland (about 750km west of Brisbane) early in December 2000.  The National Parks and Wildlife Service office there is the home of the Save the Bilby Fund.  While we were there, we caught up with Frank Manthey (Chief District Ranger) and Peter McRae (Senior Zoologist) and the Bilbies.

Mr Bilby outside the Charleville National Parks and Wildlife Service office (also known as Bilby Command Centre) with the fantastic wooden Bilby sculpture that greets visitors. Chris McKenzie, renowned sculptor from the Gold Coast, carved this 2 tonne Bilby and donated it to the Save the Bilby Fund.

Mr Bilby meets with one of the Charleville Bilbies.
Note: all the Bilbies in the photos and video clips from Charleville are females.
This one seems to be quite smitten by Mr B - hardly surprising.

You can meet the Bilbies too.  If you visit Charleville, Bilby nights are run from April to October every Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday night at 7:00pm.  Please ring (07) 46541255 to confirm.

Find out more about Frank and Peter's Work

The gentleman of the inland plains - article by Peter McRae in Wildlife Australia (Autumn 1995)
Peter writes about his work with the Bilbies in South-West Queensland

The Bilby Needs Your Help - Save the Bilby Fund
Learn about the goals of the fund and how your donation will help

The Bilbies Lament - poem by Frank Manthey
Frank waxes lyrical about the plight of the Bilby

Easter Bilby - article by Andrew Merry
Article about Peter and Frank's work

A friend to the Bilby fights for its future - article by Mike Larder in The Age (10 May 1999)
Another article about Peter and Frank's work

Success for Bilby - article by Phil Hammond in The Courier Mail (17 October 2000)
The Bilbies make a triumphant visit to Brisbane

Business giant joins 'save bilbies' battle - article by Leanne White in The Chronicle (26 September 2000)
Santos kick in with a 4WD vehicle

Move over Bugs, here come the bilbies - article by Warren Murray in The Chronicle (17 March 2001)
Bilbies in the movies!  Two Charleville Bilbies will star with Christopher Walken.

Game of survivor for a new Easter icon - article by Greg Roberts in The Age (6 January 2003)
Good article provides an update on Frank and Peter's work.

See more of the Bilbies at Charleville

Spending over an hour at night with the Bilbies in their cage was a wonderful experience, despite being eaten alive by mozzies.  The Bilbies were very busy, scampering about, with one particularly inquisitive one showing a great deal of interest in the contents of shoes, socks, jeans and back packs!  See for yourself how beautiful they are in the following pictures and videos.

Photos and Video clips

Check out the great Save the Bilby products

The Save the Bilby Fund has an excellent collection of Bilby products

See their website for a full list of available products and to place an order.

Your purchases will help Save the Bilby

The Bilby Fence in Currawinya National Park was officially opened (or should that be closed?) on Sunday 15 April 2001.  Over 1000 people from all over Australia attended. Hard working volunteers from the Rotary Club of Charleville (and surrounding areas) provided meals, starting Good Friday 13 April (fish, of course!) and all day Saturday and Sunday. 

Speakers at the opening included: Lorna McNiven, representing the traditional occupants; Dr Liz Dovey, from Environment Australia; Ms Jan Oliver, Director, Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia; Rose-Marie Dusting, children's author and accredited founder of the Easter Bilby; Howard Hobbs, Member for Warrego; Frank Manthey and Dr Peter McRae, Save the Bilby Fund; Dean Wells, Queensland Environment Minister, pictured above with the fence.

According to Frank Manthey it was "a very emotional time".  "To see 1200 people on Sunday at the opening who travelled from all parts of Australia to join in the celebrations was something I will never forget."

Xmas 2001 Update
Since the official opening, work on the fence has continued but there is still much to be done.  Now that the fence is electrified it needs to be connected to the Ranger Station so it can be monitored remotely.  Better gates are required and the feral cats inside the fence (2 are known to be there) must be removed.  Radio tracking collars are required for some of the 40 Bilbies that will eventually be released in 4 groups of 10.

Easter 2004 Update
On Easter Sunday 2003 a celebration marked the completion of the work required to prepare the fence and the enclosure for the release of the Bilbies.  Unfortunately the drought that has effected much of Australia has meant that conditions have not allowed the release of the Bilbies.  At Easter 2004, they are still awaiting a few good rainfalls to make the release possible.