,,,, •] Obituary. 253 



Obituary. 



The late Mr. Matthew Symonds Clark. — The late Mr. Clark, 

 who was a iiuiulnT of the Iv.A.O.T. since its inception, died at 

 Adelaide on the loth July last, in his 82nd year of age. Although 

 a lover of Nature in general, whicli kept liin^ young in spirit, he 

 had a bias for birds. Native flora also interested him much, and 

 his garden at Knightsbridge, where he resided since 1882, has 

 become a wilderness of nativ^e shrubs and trees. 



The late ^Ir. ("lark was particularly fond of the Parrot tribe, 

 many of which he kept as aviary pets, and when they died he 

 turned their skins into mounted specimens, for he was a skilled 

 taxidermist. Mr. Clark was of a modest and retiring disposition ; 

 nevertheless, he contributed at least two original papers on Parrots 

 before the Field Naturalists' section of the Royal Society of South 

 Australia. Mr. Clark is the last link with the past of members 

 of the R.A.O.U. who had spoken to the great Gould face to face. 



On the occasion of the late Mr. Clark's eightieth birthday — - 

 19/i/ig — a special representative of the Adelaide Register waited 

 upon him, and the following is culled from a pleasantly-written 

 article on "A True Nature-Lover" in that paper: — 



" 'To do good by stealth ' has been his life motto, and when 

 asked this week by a reporter to outline some of his scientific 

 pioneer work in the State he smiled and said, ' But I've really 

 done nothing but attend to my own affairs.' This is true — in a 

 sense — for Mr. Clark has included much philanthropic work in 

 his daily duties. As an ornithologist he has spent a lifetime in 

 pursuit of his hobby, and the earliest Game Bills were drafted under 

 his supervision, although, with characteristic modesty, he dis- 

 claims all credit for the fact. The Society for the Prevention of 

 Cruelty to Animals was kept in existence for many years by him 

 also, and then he handed it over to Mrs. Ennis, who brought it 

 into the general prominence it occupies to-day. 



" There was one important member of the family that I was 

 specially introduced to — a Bare-eyed Cocka.too. ' I have had 

 him for 30 years,' said Mr. Clark, ' and he was not an infant when 

 he came to us.' Cocky is part of the family circle, and took a 

 keen interest in everything. He loves his master, and his cage 

 is placed beside him every night. As long as the master rests, 

 so, too, does that comprehending bird ; but directly there is a 

 movement from Mr. Clark, then the bird, too, is galvanized into 

 life. A fine case of bird specimens further demonstrated this 

 ornithologists's personal study. There were Little Lorikeets, 

 Blue Mountains, Honey-eating Parrots, and that scarce Swift 

 Lorikeet. ' I met the great John Gould, that wonderful bird 

 writer,' said Mr. Clark. ' I went to his place of business in 

 London, in 1865. He was a publisher, and I bought his " Hand- 

 book," just published, to the " Birds of Australia." He was a 

 most interesting man, and chatted of the many new birds he had 



