Bill Hicks - A champion of our native flora and fauna
Bill Hicks has devoted much of his life to his study of our flora and its wildlife. When Arthur Swaby, in September 1957, called a meeting in Sydney for people who were interested in growing native plants, Bill was chairman of that meeting, and was elected the first President of the Society For Growing Australian Plants, East Coast and Inland Region, a position he held for three (3) years.
The regional areas were then known as:
| Sub Tropic Coast | Brisbane |
| East Coast and Inland | Sydney |
| Island | Hobart |
| South | Adelaide |
| South West | Perth |
| South East | Melbourne |
Bill's membership of ten years lapsed when his job took him overseas. On returning to Australia he continued to be involved with several groups working with his beloved native plants. Some of his many achievements are:
- Founding chairman of the David A Stead Wildlife Research Station at Wirrimbirra Reserve near Bargo, NSW
- Founding Secretary of the NSW Environment Centre - now part of tire Nature Conservation Council
- Chairman of the Nature Conservation Council during the late 70's
- He conducted a research project, supported by National Parks and Wildlife Service to research the dietary needs of koalas.
Bill is currently preparing a documentary on the long-stem project.
When Bill became involved with the Hunter Catchment Management Revegetation Taskforce, he was concerned about the use of willows for stream bank restoration. The problem of finding suitable native plants to revegetate degraded waterways prompted Bill with the help of his wife, Betty to develop the long-stem native tube stock that has proved to be very successful.
[Return to Trials of Long-stem Tube Stock]
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