242 Chisholm, Biyd Pyoteciion in Queensland. [ist aViI 



pins and hair pins for society ladies at the expense of the Hves 

 of the beautiful native birds of Queensland was not by any means 

 a necessity, and would be a disgrace to the Government of Queens- 

 land. Ladies should not be allowed to wear beautiful headgear 

 at the expense of Queensland's native birds, the loss of which 

 would in time mean the loss of all vegetation. He appealed to 

 the Minister for Agriculture not to rest content with the mere 

 proclamation of sanctuaries for birds, but to place the Act under 

 proper supervision, and try in every way to safeguard these natural 

 police. Let them learn from the experience of other countries, 

 which had awakened too late to the extraordinary value of their 

 birds, destroyed by irresponsible people who were after pleasure 

 and the almighty dollar all the time, and had not the interests of 

 their country at heart. 



Immediately after Mr. Forde's protest had been lodged, this 

 important matter was taken up in the following letter to the 

 Brisbane press : — '' Mr. A. H. Chisholm writes : — Sir, For the 

 enlightenment of any of your feminine readers who, lacking a 

 guiding knowledge of the ways of the plume trade, may be tempted 

 to buy certain feathered ornaments that are (or were) about to 

 be placed upon the market, permit me to stress the protest uttered 

 by Mr. Forde in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday. In 

 company with another member of the Royal Australasian Orni- 

 thologists' Union, I visited the exhibition of these decorations 

 at the Belle Vue Hotel during the week. Like everyone else, we 

 thought the display strikingly pretty (albeit a good deal less so than 

 the live birds from which the feathers were taken), but any 

 pleasure aroused by the artistry of the creations was quickly 

 overwhelmed by the knowledge that it was only obtained at the 

 expense of the lives of some of Australia's most beautiful and 

 valuable birds. The dainty orange and black plumes from the 

 tail feathers of the Black Cockatoo, ostensibly a strictly protected 

 bird, first met our astonished gaze, and in a few moments we had 

 identified feathers from several other species which are presumed 

 to be immune from destruction the whole year through — not to 

 speak of other varieties which are (according to law) protected 

 in the breeding season. It may be confidently assumed that, 

 following the Parliamentary protest, the Agricultural Department 

 will take prompt measures to stop the sale of decorations con- 

 taining the feathers referred to ; but all lovers of country who 

 realize the awful possibilities ahead of an extensive plume trade 

 will surely join in appealing to women not to wear the feathers 

 of any wild bird. 



These protests did not go unheeded. At the annual meeting 

 of the Gould League of Bird Lovers a few days later His Excellency 

 the Governor (Sir Hamilton Goold-Adams) announced that, in 

 view of the destruction of valuable birds which the proposed new 

 industry would apparently entail, he had refused a request for 

 patronage ; while the Under Secretary for Agriculture (Mr. E. G. 

 Scriven) informed the writer that he had refused a request by 

 the proprietor of the feather ornaments for the removal of the 



