Harry Butler

For other people named Harry Butler, see Harry Butler (disambiguation).

Harry Butler AO CBE
Born	William Henry Butler (1930-03-25)25 March 1930 Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Died	Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Alma mater	Claremont Teachers College Western State College
Occupation	Environmental consultant
Known for	Environmentalism, songwriting
Television	In the Wild – ABC Television

William Henry "Harry" Butler AO CBE (25 March 1930 – 11 December 2015) was an Australian naturalist and environmental consultant. He was a populariser of science and natural history for both child and adult audiences and, as conservation consultant to the Barrow Island oilfield and many other projects, played a major role in environmental conservation and restoration in Australia. He presented the popular Australian Broadcasting Corporation television series In the Wild. He also authored the books In The Wild, In the Wild (Part II) and Looking at the Wild.

Butler was born on 25 March 1930 in Perth, Western Australia. He attended Claremont Teachers' College in Western Australia and later the Western State College in the United States.

In 1968, he participated in the fifth of the Harold Hall Australian ornithological collecting expeditions. He has lectured, and been honoured, at museums in Western Australia, Canada, and the United States. Butler was a supporter of development projects such as mining, working with corporations and state governments as an environmental consultant. He co-wrote the UK Top Ten music hit "Sun Arise" with fellow Western Australian Rolf Harris.

Butler died of cancer, aged 85, at a hospital in Perth on 11 December 2015.

Honours

In 1970, Butler was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. In 1980 this was upgraded to Commander level (CBE).

In 1979, Butler was named the Australian of the Year, jointly with Neville Bonner.

In 1993, he was awarded a cash prize for his 30 years of work with the petroleum industry.

On 4 March 2012, he was added to the National Trust of Australia's National Living Treasures list.

On 11 June 2012, he was named an Officer of the Order of Australia for "distinguished service to the community through the promotion of public understanding of natural history and wildlife conservation, to the development of collaborative environmental partnerships with industry, and to the community."

A species of Mulga snake, Pseudechis butleri, and a spider, Synothele butleri, are named for Butler.

References

Awards
Preceded by Alan Bond and Galarrwuy Yunupingu	Australian of the Year Award 1979 Served alongside: Senator Neville Bonner	Succeeded by Manning Clark

External links

• In Conversation 27 July 2006 ABC Interview
• Australian Of The Year website- Harry Butler