^°|-^"-] President's Address-. I53 



be " Birds and Other Animals Protection Act." Later, however, 

 it was decided to deal only with the birds, and the words " and 

 Other Animals " were deleted. In connection with this measure 

 much credit is also due to Mrs. John Play ford, who exerted herself 

 to a great extent in interviewing persons of note — among others, 

 the late Sir James Penn Boucaut, one of our most eminent 

 judges, who thoroughly approved of the measure, and made 

 sundry suggestions relative to the phraseology of the Bill. 



The Hon. Thos. Playford (a brother-in-law of Mrs. Playford) 

 undertook to introduce the bill into Parliament in 1899 ; but so 

 much opposition was manifested, and so many alterations were 

 desired, that the measure was not pushed forward too quickly. 

 Much of the antagonism yielded to explanation. One clause, 

 however, the opponents of the Bill could not tolerate, as they 

 thought that underlying it was a hint of the old British game 

 laws. This clause empowered private owners of land to make 

 their properties " bird sanctuaries," in which no one, not even 

 the owners themselves, could shoot the birds. The clause was 

 struck out, and the measure, as the Bird Protection Act, 

 passed both Houses just at the close of the 1900 session of Parlia- 

 ment. This Act brought about a much-needed reform in the 

 total protection of a large number of our smaller and most useful 

 species. The schedule — the first of its kind in Australasia — 

 included nearly all unquestionably useful birds — Owls (all species), 

 Podargus, Nightjars, Swifts (all species). Swallows and Martins 

 (all species), Kingfishers (all species), Wood-Swallows (all species), 

 Pardalotes (all species), Piping Crow-Shrikes (all species), Butcher- 

 Birds (all species), Crow-Shrikes, Magpie-Larks, Blue Doves, 

 Thickheads, Shrike-Tits and Bell-Birds, Thrushes (all species), 

 Fantails, Flycatchers (all species), Robins (all species). Superb 

 Warblers, Emu-Wrens, Acanthizas, Chats (all species), Larks (all 

 species), Reed-Warblers and Bush-Larks, Bower-Birds, Tree- 

 creepers, Cuckoos (all species), Stone-Plovers, Ibis and Spoonbills, 

 Herons, Bitterns, Egrets, Gulls (all species), and Cape Barren 

 Geese. An important clause was inserted in the measure, 

 empowering the Governor-in-Council to approve of the adding to 

 or taking away from any list, or changing from one list to another. 

 Under this clause the following have been added to the list from 

 time to time : — Emus, Kestrels, Swans, Plovers (all species), Grass- 

 Parrots, Pigeons and Doves (all species), Gang-Gang Cockatoos, 

 Black Cockatoos (all species), Mallee-Fowl, and Bustard. The 

 Act also had a schedule for birds to be protected for a portion of 

 the year, the close seasons dating from ist June in some instances 

 and ist July and ist August in others, but all ending on 20th 

 December in each year. Another list gives the unprotected species 

 — Crows, Wattle-Birds, Silver-eyes, Cormorants, Sulphur-crested 

 Cockatoos, Hawks (except Kestrels), Snipe (Gallinago), (European) 

 Starlings, (European) Chaffinches, (European) House-Sparrows, 

 Rosella Parrots {Platycercus adelaidensis and P. eximius), 

 (European) Blackbirds, and (European) Goldfinches. To define 



