Cayley & Son: The Life and Art of Neville Henry Cayley & Neville William Cayley 9780642277893, 0642277893

Citation preview

cayley & son

p e n n y

o l s e n

Penny Olsen is a research scientist and natural history

‘Birds express all that is beautiful, joyous,

writer. Based at the Australian National University in Canberra, she is the author of numerous publications including Glimpses of Paradise: The Quest for the Beautiful Parrakeet (2007), A Brush with Birds: Bird Art from the National Library of Australia (2008) and Upside Down World: Early European Impressions of Australia’s Curious Animals (2010).

cayley & son

and free in nature. They delight our eyes, charm our ears, quicken our imagination, and through association with the bushland

the life and art of

Neville HENRY Cayley & Neville WILLIAM Cayley p e n n y

o l s e n

Cayley and Son charts the lives and works of Australian bird artists Neville Henry Cayley (1854–1903) and his son Neville William (1886– 1950). Peripatetic, often impecunious, and with a reputation for hard drinking, Neville Henry was nevertheless a highly talented artist, whose dreams of publishing a ‘big bird book’—a comprehensive publication on Australian birds—never came to fruition. His son Neville William was also a keen artist. ‘Buoyant’ in personality, sometimes outspoken

inspire us with a profound love of country.’

and argumentative, he was a pioneer of the surf lifesaving movement before turning his attention to the painting of birds. Taking a more scientific

Neville WILLIAM Cayley, 1931

approach than his father, he was to complete

p e n n y o l s e n

the classic field guide known to bird enthusiasts throughout Australia: What Bird Is That?.

cayley & son the life and art of

Neville HENRY Cayley &

Henry’s work, to his son’s focus on conservation and education, the history of the two men is also a social history of Australia, and their work can be read as a barometer of changing attitudes to wildlife and its conservation. Cayley and Son features a biographical essay on each of the two men, followed by a portfolio of their paintings. With over 100 colour plates of works from the collections of the National Library of Australia, it

ISBN 978-0-642-27789-3

http://bookshop.nla.gov.au

From the depictions of gamebirds in Neville

Neville WILLIAM Cayley

Natural History / Art

p e n n y

o l s e n

is a book for art- and bird-lovers alike.

cayley & son the life and art of

NEVILLE HENRY C A Y L E Y & NEVILLE WILLIAM C A Y L E Y

Published by the National Library of Australia Canberra ACT 2600 © National Library of Australia 2013 Text © Penny Olsen Books published by the National Library of Australia further the Library’s objectives to interpret and highlight the Library’s collections and to support the creative work of the nation’s writers and researchers. Every reasonable endeavour has been made to contact the copyright holders. Where this has not been possible, the copyright holders are invited to contact the publisher. This book is copyright in all countries subscribing to the Berne Convention. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquiries should be made to the publisher. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Author:

Olsen, Penny.

Title:

Cayley and son : the life and art of Neville Henry Cayley and Neville William Cayley / Penny Olsen.

ISBN:

9780642277893 (hbk.)

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Subjects:

Cayley, Neville, 1854-1903.



Cayley, Neville W. (Neville William), 1886-1950.



Birds--Australia--Pictoral works.



Birds in art--Pictorial works.

Dewey Number: 598.0994 Commissioning Publisher: Susan Hall Project Manager: Joanna Karmel Editor: Penny O’Hara Designer: Andrew Rankine, atypica Image coordinator: Kathryn Ross Production coordinator: Melissa Bush Indexer: Sarah Henderson Printed and bound in Singapore by Imago Cover image: Neville Henry Cayley, Two Kookaburras on a Branch 1893 Find out more about National Library Publishing at http://publishing.nla.gov.au

Editor’s note: Current common and scientific names accompany the illustrations in the portfolios. Quoted material has been reproduced as it appears in its original source; original spelling and punctuation have been retained. Where generic bird names are used, such as parrots, kookaburras and ducks, the names are in lower case; where a particular bird species is referred to, such as Blue-winged Parrot, Laughing Kookaburra and Black Duck, the names are in title case.

cayley & son the life and art of

NEVILLE HENRY C A Y L E Y & NEVILLE WILLIAM C A Y L E Y p e n n y

n l a

o l s e n

p u b l i s h i n g

They loved the birds—the Cayley men Father to son, and son again; and in the bird they loved the land and served Australia in that love. From the poem, To Neville Cayley, Mary Gilmore, 1937

FOR EWOR D

A

s a mustard-keen ten-year-old interested in all things birds, I discovered What Bird Is That? by Neville William Cayley in the school library. Soon after, it became the first bird book I ever purchased. Every night I would immerse myself in exotic birds from remote places: birds such as the Golden-shouldered Parrot, or the evocatively named (to me) Gascoyne Cuckoo-shrike and Melville Island Friarbird. I was known to pester the owner of the local pet shop, where one day I noticed two beautiful finches that I was unfamiliar with. What Bird Is That? helped me identify them as the Zebra Finch and Chestnut-breasted Finch. As a teenager and university student I turned my zoological interests towards book collecting, and keenly sought the books of both Neville William and Neville Henry Cayley. My first serious purchase was a set of A.J. North’s Nests and Eggs of Birds Found Breeding in Australia and Tasmania (1901–1914), which features vignettes and egg plates by Cayley senior. I later turned to bookselling and dealing in natural history paintings, and soon became friendly with Michael and Judy White. Michael was the grandson of the great patron of Australian ornithology H.L. (Henry Luke) White. It was White who commissioned Neville W. Cayley to paint various birds (some of them new discoveries) for Emu, the journal of the

Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union. I visited Belltrees, the White family home, and it was a thrill to see a range of Cayley paintings decorating the walls. Those important works are now central to one of the best privately held collections of Cayley paintings. The market for Cayley paintings has been strong for a long time, and there are now many fine private collections, of which most are based in Sydney. With few exceptions, the Cayley collector combines knowledge and passion for the subject with enthusiasm and generosity. Penny Olsen is well known to anyone with a serious interest in Australian ornithology, and has many books to her name. A former editor of Wingspan (now Australian Birdlife), Penny is a tenacious and talented historical researcher and her publications for the National Library of Australia, including her fine book on the Paradise Parrot, Glimpses of Paradise: The Quest for the Beautiful Parrakeet, are testament to this. The Library has produced many excellent publications relating to their natural history holdings, and this new book on the Cayleys is no exception. I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in birds, the history of Australian ornithology or natural history art. Andrew Isles

CONT E NTS

Foreword v Preface 1 NEVILLE HENRY CAYLEY (1854–1903)

4

Portfolio 45 NEVILLE WILLIAM CAYLEY (1886–1950)

100

Portfolio 147 List of Illustrations

192

Bibliography 203 Index

216

P RE FAC E

T

he National Library of Australia holds a fine collection of paintings by both Neville Henry Cayley (1854–1903) and his son Neville William Cayley (1886–1950). Both men wrote or illustrated a number of books and booklets—most of which are held in the Library’s reference collection. There are also several photographs, including one of an unidentified ornithologist that proved, on investigation, to be Neville Henry Cayley— the only known photograph of him. This wealth of material and the Library’s policy to make its collection accessible to everyone presented the opportunity for a book on the works of the talented Cayleys, whose name is known to a great many Australians and to anyone who loves birds.

During my research, I endeavoured to sort fact from much-quoted fiction, and to weave together the fragments of information about the two men, but undoubtedly there is much more to be corrected and unravelled. In places, I have gone into some detail to provide justification for the corrections to the public record, especially where Neville Henry is concerned. Cayley senior is often portrayed as a harddrinking, peripatetic bird artist, and indeed this claim appears to have some substance. He was also a highly talented painter when he put in the effort. It is usually said that he was born at sea off Dover, or in the town itself, to a sea captain, but in fact he was born in Norwich and was the son of a silk merchant. Further, his family name was Caley, not Cayley, and he was born in 1854, not in 1853. Baptismal records list him as Neville Henry Penniston Caley, not Neville Henry Pennington. He arrived in Australia in 1877, three years earlier than is usually proposed.

