Greenie guru and artist Neil Douglas pictured in his studio at Melbourne's Bend of Islands. (Photo, 1978.)
Wildly unconventional and a passionate conservationist, Neil Douglas was prominent in establishing the Bend of Islands Environmental Living Zone, which supports strict regulations to protect native fauna and flora.
Douglas and his artist-partner used to open their home at "the Bend" to exhibit their work — a practice that became the foundation for the Nillumbik Artists Open Studios program.
As reported, Douglas remained true to his bushie-self throughout his life, even when receiving an MBE for services to art and conservation:
On 1 October, 1975, 63 distinguished citizens of the State of Victoria foregathered, each to receive an imperial honour. They were dressed to the nines... many of the male recipients, mostly sportsmen – including footballer Keith Grieg and cricketer Ian Redpath – donned neat blue suits. By contrast, one beknighted industrialist wore a morning suit.
The odd man out was Neil Douglas. This much-loved environmental artist wore a hessian suit he had woven, dyed, and tailored himself. To add insult to injury he was shoeless. His hair (which, he claimed, had not been cut for 20 years) and his beard almost obscured his quizzical, rosy, bony face... His contribution to our Australian civilisation was, arguably, greater than any other of the Queen's chosen few at Government House that day.
**This photograph is part of an IA series that looks at Australia through the lens of award-winning photojournalist Bill McAuley.**
Editor's note — This photo features in the collection, 'The Valley Voice: Eltham's Newspaper of the times 1978-1979'.
Bill McAuley's 40-plus-year news career began in 1969 as a cadet photographer at 'The Age' in Melbourne. He has several published collections, including 'Portraits of the Soul: A lifetime of images with Bill McAuley'. To see more from Bill, click here.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
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