1 30 Bird Protection in Queensland. [ist^'o'ct 



200 delegates, representing all parts of the State. He suggested 

 {vide Brisbane Courier) that it would be fair for the conference, 

 after having discussed those birds which came under the ban of 

 bird-pest boards, to give a little kindly consideration to those 

 natives which did valuable work, without reward, the whole year 

 through. It was, he said, within the power of municipalities to 

 help the work of the Agricultural Department by applying to have 

 certain areas under their jurisdiction proclaimed as sanctuaries — 

 cities of refuge where the birds might breed undisturbed by the 

 thoughtless " pot-hunter." He asked delegates to suggest this 

 humane and common-sense action to their respective councils ; 

 not to allow any bird to be proclaimed a pest until definite orni- 

 thological evidence had been obtained on the point ; to help on the 

 valuable work of the Education and Agricultural Departments in 

 endeavouring to bring Queensland into line with other enlightened 

 countries in the matter of bird protection ; and generally to safe- 

 guard, by way of reciprocation, the interesting, valuable, and 

 beautiful birds in all parts of the State. In reply to a question, 

 the visitor stated that the English Starling (as distinct from the 

 native Starling of North Queensland) was now plentiful in the 

 southern parts of the State. He was not asking for protection for 

 this bird, which, like the Sparrow, should never have been brought 

 to this country ; they both drove out more useful native birds 

 and upset the natural balance. 



On the following day a conference of delegates from the Bird 

 Pest Boards of the Brisbane, Darling Downs, North Coast, 

 Burnett, and Wide Bay Districts discussed, for the first time, the 

 matter of assisting in the protection of valuable native birds. 

 The executive was directed to report on the subject. 



Proposed Refuge for Wild-Fowl. 



Lawrence Jones and J. Lyle Bayhss, of Lexington, Kentucky, 

 new owners of Jefferson Island, former home of Joe Jefferson, 

 which he named " Bob Acres " after the character in " The 

 Rivals," will turn their 10,000 acres into a sanctuary for birds 

 and other wild life. They have petitioned M. L. Alexandria, 

 Commissioner of Conservation, to set aside Lake Peigneur, 

 which adjoins the property, as a wild water-fowl refuge. They 

 own more than a third of the land circling the lake, and 

 owners of other property have signified their desire that all 

 shooting on the lake be prohibited. As soon as all necessary 

 signatures are received these requests will be complied with, it 

 is said, making the first of a series of interior refuges to be estab- 

 lished by the Department of Conservation. It is proposed by the 

 new owners of "Bob Acres" to spend several thousand dollars 

 on the property to make it a bird haven. A dam will be con- 

 structed on the edge of the lake to re-establish a former cypress 