Cayley junior’s influential What Bird Is That? has long been on my bookshelf and I was the fortunate recipient of a Cayley Memorial Scholarship, which helped me finish my doctorate, so I enjoyed discovering more about the interesting pair. It was also a pleasure to meet Neville David Cayley (Cayley junior’s grandson), Neville David’s wife Elvira and his sister Joan Cayley.

To some extent Cayley himself seems to have perpetuated some of these errors. His death certificate gives his place of birth as ‘At Sea off

1

Dover’ and his father’s occupation as ‘Navy Captain’, information supplied by his widow. His son Neville William Cayley told Archie Parry, an amateur historian at Bowral, that his father bought his way out of the Royal Navy, but I can find no record of a naval association in the United Kingdom’s national archives. Lastly, Cayley junior’s birth date is sometimes given as 1887, but birth records show that it was in fact the year before. His sister Alice is sometimes catalogued as Alice M., but she is Alice R., that is, Alice Rochfort.

was quite common at the time. Neville Henry Cayley arrived in Grafton shortly after the Lodge was established in that city. Arthur Gregory, his brother-in-law, was one of its founders and an 1886 newspaper reports that Cayley prepared an illuminated address for the Lodge. The family connection would have helped the Cayleys, but they were not one of the brethren. I thank Neil Morse for checking the Masons’ records and putting that idea to rest. This book consists of a section on the father followed by one on the son. It seemed the most logical approach, given that the overlap in their lives was small because of Neville Henry’s untimely death. Each section may be read as a stand-alone essay, hence the small amount of repetition between the two. The accounts differ in approach. Neville Henry's is presented chronologically, whereas Neville William was involved in so many different activities that his section is presented more thematically.

Apart from errors in the family’s personal details, which appear in the records of several institutions, the artwork of father and son is sometimes confused. However, their styles became quite distinct and they chose different signatures, hence, it was not hard to distinguish between their paintings. However, several of Neville Henry’s works have long been supposed to be forgeries and I made little attempt to identify these, in part because Cayley himself was known to make multiple copies of his most successful paintings, some of them rather carelessly.

As ever, the book was a collaborative effort. I am grateful to the publisher, the National Library of Australia, and, in particular, to publications manager Susan Hall, project manager Jo Karmel, editor Penny O’Hara, designer Andrew Rankine and image content coordinator Kathryn Ross. I am also thankful for the support of The Australian National University, where I am an Associate Professor in the Division of Evolution, Ecology and Genetics.

I feel a bit of a spoilsport digging up another What Bird Is That?, a United States publication and most likely the inspiration for Australia’s much loved and much better known book of the same title. And I confess that, thanks to Nick Earls’ 48 Shades of Brown, I spent too much time checking the various iterations of What Bird Is That? for Cayley’s 48 little-brown-bird tones before I woke up to the fact that it was a literary device. That was not the only dead end!

Special thanks to Andrew Isles for his support and to David Crane, who so generously gave me access to his splendid collection of Cayley paintings and ephemera, and his friend Phil Walker, who drove many miles to photograph the selected works. For their assistance with

I found some records that indicated that the Cayleys may have been Freemasons, which

2

C A Y L E Y

other Cayley material, I thank: Gordon Rodgers, Whimsical Notions; Marvin Hurnall; Paul Bisby; Greg Currie; Max Rogers and Linda Emery, Berrima District Historical & Family History Society; Edith Dobbin, Maclean District Historical Society; John McNamara, Port of Yamba Historical Society; Christine Pryke, Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales; Alison Guesdon, Pittwater Online News; Cheryl Macfarlane, a Cayley cousin once

&

S O N

removed, of Maleny; Dianne Byrne, State Library of Queensland; and the Fryer Library, University of Queensland. Michael Braby and Jim Grant helped track down the link to the Pyjama Girl Murder and Stephen Debus gave advice on the identity of the Neville Henry illustration entitled Eagle-hawk. Not least, I thank my family, and my friends in the National Library of Australia’s Petherick Reading Room for their interest and companionship during the making of the book.

3

Van Kaspelen, Portrait of Neville Cayley 1892

A publicity photograph of Neville Henry Cayley when he was about 38 years old, organised by his long-term agent, art gallery owner William Aldenhoven.

4

NEV IL LE H E NRY C AY L EY

O

n 20 September 1877 two brothers disembarked at Hobsons Bay, Melbourne, on the clipper Sir Walter Raleigh, after a 90-day voyage from London. They had used their second names, and their ages, 21 and 23, were reversed in the passenger list. Nevertheless, the weight of evidence indicates that these new arrivals to Australia were Neville Henry Penniston Caley and his brother William Herbert Stillingfleet Caley. The brothers are registered in the baptismal records of St Stephens Church in Norwich, in the county of Norfolk, England. Their parents were Nathaniel Henry Caley (1824–1867) and Berkshire-born Emily Dunn (c. 1830–1900), who married in February 1850. Nathaniel was the son of John Caley, silk mercer, and Emily was the daughter of Richard Penniston Dunn, auctioneer. Over the next 12 years, the couple produced eight children—four boys and four girls. Neville, the eldest son, was born on 29 May 1854, and William, the second son, 19 months later, in 1855. When the children were baptised, Nathaniel gave his occupation as ‘gentleman’.

Charles Nettleton, Hobson's Bay Railway Pier, Melbourne 1878

In September 1877, Neville Henry Cayley and his brother arrived from London at Hobsons Bay. The bay was the main port for Melbourne and was connected to the city centre by rail.

5

He was a silk mercer—recorded as ‘Silkman’ in the United Kingdom censuses of the time. The 1861 census notes that the family of two adults and seven children, aged between ten years and five months, shared an address with five females—four adults and one 16-year-old, presumably household staff. In 1863 Nathaniel was commissioned as an ensign in the 1st Norfolk Rifle Volunteer Corps, and he was promoted to lieutenant the same year.

have found a stately city, wealthy from gold and wool, where energy and enterprise thrived. The month after their arrival, Holmes, White and Co., a large trader of agricultural products and shipping agent for the Sir Walter Raleigh, was trying to contact them via an advertisement in The Argus: ‘CAYLEY BROTHERS, passengers Sir Walter Raleigh, would oblige by communicating with Holmes, White, and Co.’. Had ‘Herbert’ and ‘Henry’ jumped ship without settling their account?

Norwich, the second-largest city in England, has a long association with the manufacture of chocolate, a reputation that arose from a confectionary business started by Nathaniel’s brother, chemist Albert Jarman Caley. Nathaniel’s sons, however, began training in the same business as their father, as drapers. In the United Kingdom census of early 1871, father Nathaniel was described as a Norwich mercer. Neville, aged 16, was working as an assistant draper in Ipswich and William, 15, was apprenticed to a draper in Cambridge.

William Cayley eventually became a clerk and accountant, with homes in Melbourne, latterly at South Yarra, then St Kilda and Balaclava. In 1887, he married Mary Maude Tyler (1868–1916) and they had five girls, losing one in infancy. As for Neville, he seems to have had a background in art, or at least some talent for it, for in April 1879 a notice in The Argus indicates that he was already working as an artist. ‘CAYLEY, Mr NEVILLE, artist,’ it read. ‘Please communicate with L. Hyman, Swanston-street, artists’ colourman. Important.’

Court records in the United Kingdom’s national archives and elsewhere suggest that in departing for Australia Neville and William might have been escaping a family feud over their father’s estate, valued at a handsome 35,000 pounds. There is also a record in January 1875 of a William Caley of Norwich being found guilty of three cases of embezzlement for which he received a sentence of nine months imprisonment. For whatever reason, the two brothers emigrated and soon altered their surname, minimally, to Cayley—a more phonetically transparent spelling.

