The Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU), now part of BirdLife Australia, was Australia's largest non-government, non-profit, bird conservation organisation. It was founded in 1901 to promote the study and conservation of the native bird species of Australia and adjacent regions, making it Australia's oldest national birding association. In 1996, the organisation adopted the trading name of Birds Australia for most public purposes, while retaining its original name for legal purposes and as the publisher of its journal, the Emu. In 2012, the RAOU merged with Bird Observation & Conservation Australia to form BirdLife Australia.
Robert Hall was a founding member of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU) in 1901, and served as its President 1912–1913.
Dominic Louis Serventy was a Perth-based Australian ornithologist. He was president of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU) 1947–1949. He assisted with the initial organisation of the British Museum's series of Harold Hall Australian ornithological collecting expeditions during the 1960s, also participating in the third (1965) expedition.
John Nelson Hobbs was a British-Australian career police officer and amateur ornithologist.
Stephen Marchant, AM was born in Shropshire, studied geology at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, and worked in the oil exploration business in many countries, using the opportunities arising from his postings to study birdlife around the world. He wrote classic papers on the birds of the Red Sea, Nigeria, the Gold Coast, Indonesia, Borneo, Ecuador and Iraq. In 1963 he migrated to Australia where he joined the Bureau of Mineral Resources in Canberra.
Clive Dudley Thomas Minton, AM was a British and Australian metallurgist, administrator, management consultant and amateur ornithologist. His interest in birds began in childhood.
Allan Reginald McEvey (1919–1996) was a schoolteacher before becoming Curator of Ornithology at the National Museum of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia. In 1962–63 he participated in the first of the Harold Hall Australian ornithological collecting expeditions. He was President of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU) in 1968–1969, a critical period in its history. He was elected a Fellow of the RAOU in 1980.
Charles Ernest William Bryant (1902–1960) was a barrister and amateur ornithologist. He was admitted to the Victorian Bar in 1929. A member of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU), he was editor of its journal, the Emu, from 1929 to 1960, the year of his death, a period of 31 years. He also served on the RAOU Checklist Committee 1938–1960, and as RAOU President 1955–1957.
Keith Alfred Hindwood (1904-1971) was a Sydney-based Australian businessman and amateur ornithologist. He joined the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU) in 1924, served as President 1944–1946, and was elected a Fellow of the RAOU in 1951. He was the most prolific contributor to the RAOU journal, the Emu, with some 600 pages of contributions from his first major paper in 1926 to his death. He coauthored, with Arnold McGill, The Birds of Sydney (1958). In 1959 he was awarded the Australian Natural History Medallion.
Arnold Robert McGill OAM (1905–1988) was a Sydney-based Australian businessman and amateur ornithologist. He was President of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU) 1958–1959, and elected a Fellow of the RAOU in 1965. He was Assistant Editor of the RAOU journal, the Emu 1948-1969 and compiled indexes to it until his death. He coauthored, with Keith Hindwood, The Birds of Sydney (1958). He was a recipient of the Medal of the Order of Australia.
Angus Hargreaves Robinson was the owner of a grazing property, 'Yanjettee', at Coolup, Western Australia, as well as being an amateur ornithologist. He made important studies of the birds on his property, including Australian magpies and Magpie-larks. He was a member of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU), and made a Fellow of the RAOU in 1970.
Wilson Roy Wheeler MBE FRAOU (1905-1988) was an Australian postman and professional ornithologist. He was an active bird bander and was convener of the Altona Survey Group, later part of the Victorian Ornithological Research Group. In 1965 he was awarded the Australian Natural History Medallion. He was a member of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU), President 1964–1965, and made a Fellow of the RAOU in 1971.
Norman Chaffer OAM, FRZS, RAOU was an Australian businessman, a bird photographer and an amateur ornithologist. He was a pioneer of colour cinematography and won many awards. He was a member of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU), President 1954–1955, and made a Fellow of the RAOU in 1991. He authored In Quest of Bowerbirds which was illustrated with his photographs. He was a recipient of the Medal of the Order of Australia.
Herbert Thomas Condon was an Australian museum curator and ornithologist. He was born in Melbourne and attended the University of Adelaide. In 1929, Condon joined the scientific staff of the South Australian Museum; he was promoted to Assistant in Zoology in 1935, and became Curator of Birds and Reptiles in 1938. He kept this position for the decades through to 1976, broken only by a period of war service with the RAAF.
Stephen John James Frank Davies was an Australian administrator and ornithologist. He worked for the CSIRO Division of Wildlife Research in Western Australia (1964–1984). He carried out research on emus and magpie geese. He was a member of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU), President (1975-1978) and Chairman of the RAOU Research Committee (1975–1984). He was elected a Fellow of the RAOU in 1984. From 1984-1988 he also served the RAOU as its first paid Director.
Dr Henry Norman Burgess Wettenhall AM was an Australian paediatric endocrinologist, philanthropist, bibliophile and amateur ornithologist. Wettenhall was born in London while his family were living there before returning to Australia, where they lived in Toorak, Victoria. He was educated at Glamorgan, The Geelong College and the University of Melbourne, where he graduated from medicine in 1940.
Margaret Alison Cameron AM, FRAOU (1937-) is a noted Australian librarian, administrator, and amateur ornithologist. She was the foundation librarian of Deakin University between 1977–1996, and pro vice-chancellor of the University 1986–1990. She joined the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU) in 1969 which she served as President 1986–1989. In 1993 she was elected a Fellow of the RAOU. She is a Member of the Order of Australia.
John Edgar Courtney is an Australian farmer and amateur ornithologist. He helped put together the first Field Guide to Australian Birdsong, produced by the Bird Observers Club of Australia. He joined the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU) in 1959 and was the RAOU's New England regional representative 1971–1978. In 1999 he was awarded the RAOU's John Hobbs Medal for outstanding contributions to Australian ornithology as an amateur.
Leslie Gordon Chandler (1888–1980) was an Australian jeweller, vigneron, bird photographer and amateur ornithologist. He became a member of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU) in 1911 and was Press Correspondent for the RAOU 1914-1916 and again in 1920, war service and disability intervening. From 1920 he was based at Red Cliffs in the Victorian Mallee region. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Hattah-Kulkyne National Park there.
Michael Stanley Reid Sharland (1899–1987) was an Australian journalist, photographer, author and amateur ornithologist. He was born, and spent most of his life, in Tasmania, though he also lived and worked in Sydney, Melbourne and London.
