242 . state Secretaries' Reports. [,s?^'jan 



of the Home Secretary or the Minister for Lands, however, as in 

 those of the Minister for Agriculture (Hon. W. N. Gillies), who 

 has charge of the Native Birds Protection Acts. This legislation 

 is hopelessly inadequate and out-of-date, and it is to be superseded 

 by a composite Act, giving proper protection to fauna generally. 

 The new Game Bill passed its first reading in the Parliament of 

 1918, but pressure of other business prevented it being brought 

 forward in the latest session. Mr. Gillies is sympathetic, however, 

 this much being shown in his address to R.A.O.U. delegates when 

 entertaining them on a river trip ; and since then he has given 

 the assurance that the bill will be brought forward at the first 

 opportunity. 



Another heartening sign of the times is the fact that " Bird Pest 

 Destruction Boards " (of which there are several in Queensland) 

 have begun to realize that they should take something more than 

 a hostile interest in birds. The Ipswich Board recently urged 

 its State executive to organize a deputation to the Minister on 

 the subject of bird protection, and the executive, in asking advice 

 from the Gould League of Bird-Lovers regarding the matter, 

 suggested that their president should have a seat on the Council 

 of the Gould League. As a matter of course, this proposal was 

 assented to with pleasure. A little later on (October) the State 

 secretary of the R.A.O.U. accepted an invitation from the South 

 Coast Crows and Flying Foxes Destruction Board, representing 

 nineteen municipalities, to address a meeting under the auspices of 

 its conference at Southport. 



For members of the Gould League of Bird-Lovers the busiest 

 period of the year was September-October. Arrangements for 

 and meetings with visiting members of the R.A.O.U. occupied a 

 good deal of time and energy, and immediately the visitors had 

 departed the claims of school children had to be met. Through 

 the co-operation of the Education Department the School Papers 

 for October were almost wholly devoted to articles, stories, verse, 

 and pictures relating to native birds. Among members of the 

 R.A.O.U. who contributed were Miss J. A. Fletcher (Tasmania), 

 Messrs. R. T. Littlejohns, S. A. Lawrence, and L. G. Chandler 

 (Victoria), Harry Burrell and S. W. Jackson (New South Wales), 

 W. G. and R. C. Harvey, E. M. Cornwall, T. C. Marshall, and 

 A. H. Chisholm (Queensland), the last-named collecting the 

 material. Within a month of the issue of these papers approxi- 

 mately 3,000 additional children and many adults joined the 

 Gould League. 



Bird Day was celebrated througliout Queensland and in portion 

 of Papua synchronically with the New S7)uth Wales and Victorian 

 observance on 24th October. In ]^>risbane schools were visited 

 by Messrs. C. T. White ((iovernment Botanist), (i. H. Barker, 

 R.A.O.U., 11. L. Pottenger, R.A.O.U., A. H. Chisholm (president 

 Gould League), and E. W. C. Holdaway, B.A. (lion, secretary 

 Gould League). Excellent reports were received from each 

 school, as was also the case at Ipswich on the previous day, when 