As a child, Cayley would have taken drawing classes, then a compulsory subject for schoolchildren across England. He may well have been exposed to fine art, for his home town was the birthplace of the famous Norwich art movement, inspired by the natural beauty of the local landscape, and an art college was founded there in 1845. Perhaps Cayley saw or even engaged in silk painting at his father’s business. Norwich also boasted a museum and natural history society, while Cayley’s interest in nature may well have come from hunting and fishing trips to the countryside surrounding the city.

Little is known of the brothers’ first years in the Colony of Victoria. In Melbourne, they would

6

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

In Victoria, Cayley is supposed to have started his painting career in the Drouin area, in Gippsland, 100 kilometres to Melbourne’s east. He is also said to have spent time (perhaps earlier) in Hamilton, to Melbourne’s west. He achieved some recognition as early as 1880, when an advertisement in The Argus announced an auction in Collins Street, Melbourne, of some of his paintings, among a ‘small but choice’ collection of oils and watercolours by various ‘first class artists’, including John Glover.

C A Y L E Y

departed Melbourne on 10 December 1880, a week after the second hearing (an M. Cayley was listed as a passenger). Advertisements for Cayley’s artwork suddenly shifted into the New South Wales press. The Sydney Morning Herald of January 1881 reported that on display at the establishment of Mr Clarke, picture dealer of Pitt Street, were: a couple of water-colour paintings from the brush of Mr. Neville Cayley, both of which are admirable representations of Australian

It also seems that he had become something of the wild colonial boy, developing a reputation for his drinking habits, which were to lead him into debt. In January 1880, he was in the courts for default of payments. The case against him was for seven shillings and sixpence, plus five shillings costs, for goods from James Biram, storekeeper and spirit merchant, and he was found liable. He and William were then living in Warragul, near Drouin, where William was in the local cricket eleven. In May 1880, their two brothers Ernest Hugh and Arthur Pelham Caley, then 21 and 19, arrived in Melbourne on the Orient, but both returned to London separately later the same year. Their stay was brief for the times. Perhaps they had made the long journey to try to convince their brothers to return home.

birds. In the first, ‘A Bush Lecture,’ a couple of sulphur-crested cockatoos are perched on a bough, above a sea of tree tops. Monsieur, with his beak open, his crest up, and his feathers ruffled, is evidently administering a sharp curtain lecture to Madame, whose upturned eyes and deprecating attitude show that she has no defence to make. The figures are full of life, the treatment of the foliage is delicate, and the colouring is true, so that the picture is altogether a piquant little study. The second painting, ‘The Shepherd’s Clock,’ is of still higher merit, though less work has, perhaps, been put into it. It represents a couple of kookaburras—laughing jackasses— settled for the night on a leafless bough, one of them giving vent to the laugh which has scared so many strangers making their first

Cayley too decided it was time to leave Warragul, but not for England. In December 1880, he had again been in the courts for default of payments. This time he had been ordered to repay the substantial sum of seven guineas to George Streitberg, publican of the Railroad Hotel, in weekly instalments of two pounds.

journey through the bush.

In July and August 1881 Cayley stayed in Grafton, on the Clarence River, to do some illustrations for the local museum and to seek commissions. To demonstrate his skill he showed paintings of a pair of kookaburras, Black Ducks on a lake and a blood horse. By the end of his month’s stay he had completed portraits of a favourite buggy mare and a homestead.

Apparently, Cayley took a ship very soon after to Sydney: possibly he sailed on the Omeo, which

7

That October, The Sydney Morning Herald reported, Cayley exhibited some noteworthy paintings in the second annual exhibition of the Art Society of New South Wales: ‘a dead canary hanging against a panel … of its kind, a gem’ and ‘blue wrens … an exquisitely finished bit, which proves that this artist’s forte lies in the delineation of birds’.

Canaries aside, just a few years after immigrating to Australia, not only was Cayley working as an artist but he was also beginning to find his niche, as a ‘delineator’ of birds. More than that, he was soon creating his distinctive paintings of kookaburras, blue wrens and dead and dying game birds. Together with his tongue-in-cheek Australiana, they were to become his signature works.

The canary must have sparked memories for Cayley. His home town of Norwich had long been renowned for its large canaries and in the 1870s there were thousands of canary breeders in the area. Across England, many shops, factories and homes kept the singing cagebirds. It seems likely that Cayley would have attended the British National Cagebird Show of 1873, held in Norwich, which attracted a huge crowd. The exhibits of a local breeder, Edward Bemrose, caused a sensation. His canaries were luminous orange, the colour of marigolds. Bemrose claimed that he had developed the birds through selective breeding. There were skeptics and not without reason—purchasers of the songsters found that the birds’ colour faded after the autumn moult. Yet the birds had not been dyed.

In 1882 The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Cayley had painted another characteristic work, of a kookaburra grasping prey in its beak— in this case a ‘writhing centipede … the burnish of the insect’s scaly joints … painted with no less accuracy than the delicately tinted plumage of his captor’. A second watercolour featured ‘a falcon perched on a rocky point beside a lake … holding in one of its talons a dead robin’. Both works were on sale at Nicholson and Co., music publishers of George Street, Sydney, and, the reporter averred, Australian birds had ‘certainly never had a better delineator’. Along with these more violent, realistic works— Nature, red in tooth and claw—Cayley was also producing pretty, even sentimental, images. For a Mrs Meillon, he painted on silk a fairy-wren flying among flowers, which was displayed at the 1882 horticultural and flower show and fine art exhibition of the Clarence Pastoral and Agricultural Society (CPAS).

By the end of the year an employee had sold Bemrose’s secret for 50 pounds. Bemrose came clean, publishing an article entitled ‘How to Obtain High-coloured Canaries’ in the December issue of The Journal of Horticulture and Cottage Gardener, revealing that he had fed the birds red peppers. ‘Colour feeding’ was briefly regarded as cheating, but soon everyone was doing it to improve the fancy. Although it was not realised at the time, Bemrose’s discovery was early evidence that nurture, as well as nature (genetics), had a role to play in the expression of characteristics such as colour.

From 1881 Cayley was on the Clarence River, at Grafton, Chatsworth and Yamba. The area was known for its majestic waterway, magnificent tall forests, mild climate and rich diversity of wildlife, especially waterbirds and fish. Perhaps significantly for an artist seeking commissions, there was also wealth from grazing, gold and from logging of ‘red gold’ (red cedar). Moreover,

8

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Neville Henry Cayley, Yamba Township 1886

Cayley was distant from the competitive, established artists of Sydney.

After his marriage to Lois in 1885, Cayley returned to Yamba on the Clarence River. In 1886 their son Neville William Cayley was born and, in the same year, Cayley made this sketch of the growing town from a jetty looking across Yamba Bay. It hung in the local Wooli Hotel (shown behind the right-hand yacht) where he had stayed as a bachelor.

A number of collectors operated in the region, supplying Sydney and beyond with bird skins and eggs. James Fowler Wilcox was one such dealer, but he died in July 1881 and Cayley may not have had the chance to meet him. George Savidge was the best-known local ornithological collector. Just five years younger than Cayley, Savidge first managed, then owned, a store at Copmanhurst on the upper Clarence River from about 1883, and was a fine photographer. The two men would have had much in common, including cricket.

