Chapter 28

On Monday the office was hectic – Des was back, his mother's leg was indeed broken, but it was the tibia, and they had fitted her with a lightweight "walking cast"; Chaz called to tell me that two folks from the Mayor's office / Council had expressed interest in coming; there was a message that "the Commander and his ADC" would attend; and, most unexpected, a message from Maggie that she had to fly in to Perth and would be there.

I realized that this was going to be an important presentation, but that I had to pretend that it was "business as usual." I got out some entomology articles and CSIRO reports. I also thought about the non-invertebrate invaders: rabbits, camels, toads, those redfin perch. Yes, it would be quite a talk.

Des had said that the presentations ran under an hour plus questions and chit-chat. Talking for about 45 minutes wouldn't be a problem.

When I got home I asked Weena about dress. "Well, the formal suit you wore to the wedding won't do. Don't you have a brown suit, sort of a light brown?"

"Sure. I think of it as tan; you called it tobacco."

"Right. You wear that. And that tussore shirt. And the cocoa tie. And brown shoes."

"Yes, ma'am."

Tuesday just slipped by. Wednesday I lunched with Chaz. He had more baby pictures. Several had his in-laws. Michiko's father was a tall, thin, serious-looking fellow; her mother looked about Michiko's height, but a bit stouter. She looked very happy as she held Rachel. Chaz told me they had flown back to Singapore.

Wednesday evening after dinner Weena asked whether Rob could leave some of his stuff with us. It turned out that Billiton was sending him up northeast for a week to Wiluna and Leinster to look at their nickel operations. Then he'd be back in Perth for the 9^th and 10^th and then off to either Kalgoorlie or Esperance for a few days. He was due to report in East Perth on the 18^th.

"Sounds like a busy time for him."

"Yes. He sounded thrilled. He's talking about driving down to Margaret River on the 20^th or 21^st, depending on the sort of secretarial help they assign him."

"Well, call him and say I'll be at the hotel on Sunday to pick up his stuff. Does he want to stay here on Sunday night?"

"I'll call right away."

Thursday I polished my thoughts and wrote a few notes. I usually hate speaking from notes or actually reading a paper. But this seemed important enough for me to do formal note cards.

I got to the lecture theatre somewhat early. There were at least 50 people there already. I shook hands with Commander Evans and Willy (who looked even more like someone from an old Conan movie) and introduced Evans to Maggie. I saw Rob with another gentleman and went over to get introduced to the BHP Billington Vice-President. I noted two official looking folks talking to the Dean and decided to greet them when Chaz said 'hello.' I led him over to Evans, Willy and Maggie and introduced them. Having done my good deeds, I joined the Dean and (as I expected) the municipal politicos. There must have been about 150 when a bevy of 60-something ladies in floral dresses and hats wafted in. They must have constituted a signal.

A few moments later it was curtain time.

Thank you, Dean, and thank you all for coming to hear what I have to say.

Australia is an isolated island. Though settled about 50 thousand years ago, Europeans only arrived in 1788. In little more than two centuries, we have released far more than the Biblical seven plagues upon the land. Though I'm most interested in insects, let me mention a few other introduced disasters.

The plague of rabbits seems to have originated with the release of 24 wild rabbits by Thomas Austin on his property, Barwon Park in Victoria, in October 1859 for hunting purposes. Austin had been an avid hunter in England, regularly dedicating his weekends to rabbit shooting. Upon arriving in Australia, which had no native rabbit population, Austin asked his nephew in England to send him 24 grey rabbits, five hares, 72 partridges and some sparrows so that he could continue his hobby in Australia by creating a local population of the species. Austin stated, "The introduction of a few rabbits could do little harm and might provide a touch of home, in addition to a spot of hunting." He was wrong.