I live and work in Central Victoria and Maryborough stands out in Australian history, not least as the birthplace of Alec Chisholm in 1890.

Chisholm became a notable journalist, ornithologist, and writer, leaving a significant mark on Australian natural science and publishing.

In Australia, we're very good at recognising sports heroes and politicians, less so at celebrating our scientists and writers.

Chisholm was both a researcher and a writer.

He attended Maryborough State School until he was 12. After that, he educated himself, driven by an insatiable reading appetite and a keen memory. Chisholm claimed he was always aware of the natural world, particularly birds.By 1907, he began a bird diary, and the following year published six articles in the ornithological journal, Emu.

He worked for the Maryborough and Dunolly Advertiser, where he used his platform to champion conservation. His article attacking the plume trade earned him recognition, including from Dame Mary Gilmore, and led to a lifelong association with natural history societies. (Australian Dictionary of Biography)

Chisholm's career as a journalist took him across the country. In 1915, he moved to Queensland, reporting for the Brisbane Daily Mail. He became an honorary advisor on natural history to the Queensland government, promoting legislation to protect native fauna. By 1922, he transferred to Sydney's Daily Telegraph, then to Melbourne's Argus and Australasian in 1933, succeeding Donald Macdonald as a nature and sports writer. He even served as press liaison officer to the Duke of Gloucester during his time as Governor-General in 1945. (Australian Dictionary of Biography)

His deep passion for birds led to his involvement in the rediscovery of the Paradise Parrot (Psephotus pulcherrimus), a species many considered extinct. In 1917, Chisholm, then a Brisbane journalist, began searching for the bird. It was not until December 1921 that grazier Cyril Jerrard sighted a pair near Gayndah, Queensland. Jerrard later sent Chisholm the first photographs ever taken of the birds on their termite mound nest in March 1922. (Guardian Australia)

Picture: Alec Chisholm (right) with Prof Sydney Skertchly in Queensland around 1920, when Chisholm was still searching for the Paradise parrot. Photograph: Mitchell Library

The Paradise Parrot’s return was short-lived. Jerrard and Chisholm identified several factors in its decline. Environmental changes from colonisation, altered fire regimes following Aboriginal dispossession, pastoralism, trapping for the aviary trade, and feral cats all contributed. (The Conversation)

Chisholm was a vocal opponent of collecting rare species, calling private collectors "a relic of barbarism."

He understood human-induced changes were pushing the parrot to extinction. Despite his public pleas, conservation efforts then were limited. The bird’s habitat – open, grassy woodland – was too common to be considered for protection like more scenic areas. The last confirmed sighting was in 1929, making it the only mainland Australian bird known to have gone extinct since colonisation. (Guardian Australia)

In 1948, Chisholm resigned from journalism to undertake his largest project: editor-in-chief of the ten-volume Australian Encyclopaedia, published in 1958.

This work earned him an O.B.E. and the Australian Natural History medallion. He also edited the 1947 edition of Who's Who in Australia. Chisholm published numerous books, including Mateship with Birds (1922) and Bird Wonders of Australia (1934). He served as president of the (Royal) Australasian Ornithologists Union and the Royal Australian Historical Society, among others. (Australian Dictionary of Biography)

Alec Chisholm died in 1977.

His life, from his origins in Maryborough, shows how a dedicated individual, driven by a love for nature, can profoundly influence journalism, science, and the documentation of Australian life.

He was a conservationist long before the term became widespread.