Northern Rivers district, centred on Grafton, offered a fine civic and cultural life. The Wooli Hotel, owned by the congenial Walter and Maria Black, was the first hotel at the site of Yamba and the social centre of the town. The neat eight-room inn had a steep shingle roof, attic rooms and a spacious verandah overlooking the sheltered bay. The Black family recalled that Cayley sometimes paid his hotel bills with paintings. Cayley was taking commissions, among them one for a portrait of Emma Pegus— the local postmistress and sister of Maria Black. Cayley painted her likeness on glass from a photograph. He was possibly influenced by the works of Conrad Wagner, who created his posthumous portraits—that is, portraits painted

Cayley boarded at the Wooli Hotel near the wharf at Clarence Heads (Yamba, the town, was not proclaimed until 1885), where the river meets the sea. There he had easy access to Sydney, 300 miles south via coastal steamer, and to Grafton, the region’s commercial centre, 45 miles upriver past the pretty towns of Maclean and Rocky Mouth. To some, it may have looked as if Cayley had distanced himself from the city, but the

9

after their subject had died—by enlarging and painting over photographs. Wagner was a scene painter and photographer known internationally for his portraits of the local Aboriginal people. Previously Grafton’s resident artist, Wagner was then living a steamer ride upriver at Glen Innes, on the overland route from Grafton to Sydney. Wagner was a friend of sometime Grafton resident, celebrated poet Henry Kendall, who Cayley may have later met through their shared love of birds and song. Kendall had a turbulent private life but became a significant figure on the literary scene. He composed some of the earliest poetry about Australian birds, in 1862 penning The Curlew Song, in which he wrote: ‘They rend the air, like cries of despair, The screams of the wild Curlew!’. By the time Cayley arrived at the Clarence River, Kendall was long gone, but the river remained a source of inspiration for Kendall’s poetry and he was much celebrated in the region. An opportunity for their meeting was likely when Kendall, who had a deep knowledge of timber, toured the Clarence in August 1882 as the newly appointed inspector of forests; he died later that year when still in his early forties.

Neville Henry Cayley, Shifting Camp on the Clarence River NSW from Maclean to Wombah 1882

From the time he arrived in Australia Cayley seems to have tried to establish himself as a professional artist. He often sketched in the bush. In 1882, Cayley and his friends took a dinghy and, heading downriver, camped along the beautiful Clarence River. Between Maclean and Wombah (now Woombah), Cayley made a playful drawing of the relaxed crew in the sketchbook of surveyor James Burgess.

Neville Henry Cayley,The Wreck of the SS New England on the Clarence River Bar 1883

In December 1882, lodging near the mouth of the Clarence River in northern New South Wales, Cayley was on hand to sketch the wrecking of the SS New England, one of the steamers that linked the district with Sydney. His sketch was converted into this woodcut for The Illustrated Sydney News.

On the Clarence, Cayley had still not settled on a style or genre. As well as birds, he was drawing landscapes of the picturesque bays and breakwalls. One of his sketching partners was Edwin James Cox, the local blacksmith, who had received some tuition in painting oils from Wagner. Cayley also went camping and sketching along the Clarence River with James O. Burgess, a surveyor at Grafton, watercolourist, supporter of the local school of art and judge at the Clarence Pastoral and Agricultural Society (CPAS) flower shows and fine art exhibitions in which Cayley and Cox took part. In one of his sketchbooks, Burgess kept a pencil drawing by Cayley, captioned Shifting Camp on the Clarence River NSW from Maclean to

10

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

11

C A Y L E Y

Wombah, 1882. Cayley drew himself lounging in the stern of a dinghy while his companions relaxed among their closely stowed gear. In December 1882 the New England, a coastal steamer plying the Grafton-to-Sydney route, foundered on the bar in the river and was quickly wrecked by the waves. Descending darkness hampered the rescue crews and the captain and about five crew and four passengers drowned. The Illustrated Sydney News reported that ‘Mr Cayley residing a few miles from the scene of the disaster’ made a sketch, reproduced in the newspaper as a woodcut. In February the local paper, the Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser, reported that he had: commenced a water colour painting, depicting the principal incidents in this memorable disaster. We believe the artist will probably have the picture lithographed, and in that form it should have a good sale, as almost everyone would like to have such a memento of this event.

Possibly few fancied a reminder of the tragedy, for the print seems not to have eventuated. Cayley had greater success with his paintings of birds. The local paper reported that at the April 1883 CPAS show Cayley’s watercolours— of a magpie with young and a hawk killing a parrot—were ‘much admired’. He was enough of a local celebrity for the Grafton correspondent of The Sydney Morning Herald to include among other local news that ‘Mr. Neville Cayley, an artist, had the misfortune to get his arm broken, by a fall from his horse at Rockymouth, this week’.

Neville Henry Cayley, Crested White Cockatoo 1884

When this 1884 painting of an aged or ailing captive Sulphur-crested Cockatoo was put on show in the window of Nicholson and Co., the unusual subject matter attracted considerable attention in the press.

At the next year’s CPAS exhibition, Cayley’s portrait of a sheepdog was described in the local paper as

12

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

That November, Cayley drew a great deal of attention for his unusual artwork on view at Nicholson and Co.; The Sydney Morning Herald picked up on the ‘very interesting water-colour’, and the story was repeated in several other broadsheets. Cayley had painted what was thought to be an elderly cockatoo: It represents probably the oldest tame cockatoo in Australia … Its exact age is not known, but it has been 80 years a pet of the Wentworth family before 1872, when Mr. Hill became its owner, so that it must now be almost a centenarian. It is remarkably intelligent, and talks fluently, and more rationally than such birds usually do; but its appearance is very grotesque, because it is nearly blind from cataract, and almost entirely featherless. It objects to plumage, and from the neck downwards has deliberately plucked out all but about half a dozen wing and tail pen feathers whereas its head is covered with a dense white crop, and crowned with a magnificent sulphur-coloured crest. The odd colors of the flesh tints, and the scraps of plumage which occasionally contrast Nicholson and Company Music Store, Sydney c. 1905

with them, are difficult of reproduction;

During the early 1880s, Nicholson and Co. of George Street, Sydney, music dealers and occasional purveyors of art, provided Cayley with an outlet for his paintings.

but Mr. Cayley has succeeded admirably in overcoming all difficulties, and has painted a perfect portrait and a very fine picture.

In fact, the cockatoo may not have been ancient at all, or at least its grotesque appearance may not have been due to age. Quite possibly it was suffering from beak and feather disease, now known to be caused by a virus that attacks the feather follicles and growing cells of the beak and claws, causing their loss and malformation.

‘good’ and he won second prize in the watercolour landscape section for a work entitled Clarence River. Perhaps Cayley’s more modest results when he strayed from birds made him aware of his shortcomings, for by late 1884 he was back in Sydney, living at Wentworth Court and attending art classes.

13

In February 1885 Cayley left another bird painting for sale with Nicholson and Co., a ‘small swamp hawk stooping to strike one of three wild ducks’, painted near Clarence Heads. According to The Sydney Morning Herald, ‘the birds are, as usual, perfectly drawn and coloured, and the contrast between the flutter of the hawk and the impulsive flight of his prey is very well defined’. Cayley also had several works in the Art Society of New South Wales’ sixth annual exhibition. A critic for The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser thought they were not his best, but that:

were shot. The Cruel Divorce (see a version of this on page 69)—a pair of Latham's Snipe suspended in midair, one mortally wounded—catered to both markets. Still, Cayley wished to improve his skills, particularly in landscape painting. He enrolled in classes, perhaps with Alfred Daplyn, an exponent of plein-air painting and in 1885 the first paid instructor at the Art Society of New South Wales’ school in Pitt Street. The Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser of July 1885, proud of their local artist, had the news that Cayley was considering a return to the Clarence to teach art. In the meantime, he had:

Mr. Neville Cayley has a field all of his own in the painting of Australian birds. He has painted better birds than he shows here; but he never

been studying perspective and landscape

paints birds otherwise than well, and might

sketching, with the determination to excel

well be put in commission by those who have

in this branch of his art as he is universally

charge of the youth of the colony, to supply

admitted to have done in birds, flower

them with fair copies of all the charming

painting, &c.

feathered creatures they only want to destroy.

