Minard's early appeal to the 13th Duke of Bedford (with distant family connections)
for funding to realize her dream of an Arboretum in AustraliaPearl Beach, NSW
1954-01-10His Grace the 13th Duke of Bedford
Woburn, Sands.
Bedfordshire
EnglandMy Lord Duke,
English friends, aware of my love for our Australian wildlife, have informed me that your Father, the late Duke of Bedford, left a bequest for the preservation of the fauna of the Empire, and it has been suggested I should approach you directly, asking for your sympathetic consideration upon behalf of the Australian fauna. As you are aware, these animals are unique and represent links with the most ancient forms. They are beautiful and gentle as well as being rare. We have within this district specimens of the only two monotremes in existence - the spiny ant-eater and the playpus, and many other types of wildlife with beautiful birds and flowers.
About twenty years ago an area extending from Mooney Mooney Creek to the mouth of the Hawkesbury River (sketch map enclosed) was set aside for a future National Park. Only a small portion of this was dedicated 'For the promotion of study and the preservation of the native flora and fauna." I seek the dedication of the whole of it to form a National Botanic Garden and Arboretum. Under National Park conditions 'recreation' is the first consideration, but under the Native Botanic Garden scheme, conservation of wildlife in its natural habitat would be kept paramount.
The natural beauty of our land cannot be maintained in tourist areas bisected with main roads or when segregated, in captivity, or subject to exploitation and other forms of vandalism. No money is available for this work of preservation.
We have lately had bad bush fires. Animals took shelter in the garden at this Station but their limbs wee so badly burnt the bones were exposed. Nothing could be done for them and they died. More than 500 plants which the Botany Dept. of the University had tabulated and kept under observation for two years were destroyed in a few minutes. With Guardians, a water supply, and proper bush fire precautions these disasters may have been avoided.
May I suggest, my Lord Duke, that a grant to preserve the natural beauty and wildlife of this corner of the Empire - in the historic and important position it occupies at the mouth of the Hawkesbury River - could be made a living memorial worthy of your Father as a great lover of nature. At the same time it could make an important constribution to help the ecological studies of students from all parts of the world, and would thus help to solve problems associated with agriculture, forestry, and other subjects so closely related to basic needs of the Empire.
Should the name of this Station be of any interest, may I mention I am descended from Marc Antoine Crommelin who married Miss Russell. His son, Charles, was Governor of Bombay and "introduced the English as arbiters in Maratha affairs...a deciding factor in the consolidation of the British power in India." (Cambridge History of India, Vol V. p. 249). Charles' son, Charles Russell Crommelin, is my great grandfather. My father, George Whiting Crommelin, was called after his uncle, George Russell Crommelin - Major C.B. 1st Lt. Cavalry who fell at Maharajpoor together with Major General Churchill C.B.-H.M.S.
My Father was an invalid for many years. I worked in the Public Service and upon retirement devoted my time to efforts to conserve wildlife. My possessions were handed over to the Sydney University for the purpose of carrying on this work, and they have honoured me by giving my name to the Field Station they have established here.
Under separate cover I am posting some photographs of the Field Station and its surroundings - the Warrah Sanctuary.
Yours faithfully,
(Minard F. Crommelin)
Notes on the book "Parrots and Parrot-like Birds"
by the 12th Duke of BedfordHastings William Sackville Russell, 12th Duke of Bedford MA (December 21, 1888 October 9, 1953) was the son of Herbrand Russell, 11th Duke of Bedford. Educated at Eton College, he graduated from Balliol College, Oxford with a Master of Arts (M.A.). In November 1914 he married Louisa Crommelin Roberta Jowitt Whitwell; the couple had three children.
He gained the rank of Lieutenant in the service of the 10th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment, and fought in the First World War. His subsequent advocacy of pacifism, and his closeness during the 1930s to Sir Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists, led to his name being placed on a list of persons to be arrested in the event of a German invasion. He went on to be patron of the British Peoples Party, an anti-war party that was accused of fascist sympathies. He was also an ornithologist, specialising in parrots; his other pets included a spider whom according to Nancy Mitford's The English Aristocracy, he would regularly feed roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. He died in 1953, aged 64, as a result of a gunshot wound: perhaps incurred in a hunting accident, but perhaps deliberately self-inflicted, the latter explanation having been proffered by his elder son. Hastings Russell features largely in his son John Ian's memoir, A Silver-Plated Spoon (World Books, 1959).
Hastings Russell features largely in his son John Ian's memoir, A Silver-Plated Spoon (World Books, 1959). He is described as "The loneliest man I ever knew, incapable of giving or receiving love, utterly self-centred and opinionated. He loved birds, animals, peace, monetary reform, the park and religion. In conjunction with his father, Hastings Russell managed to tie up the family fortunes in a way that made it extremely difficult for his son and heir to access the property.
A memoir by the 13th Duke of Bedford
This book jacket excerpt explains why Minard received no response to her anxious appeal to the 13th Duke, John Ian Robert Russell,
for help in funding her dream of an Arboretum at Pearl Beach, Australia
