72 
The Qiit-ensland Naturalist. 
April, 1926 
inid not H siH'ioty. Into Iiis natural history he 
always put n toiudi of jtoetry, and as the text of his first 
address h(‘ (putted Iveats' welTknoAvn line: “The l^oetry 
of Eiirtii is Never Dead.’’ He wrote many verses, and 
loved to b(^ ealled a itoet. 
Behind iiis wittieisins, liis t(‘arnino\ his sareasius. Ills 
poetry, his abstruse allusions. Ids theoidsing and Ids 
many-sided life, there was one bi^ eentral fact— and 
tiial was Ids ^'reat love of N'aturi' and his delij^ht in her 
inexhaust ibh' treasures. He lov(‘d the birds, the flowers 
and lh(‘ trees. He inveighed ag-ainst the man-made bare- 
n(>ss of (Mir hillsid(‘s. and (daimed that tite forests had 
miieli to do with the rainfall. He wrote many interest- 
ini.); artieles of po])ular natural history in tlie '‘(Vnnder.'’ 
He did excelhuit work for the old Hould League of Bird 
Jmvtu’s. He was a *^ood. all-round Field Natui*alisl. 
Quiek-brained. silver-ton^'ued. with a retentive 
nuunory, lu* had a marvellous ran^'e of knowled^-e and 
a dislinetive literary style. His sparkliiip: wit found ex- 
])ression eviui in addrt^sses to stdentifie. meetini^s. At 
times he was jxisitively brilliant, and even Avhen sjieak- 
in^ on eommonidaee subjecds he aeldeved <iistinetion. 
It may be said of some ]ieople tiiat you eould not travel 
six stoi-eys in a lift witii them without being’ impressed 
•with their personality^ Skertehly was of this type; he 
had personality. Some ])eople regarded him as one of 
the most remarkable men in Queensland in his day. 
He was utterly unlike the typi(ml try-as-dust, aca- 
demie seientist. T like to think of him. interminably 
lighting his ]■)ipe — “smoking mat(dies'^ — telling some 
story of the old days. Ids shrewd eyes lit U]) with 
humour. 1 like to remember his sturdy figure, carrying 
tlu' old stout stiel\, (lecliidng* to be hurried, indifferent 
to lime, ulaee and |)eople. and talking, talking — on ])oli- 
ties. on history, on literature and poetry, or on science, 
and especially of his old friends of tlu* last century. 
And uow, being old and well stri(*.ken in years, he 
is gathered unto Iiis fathers. Tliid is tioI an occasion for 
sadness. Sydney Skertchly lived a fvdl and long life, 
and ai'hieved a great measure of success. Tn the quiet 
little e(*metery at Xeraug lie lies, where the long grass 
hides many a wild flower, even as life hides many 
treasures in the fullness of its strenuous years. W(‘ shall 
louiT eherisli his memory, for much ol his life Avas au 
iusjiii’atiou to all naturalists Avho had the i^rivilege to 
eome into contact with him. 