Despite the advantages of the city, Cayley’s heart was not in Sydney. He liked the bush and, back on the Clarence, he had been courting Grafton girl Lois Emmeline Gregory (1863–1941), daughter of William and Adelaide Gregory, who owned several stores in the Clarence River area. He may have met Lois in Grafton or when the family visited Yamba. The coastal town was a popular holiday spot for the region and Lois’ mother held the lease on the Ocean View Boarding House overlooking the main beach at Yamba from 1879 until 1884. They were married in Sydney in 1885; Cayley was 31 and Lois was nine years his junior. Later that year they set up home at Yamba.

The move to the Colony of New South Wales had proved wise and Cayley’s reputation was growing. Residents of the Australian colonies were generally comfortably off and, with the push for federation, national pride was growing. It was becoming popular to hang decorative portraits of iconic wildlife on the walls of homes and businesses. They could be talking points, especially when given the humorous titles Cayley assigned his work. Dignity and Impudence—a cheeky fairy-wren confronting a kookaburra—and Bone of Contention—magpies squabbling over a bone—were two such paintings, exhibited in the 1885 Art Society exhibition. Hunting was a popular pastime and Cayley’s ‘trophy’ paintings of game were much admired: a brace of ducks curing on a hook or various fleeing snipe, quail and ducks captured in flight at the moment they

Cayley now had a wife to support. In November and December 1885 he placed advertisements in the Grafton newspaper:

14

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Neville Henry Cayley, Dignity and Impudence 1893

PERSONS desirous of taking LESSONS IN WATER COLOUR PAINTING under

Dignity and Impudence was Cayley’s gently comical take on the Laughing Kookaburra and Superb Fairywren, two of Australia’s favourite birds. Cayley first exhibited a version of the painting in 1885 at an Art Society of New South Wales show.

the tuition of MR NEVILLE CAYLEY, may have an opportunity of doing so, if sufficient inducement offers. The terms will be £3 3s per quarter, payable in advance. Names of

15

Neville Henry Cayley, Delias aganippe (Wood White or Red-spotted Jezebel), New South Wales 1887

Neville Henry Cayley, Chaerocampa erotus (Hawk Moth, now Gnathothlibus erotus), Sydney 1887

In 1887 and 1888 Cayley was engaged to paint butterflies and moths for a scientific publication planned by the Australian Museum in Sydney. The publication never appeared, but in other works Cayley used butterflies and other insects to help animate his bird portraits and as a decorative feature.

16

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

native flora and fauna or some other appropriate ornamentation. Cayley, the local paper noted, had decorated one for a retiring magistrate thus:

those wishing for lessons to be left at the EXAMINER office.

He attracted at least a few students, among them Walter Thomas Stevenson, and, possibly, Edwin Cox. Stevenson later opened a photographic studio in Grafton, published the photographic book Picturesque Clarence (1900), and exhibited the occasional watercolour in the local flower and fine art exhibitions. It seems that Cayley had a strong influence. A September 1909 edition of The Clarence and Richmond Examiner reported that:

Bright plumaged diminutive birds and beautiful hued butterflies are interspersed in the address with good effect, while in the borders and trailing around and between the views are sugar cane, the magnificent blue waterlilies of our creeks, and native orchids, with flowers and grasses, the whole having a very beautiful effect. It was also surmounted with the Royal Arms, very carefully drawn and coloured.

Mr. W. Stevenson, who studied under Cayley,

With a family to support, Cayley was also trying to capitalise on his growing fame, or perhaps simply attempting to make a living, through an art union. In mid-1886, 20 paintings and five handpainted satin aprons were offered as prizes in the Cayley’s Art Union, to be drawn at the start of February 1887. At half a sovereign, tickets were promoted as a bargain, for, it was claimed in the local newspaper, Cayley’s paintings had sold for upwards of 100 sovereigns, ‘realising at times high prices wherever they particularly suited the tastes of buyers’. The advertisers gave the assurance that ‘In bird painting Mr. Cayley stands alone in the colonies, and anything from his hand which depicts birds of any kind may be valued as a work of art’. Curiously, their views on Cayley’s two landscapes were unlikely to inspire buyers:

has just completed a fine water colour of a wild duck in the act of falling as the result of a shot.

At Kookaburra Cottage, Yamba, on the seventh day of 1886, the Cayleys’ first child was born. They named him Neville William Cayley— after Lois’ father and Cayley’s brother. Among Cayley’s landscapes that year was one of Yamba Bay (see page 9); the work was to hang in Walter Black’s Wooli Hotel. Cayley painted it from the jetty at the inland end of the bay, looking across to Yamba Hill with its flagstaffs and budding township. The new passenger steamer Iolanthe is in the middle ground. Behind, at left, is the wreck of the Mary Ballantyne and, at right, the government steamer Princess, docked at the Yamba wharf in front of the Wooli Hotel. The newer Yamba Hotel stands at far right.

Landscape is not the artist’s forte, but he has here succeeded in producing a good

That year Cayley found some employment painting illuminated addresses. The addresses were a popular presentation gift at the retirement or departure of a prominent person. They usually included some sort of testimonial and were ‘illuminated’ with borders of handpainted

picture, with tints harmoniously blended, and the woodland well worked in: altogether a picture no one need be ashamed to hang in his drawing-room … The views of the

17

Neville Henry Cayley, Regent Bird 1886

In late 1885 Cayley was commissioned to draw birds for the ambitious publication The Picturesque Atlas of Australasia. The income would have been welcome, as would have been the opportunity to work with some of the finest Australian artists and engravers of the day using state-of-the-art printing processes.

a bayonet exercise, tent-pegging, and ‘cleaving of the Turk’s head’! Cayley acquitted himself well, winning a special prize for the best man in the bayonet team.

Clarence Heads by moonlight … we do not care so much for.

As well as painting birds and the local landscape, Cayley was involving himself in the local sporting scene. In 1886, at Easter, he was on the organising committee, with his friend William Black, for the annual Yamba regatta. In November he was involved in the military games held at Grafton racecourse by the Ulmarra and Grafton Light Horse and Grafton Infantry (troops of the New South Wales Northern Rivers Lancers) in celebration of the birthday of the Prince of Wales. It seems that Cayley had signed on to the short-lived local chapter of the (mounted) New South Wales Volunteer Infantry. Events included wrestling on horseback,

At some stage the Lancers must have invested in some of Cayley’s art. Many years later, in 1933, as Australia was recovering from the Great Depression, it was disclosed in the annual report of the Lancers Association of New South Wales that: the valuable pictures by the late Neville Cayley which were buried in a suburban haystack three or four years ago by a member for safe keeping had not been recovered. The pictures comprised sketches and paintings which were the property of the association.

18

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

left Neville Henry Cayley, Leadbeater’s Cockatoo 1886 below left Neville Henry Cayley, Australian Game 1889

In 1889, the Cayleys were living in Bowral, and their second child, Alice, was born. Cayley raised several varieties of domestic chicken and drew this example to illustrate an article on the Australian Game Fowl for The Sydney Mail. The leggy chicken was a tall, muscular variety developed in New South Wales from fighting fowls as a table bird. below Neville Henry Cayley, The Last Day with the Ducks 1889

Cayley’s illustration for the announcement in The Sydney Mail of the end of the 1889 open season on waterfowl reveals his mischievous sense of humour.

19

Meanwhile, in the final months of 1885, Cayley had been hired among other noteworthy artists such as Louis Buvelot, Tom Roberts, Julian Ashton and Ellis Rowan to illustrate The Picturesque Atlas of Australasia, an ambitious illustrated history of the Australian colonies intended to cash in on the centenary and to appeal to an overseas market. The publishers were also taking advantage of improved engraving techniques, developed in America, that produced

The paintings were still under tons of hay. Their recovery seemed practically impossible.

