May 9, 1950. 
THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST 
Page Three 
Our National Park is a sanctuary for 
Fauna and Flora. The bird life there is 
both numerous and attractive. Between 1919 
and 1933 the late Mr. John Sutton identified 
81 species of birds in the Park, and quite 
a number of them nest in the trees and 
undergrowth. Numbers of them have become 
so tame and trusting that they may be often 
seen hopping and running about among pic- 
nickers after crumbs and food thrown to 
them. 
Having obtained its objective oi: a National 
Park at Belair, the Fauna and Flora Protec- 
tion Committee did not rest on its laurels, 
for early in 1906 efforts were commenced 
to obtain a certain portion of Kangaroo 
Island as a National Reserve. It was neces- 
sary to conduct a rigorous campaign of some 
13 years before reward resulted from the 
ambition and work of such splendid stalwarts 
as Samuel Dixon. Edwin Ashby, S. A. White, 
Symonds Clark, j. M. Black, to mention but 
a few of those assisting. The Kangaroo 
Island land, now known as Flinders Chase, 
an area of 163 square miles, became a 
Reserve when an “Act to Establish a Reserve 
on Kangaroo Island” was passed in 1919. 
This Reserve is unique in that it is not 
infested with rabbits or foxes. 
Flinders Chase Reserve was placed under 
the control of a Board, to be called The Fauna 
and Flora Board of South Australia, which 
consisted of six members. Two members, 
the Hon. John Lewis, M.L.C., Chairman, and 
George Laffer, M.P., nominated by the 
Government, turn members, Captain S. A. 
White and Samuel Dixon, nominated by the 
Royal Society of S.A., and two members, 
Professor T. G. B. Osborn, M.Sc., and H. 
H. Corbin, D.Sc., nominated by the Uni- 
versity of Adelaide, constituted the original 
Board to control Flinders Chase. 
In the terms of the Act, the Board is 
charged, subject to the control of the Minis- 
ter, to “purchase, take, receive, hold, acquire 
and possess lands, tenements and heredita- 
ments in fee simple or for any less estate or 
for any term of years or otherwise, and 
goods and chattels and may grant, sell, con- 
vey, transfer, demise, assign or otherwise 
dispose of the same.” Under Section 16 (1) 
the Flinders Chase was “vested in the Board 
to be held by the Board in fee simple upon 
trust for the purpose of a reserve for the 
protection, preservation and propagation of 
fauna and flora and as a pleasure and health 
resort and for other purposes of the Act.” 
Under Section 16 (3) “all the fauna and 
flora now and hereafter on the said lands 
are hereby declared to be the property of 
the Board.” 
Section 17 (1) of the Act, it is worthy 
of note, reads that “in addition to the powers 
conferred under Section 5 of the Crown 
Lands Act 1915 the Governor may by pro- 
clamation dedicate any other Crown Lands 
for the purposes of this Act,” and Section 43 
reads “the moneys required by the Board for 
the purposes of llie Act shall be paid out 
of the revenue of the Board and to the extent 
that such revenue is insufficient out of moneys 
provided by Parliament for such purposes.” 
The Act provides that the revenue of the 
Board could be derived by the following 
methods: (1) Selling stone, gravel, earth, 
sand, trees, bark, dead or live timber. (2) 
Granting leases and/or licences for grazing 
or agricultural purposes and for the estab- 
lishment of sanatoria or biological stations 
or for such other purposes as the Board deter- 
mines. (3) Sell or exchange specimens of 
Fauna and Flora and any other product of 
the Chase. 
The Board among other things may erect 
dwelling houses and provide other necessary 
accommodation in the Chase for its officers 
and servants and such accommodation, as it 
deems advisable, for persons visiting the 
Chase. It may be well to remember that 
the Chase may, under the terms of the Act, 
be used as a pleasure and health resort. 
The main and essential features of the Act 
have been set out at some length, because, 
in the writer’s opinion, the framers of the 
Act have set up a splendid administration 
for the protection and preservation of the 
Fauna and Flora of Flinders Chase, and 
further it will be noted that as the Act can 
apply to other Crowm Lands dedicated for the 
purpose of the Act, it can be fairly clear 
that when Parliament passed this legislation 
it was intended that all areas hereafter set 
apart for the preservation of Fauna and 
Flora would be placed under the control of 
the Fauna and Flora Board of S.A. 
However, it is understood that a legal 
opinion on this matter has been obtained 
and this points out that the preamble and 
title of the Act definitely restricts its provi- 
sions to Kangaroo Island. The Fauna and 
