Sunday, April 26, 2020

A FAIR DINKUM EASTER BUNNY

If you missed out on a visit   from  the  usual much publicised  lapin  due to  coronavirus , we respectfully   suggest   you  access  the  James  Cook University Library News  site  and  check   out   an   Easter-time  treat , about   Bill  Baillie ,  a much travelled  West  Australian  Bilby , such  cute critters now also reproduced  in  chocolate   and   adored  by   Royalty .  
That's Bill  on  the  cover of  a 1908   first edition book by  artist Ellis Rowan , one of the  JCU  50  treasures  being  aired over the year  to mark  the  university's  50th  anniversary .  It is from  the Edna Shaw Collection of Australian Art and Culture  in  the   Special Collections  section .You can also view the full text of Bill Baillie  , see other  treasures  and   items of  interest on  the  JCU library website.
 
Bill Baillie was the name Rowan  gave an orphaned Bilby  given her by a local handyman  in  1906.  His adventures included  wide travels  in areas  in which she  had  ventured .
 
Born in Melbourne in 1848 , small and frail ,   Rowan became  renowned for her painting of  wildflowers and birds . She  travelled to remote parts of Northern Australia , New Guinea  , Thursday Island   and  the Torres Strait . The  Encyclopedia  of  Australian Art  states that when she came down with malaria in New Guinea , while painting birds of paradise, reputed cannibals carried her many miles  to the coast .   
 
 
 Twelve years were spent  illustrating books  on American  flora by Alice Lounsberry, travelling to various  part of  the US  with  her .
  
It just so happens that this blogger  has a framed  engraving  of  butterflies   by Ellis Rowan   saved   from  a   waterlogged copy of  the Picturesque Atlas of Australasia ,1883-1886 ,  which  went  through Cyclone  Tracy in 1974.