It appears that Cayley’s art union was not a great success—a week out from closing ‘a good many tickets’ were still available, according to the local paper. However, things were looking up for Cayley by late 1886. William Aldenhoven, well-connected art dealer, picture framer and publisher of fine art, became his sole agent. Aldenhoven put on show in his Hunter Street gallery several framed paintings of birds ‘taken from nature’, including Regent Bowerbirds, Paradise Riflebirds, blue cranes (White-faced Herons) and diamond birds (Diamond Firetails). Aldenhoven’s advertorials claimed that Cayley’s paintings had attracted some attention at the 1886 Colonial and Indian Exhibition in London, that he was now living in Sydney again, and that ‘with his newly-won laurels, local connoisseurs will be glad to welcome from his studio these latest artistic productions’. Amid the fanfare, Aldenhoven damned with faint praise the landscape work that Cayley had striven to improve: The landscape—a river view with background of mountain scenery—is well worked out. In this branch of his art Mr. Cayley appears to have considerably improved, but it is in the bird study that the excellence of the work consists.

Thereafter, it seems, Cayley accepted the views of Aldenhoven and the critics, and the preferences of the public. He concentrated mainly on birds for the art market. The promotional skills of Aldenhoven were to make him a household name.

Charles Bayliss, Pitt St, Sydney 1886

William Aldenhoven, Cayley’s sole agent, had a wellknown gallery in Pitt Street, in central Sydney. This photograph of the street was taken in 1886, the year Cayley’s son Neville William was born. From this time until well after Cayley’s death in 1903 Aldenhoven did much to make Cayley a household name.

20

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Neville Henry Cayley, Eggs from 16 Species 1889

Explanation of plate VIII: 1. Smaller Rufousbreasted Thrush (now Rufous Shrike-thrush) 2–4. Harmonious Thrush (Grey Shrike-thrush) 5. Crested Wedge-bill (Chirruping Wedgebill) 6. Crested Oreoica (Crested Bellbird) 7. Coach-whip Bird (Eastern Whipbird) 8. Grey Struthidea (Apostlebird) 9. Frontal Shrike-tit (Crested Shrike-tit) 10. Gilbert’s Thickhead (Gilbert’s Whistler) 11. Olivaceous Thickhead (Olive Whistler) 12. Pied Grallina (Magpie-lark) 13. Black-faced Wood Swallow 14. Wood Swallow 15. Long-billed Bristle-bird (Western Bristlebird) 16. Bristle-bird (Eastern Bristlebird)

21

a quality product in large quantities, making illustrated publications more economical.

In 1887, living at Paddington, Sydney, Cayley began a project on moths and butterflies. The trustees of the Sydney (later Australian) Museum had decided to complete Australian Lepidoptera and Their Transformations Drawn from the Life. With descriptions by Alexander Walker Scott, and illustrations by his daughters Helena and Harriet, the first volume had been published in 1864. Now some of the Scott sisters’ beautiful, unpublished original plates had ‘fallen into the trustees’ hands’, as reported in The Sydney Morning Herald. During 1887 and 1888, 131 new plates were completed (some by Cayley— see, for example, page 16—but many by P.T. Hammond). However, that part of the project was abandoned, perhaps because of problems with the museum’s entomologist Arthur Sidney Olliff—he apparently had a fondness for spirits and was dismissed in about 1889. Nor was the artwork comparable to the Scotts’, and they may not have approved. Under Helena’s close guidance, and with Olliff’s collaboration, the museum finally published the second volume of the Lepidoptera in five parts between 1890 and 1898, using only the Scott sisters' illustrations.

The project was a boon for struggling professional artists and Cayley contributed several portraits of birds. As an article in The Sydney Morning Herald in June 1886 explained, the drawings were done in black and white, then photographed onto wood: Formerly the artist’s sketch was affixed to the wooden block upon which the engraver worked, gradually as his engraving proceeded destroying the original sketch. The new method has several advantages, not the least of which is that the original sketch is not interfered with, and can be referred to by the engraver during his work and compared with the engraving when the latter is finished. The taking of large black and white sketches enables the artist to deal with his subjects broadly, and the photographing refines and tones down what would otherwise be rough and bold.

During the new process, patches of paper applied to the block were used to build up areas of light and shade. The block was then placed in position on the page, with text or a caption, and covered in wax applied under pressure. Next the wax impression was coated in lead and placed in an electrolyte bath until it was coated in copper and ready for the presses. The three volumes of The Picturesque Atlas were first published in Sydney between 1886 and 1888. An army of persistent agents canvassing the colonies ensured that it sold an extraordinary 50,000 copies. However, the atlas fell from favour when the many who had prepurchased realised that they had signed up for an unspecified number of sections at five shillings apiece.

Neville Henry Cayley, Black Duck c. 1896

This image of a Black Duck, hanging suspended midair at the moment it is shot, was Cayley’s best-known work, and the Art Gallery of New South Wales purchased the first version of it, painted in 1890. Cayley made several versions—variously titled Dues, Hard Hit and, perhaps coined by cataloguers, Shot Duck. The work spawned similar images of other hunted waterfowl, including snipe, godwits and Mountain Ducks.

22

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

23

C A Y L E Y

With professional management and promotion, Cayley became more widely known in the fine art sphere and over the next few years he began to produce some of his best work. In July 1888, as The Clarence and Richmond Examiner reported, Lady Carrington, wife of the Governor of New South Wales, visited Aldenhoven’s gallery to inspect Cayley’s paintings. She was able to view only a few because 77 had been sent to Melbourne by Aldenhoven to be hung in the New South Wales court of the Melbourne Centennial International Exhibition of 1888 to 1889. There, Cayley’s watercolours may not have made a ‘big splash’, as was predicted by his barrackers at the Northern Rivers’ broadsheet, but he received a jury award for his collection, which included no less than six paintings of kookaburras, as well as illustrations of kingfishers, the works Shot Snipe and Hard Hit, Black Duck, and the whimsical Fight between a Canary and Blue Warbler. The first item in the catalogue, his pièce de résistance, was catalogued unattractively as Still-life (Dead Birds). It later came to be regarded as his masterpiece. Without irony, it was billed as being ‘painted from life’, a selling point often applied to his illustrations of birds, even though he painted from their skins.

During that period, from about January 1888, the Cayleys were living in the Bowral district. Cayley thought the cool, clean air of the Southern Highlands would be better for his health than Sydney, three hours away by rail. Indeed, the area was a popular Sydney retreat, especially in the summer months. The Cayleys first moved to Moss Vale, where in February he convinced a Mr A. Salmon to show two watercolours in his store window. The local paper, The Scrutineer, described one of them thus: The duck represented is being mortally wounded through the left breast and wing, and in the last struggle of death’s agony … the figure and outline and toning are exceedingly well done, and form altogether a nice ideal study, and a prettily-finished picture.

The prettily dying duck is possibly the first version of Cayley’s slightly surreal, best known and most popular work (often called Hard Hit). The other painting also stirred up some flowery rhetoric that played on the prevailing view that kookaburras were useful (and therefore were not to be shot—unlike some other, presumably useless, birds): the brilliant sparkle of the eye depicts the

In late 1888 Aldenhoven’s was also promoting a set of greeting cards—‘the prettiest novelty’, according to the advertisements—with a selection of Cayley’s bird illustrations. The next year, Christmas and New Year cards illustrated by Cayley (among the earliest published in Australia, by Turner and Henderson), 41 to choose from, were being marketed as ‘an excellent souvenir for friends abroad’ and ‘ready for dispatch to dear old England’.

delight and satisfaction the snake-destroying kookaburra feels in his successful capture … which he holds with a firm grip in his strong bill … about two inches from the head, the tail of the venomous reptile lying limp across the dead limb, on which he sits with safety and complacency; the head feathers of the kookaburra stand electrified half erect, the glare of the eyes and the inflated form of the body, assist in marking the triumph over a most deadly foe.

24

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Cayley obviously painted quickly, for, the article claimed, the two works had been executed the previous week. The report went on to say that Cayley had sought ‘the scenery and climate of Moss Vale for his future field of labor’. He had already obtained some orders for ‘elaborate painting’ and would ‘no doubt, receive sufficient patronage to make his stay sufficiently long to recruit his health’. Later in the year Cayley completed two commissions for The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser. The first, published on 7 September 1889, accompanied a brief article flagging the beginning of the ‘close season’ (the closed season, which ran from the beginning of September to the end of February). It reminded readers that in 1881 the colony had passed an Act to prevent the destruction of certain native birds during the breeding season, with penalties of up to five pounds for breaches. Cayley, it noted, ‘has given us an excellent picture which will recall to the mind of the sportsman many a pleasant outing with the gun’. His five vignettes of a Black Duck (see page 19) were titled Life, Hard Hit, Dying, Death and Black Retriever.

Neville Henry Cayley, Bird of Paradise (Paradisornis rudolphi), a Native of New Guinea (now Blue Bird of Paradise, Paradisaea rudolphi) c. 1892

The Sydney Mail of the following week, 14 September, ran an illustration for the poultry fanciers of the colony (see page 19). It showed the cock and hen of a strain that had been developed in New South Wales. The making of the illustration was guided by advice from leading judges of the breed:

In the late nineteenth century, New Guinea was still yielding up birds of paradise to European scientists who went in search of new species or to rediscover birds known only from skins traded many years before. The birds’ fanciful shapes, eccentric behaviours and fabulous plumes enchanted the public, some of whom wanted the feathers for their hats. In 1889 Cayley offered to paint the rare, recently discovered Blue Bird of Paradise for the Australian Museum.

Weeks have been spent in the drawing. Several sketches made from life were the foundation of the work. Next came the suggestions of judges, the material by which existing faults could be corrected; and last

25

Neville Henry Cayley, View over Bowral 1890

stage of all was the patient, skilful work of the engraver. The result, we are pleased to say,

In 1890, Cayley painted in oils the view from his house on the outskirts of Bowral, overlooking the town to Mount Gibraltar. The painting was exhibited in the Grand Hotel alongside this photographic print of the work.

bears comparison with the best of European poultry portraiture.

Old-time residents of nearby Bowral, where the Cayleys had relocated by 1889, remembered that Cayley himself bred gamecocks. They also recalled that he was well liked and wore a distinctive red coat. In March 1889, Cayley organised for examples of his work to be on show at the Bowral offices of The Bowral Free Press and Berrima District Intelligencer. He was talking of a return to Europe, the paper reported, and had won seven medals, including one from the Melbourne Centennial International Exhibition. Four paintings flagged his arrival. The largest and ‘most striking’ was of a kookaburra with its young. The others were identified as a ‘firebacked’ bird (possibly a Diamond Firetail), a colonial

redbreast (Scarlet Robin) and a blue wren (Superb Fairy-wren). Three months later, in June, ‘the talented bird artist’ was seeking pupils, advertising private lessons in ‘Water Colour painting, painting on Satin, birds a speciality’. Nevertheless, it seems to have been a relatively prosperous time for the family. The same month, Cayley wrote to Edward Ramsay, Curator at the Australian Museum in Sydney, that he had no lack of commissions and was charging a handsome 12 guineas for a typical

26

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

watercolour. He suggested that his main income was not from within Australia, rather from commissions in his home country, telling Ramsay that he was able to sell his pictures in England before they had even been painted. What was more, he informed Ramsay, he planned to soon return to the country of his birth: ‘I shall make a move in that direction in a few months’.

a boy to milk their cow. The Cayleys were living in a hawthorn-fenced cottage, Buena Vista, on Oxley Street (now Oxley Drive), with glorious views to the west over the town of Bowral to Mount Gibraltar. It was there, in September, that a daughter, Alice Rochfort, was born, joining threeyear-old Neville William. Alice was named for the sister closest to Cayley in age.

The museum had received a male and female specimen of the rare Blue Bird of Paradise, discovered just five years before. Its committee commissioned Cayley to illustrate the bird. Making an exception to its usual practice, the museum agreed to send the precious male specimen by rail to Bowral, where, Cayley reassured them, he had ‘a fine room and no end of birds’, adding, ‘I would see that every care was taken of the subject … I am sure I could do it justice’. He was equally concerned when a couple of months later he was freighting his painting back to the city. Having previously had a painting stolen from one of his cases, he told Ramsay, ‘I shall be anxious till I hear’.

From Buena Vista, Cayley painted a large canvas of the view to Mount Gibraltar. The oil painting took in the heart of the town, showing the Grand and Royal hotels, the Free Press office, the church parsonage and a glimpse of Moss Vale in the distance. The Free Press reported that Cayley was undertaking the work because he was: under the impression it would be a sin to allow such a beautiful landscape to remain without it being re-produced in the best way possible, so that the whole of the colonies may see what the sanatorium of New South Wales is like.

On 18 January 1890 the landscape was nearly finished and by the 22nd of the month it was on its way to Sydney for framing. By 8 February it was back in Bowral, hanging in the Grand Hotel alongside a photographic print of the work, and attracting much commendation. The photograph had been made so that the work could be reproduced, presumably by handcolouring the photographic print. The Free Press report described the original oil as large—5½ feet (1.7 metres) in length and 3½ feet (1.1 metres) in depth—and ‘charming’. Cayley himself is reported to have said simply: ‘I think the public will like the picture’.

Cayley had first drawn a bird of paradise in about 1886, for The Picturesque Atlas. Several expeditions to exotic and relatively unexplored New Guinea had ignited scientific and popular interest in the gorgeously plumaged birds and their bizarre courtship displays. In 1888 Cayley made paintings of several species of the extravagantly plumed birds. The public fascination continued and a version of the Blue Bird of Paradise painting was reproduced and appeared in the supplement to The Australian Town and Country Journal on 15 December 1894. In June 1889, possibly in preparation for the birth of the family’s second child, Cayley advertised for

Cayley’s view of the mountain was raffled, with tickets a guinea each. The lucky winner was

27

Neville Henry Cayley, Robin Red-breast in the Snow 1894

Cayley was frequently broke and often paid his bills with paintings. He is thought to have painted this scene of an English Robin in falling snow, complete with a sprig of mistletoe, as payment for some haberdashery purchased by his wife. The shopkeeper reportedly wanted a painting that would remind her of Christmas in Ireland.

Neville Henry Cayley, Albino Kookaburra 1890

The white Laughing Kookaburra depicted by Cayley in this watercolour was collected in the Bowral district and was thought to be the first known instance of albinism in that species. The specimen ended up in the Australian Museum.

J.L. Campbell of the Grand Hotel; the painting was to hang at the hotel for a time. A couple of years later, Campbell sold the hotel and the townspeople attempted to raise enough money to purchase the painting for donation to a Sydney gallery. They were unable to raise the required 50 pounds and the work may subsequently have been disposed of by an art union.

Also on sale at the Royal Hotel that February of 1890 were 20 ‘splendidly mounted and framed’ Cayley watercolours. They were mainly of birds but included paintings of a koala and its young, and kangaroos. Among the bird paintings were four of kookaburras. One was a white kookaburra, which Cayley had collected locally and which, his son Neville junior suggested many years later, was possibly the first albino kookaburra on

28

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

record. The works were advertised as ‘exclusively Australian Birds and Animals, for the faithful painting of which the Artist is held in the highest repute by connoisseurs and experts alike’. All except two sold, for between two and five pounds each, for a total of 61 pounds 11 shillings.

C A Y L E Y

would it take to catch one whiteman … Kindly find room in your valuable paper for some words to show that there are some people who respect color.

In 1890 the National Gallery (now the Art Gallery of New South Wales) purchased one of Cayley’s watercolours for its prestigious collection. Titled Dues, it was the Bowral Black Duck. The Sydney Morning Herald reported it was shown ‘poised in air’ at the moment it was shot. The article continued, ‘The small feathers struck from it break the outline. It is a good bit of work’.

Cayley had indeed decided to leave town, but not for Europe. He gave his reason as the blasting at the nearby quarry. Nonetheless, he was frequently on the move, and the family had been in the district for two years. An April auction disposed of ‘the whole of the household furniture and effects’, bedding and glassware included, as well as 20 paintings, and the cow: ‘a good quiet cow just at calving’. Before he left, Cayley donated a guinea to the fire fund to assist the new owners of the Grand Hotel to replace the stock and tools of trade consumed by a blaze the previous month.

It appears that the Cayleys had moved to Fischer Street in Petersham, Sydney, and that they remained there into 1891. Despite his increasing recognition, Cayley was ever in financial trouble. In May 1891, he again ‘relinquished housekeeping’, according to the advertisement in The Sydney Morning Herald, auctioning all his household effects in Leichhardt.

Before leaving the area, Cayley also demonstrated his sense of social justice, laced with his wry sense of humour, in a letter to the editor of the Free Press. He had been outraged by a cutting sent to him from his friends in Grafton that described how an Aboriginal man had repeatedly evaded an army of pursuers. The offending article ended: ‘for the sake of the Upper Clarence it is hoped that the escapee will soon be arrested’. Cayley wrote in defence of the escapee, Tommy Ryan, observing that it had:

Why would Cayley again sell his family’s possessions? Quite possibly, he was among the casualties of the recession of the 1890s throughout the eastern Australian colonies. The economic boom that had begun with the gold rushes of the 1850s and had been bolstered by high prices for wool and wheat began to collapse, and many local banks failed. The demand for luxuries such as artwork dwindled and for the next few years Cayley’s paintings flooded the market as people sold up.

taken fully 20 well-armed men (crack shots), including police, to miss the capture of one poor, unarmed blackfellow three times …

Cayley also had a reputation as a drinker. Supposedly, he would quickly whip up paintings to fund his habit, sometimes swapping his works for grog across the bar of the local hotel. A hint of Cayley’s enjoyment of revelry can be found in an 1888 article by ‘Telemachus’, the pen name

even if the blackfellow had been guilty of murder … such pursuit would hardly have been requisite. As a conundrum it reads thus; if it takes 20 well-armed, & c., to catch one blackfellow, how many unarmed blackfellows

29

Neville Henry Cayley, Cobb & Co. Coach on the Road in Forest Setting

of journalist Francis Tyler who worked for a time for The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser. Tyler was writing about a depiction of two dead robins that had been painted by Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward La Trobe Bateman when he visited Australia in the 1850s. The painting, Tyler, thought:

Cobb and Co mail and passenger coaches were the main means of public transport overland to the far-flung towns of New South Wales and elsewhere. Cayley’s preference for unspoiled places with lush forest and a diversity of birdlife saw him make good use of the horse-drawn vehicles.

could only have been painted by one other man in Australia, the other being Neville

Poles, Carpets, Linoleum, Bird-cages, Kitchen

Cayley whom I saw last … on the Clarence

Utensils, lot of Sundries, fine lot of well-bred

River in New South Wales—yet full of mirth

dark Brahma Fowls … Magpie, Whistling

and melody, and singing the whole night

Crow, Butcher Bird, Canary, &c.

through ‘A Shepherd I from Arcadie’.

A little later in 1891 Cayley donated six stuffed birds to the Australian Museum—Yellow, Yellowrumped and Striated Thornbills, two fantails and a whistler. The donation gives an insight into the way Cayley worked: via efficient use of a doublebarrelled shotgun. It was the only way he could closely view most birds. In 1948, Grafton solicitor and local historian Robert Craigie Law recalled that at the age of 15 he met Cayley when he was living at Casino, and watched him at work:

Among the items auctioned from the Cayley household were artworks, ‘almost new’ furniture, and even the birds that must have served as models: Works of Art, Engravings by well-known artists, handsome Bedsteads, Wire Mattresses, Duchesse Toilets, Tables, Couches, Austrian Furniture, Crockery, Mahogany Wardrobe, Curtains and Cornice

3 0

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

the home of Louie’s sister, Ada, whose husband was the influential Frederick George Crouch— general store proprietor, steamer owner, timber trader and mayor of Casino Municipality from 1883 to 1885 and again from 1890 to 1891.

His speed and precision were astounding … He had a large trunk filled with the skins of birds, complete with beaks and claws, but not stuffed or mounted. Always beside him on the desk was the skin of the birds he was painting … he paid particular attention to the eyes,

Around that time Cayley may have earned some income from a crayon portrait of Grafton police magistrate A.L. McDougall. The portrait was among the works contributed by the Art Society of New South Wales to the annual flower show and fine art exhibition held in October 1892 by the Clarence Pastoral and Agricultural Society.

Crouch’s Trade Palace was the largest store in Casino. Built to make the most of the natural light, it boasted a fine window display, with groceries and ironmongery to one side of the store, and drapery and clothing to the other. The boot and shoe department was at the back, adjoining a wine and spirit store behind which was the glassware and china department. Hardware, oil and paints, a large storeroom of sugar, a haberdashery department, and offices completed the store. Across the road another of Crouch’s stores sold furniture and bedding, galvanised iron, fencing material and other goods. The town boasted several other stores, an excellent school of arts, the Oddfellows’ Hall, newspaper offices, several banks and churches of various denominations, two hotels and a school, a substantial courthouse and gaol, a sawmill, a wharf and a fine bridge spanning the river. Despite the trappings of modern late ninteenthcentury life, there were still a few major ‘troubles with the blacks’, as it was often couched, ousted from their prime lands. The late 1880s saw the last of the murders and mass cattle-spearings attributed to the Aboriginal people of Richmond River, and of the lawless retributions from European squatters.

In August 1892 Cayley was in Casino—60 kilometres to Ballina’s west, accessible by steamer, and still within the Northern Rivers region—preparing paintings for the International Exposition in Chicago. He and his wife, Louie, as she was affectionately known, were staying at

A reporter for Lismore’s regional newspaper, The Northern Star, stated optimistically that Cayley’s pictures were ‘now recognised as works of art the world over’ and that it was ‘a certainty that he will deservedly earn increased fame’. Hung in the New South Wales court at the 1893 Chicago

beak and feet.

The fact that Cayley used dead birds as his reference is evident in his work: rather than drawing the shadow that would be cast by the sun in a natural setting, he painted his birds evenly illuminated. In March 1892 Cayley was back in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales. He was living in Ballina, at the mouth of the Richmond River, some 100 kilometres north of the Clarence River by steamer or Cobb and Co mail coach. The graceful steamers would have been the more comfortable option. The coach track through the forests was edged with ringbarked trees, and the drivers had to stop now and then to move fallen limbs aside. Travel was a steady seven miles (11 kilometres) an hour and the horses were changed every 20 kilometres or so.

3 1

3 2

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Neville Henry Cayley, Not titled (Australian Gamebirds) 1888

After his initial success with a painting of a Black Duck depicted at the moment it is shot, the spoils of hunting remained a favourite subject of Cayley. This beautifully arranged and painted tableau features various game birds, including ducks, quail and waders, as well as a Masked Lapwing, a Ground Parrot, a Rainbow Lorikeet, a Brush Bronzewing, a Superb Lyrebird, a Noisy Pitta and a Night Heron. Two Grey Teal hang curing from a hook, while the other birds are tumbled over the floor of the pantry or cool-house.

3 3

exposition, the largest and last great exhibition of the nineteenth century, Cayley’s watercolours received an award. Advertisers quickly picked up on his success. In Sydney, Dymocks bookstore was selling finely lithographed Christmas cards promoted as ‘reproductions in colours of Mr. Neville Cayley’s famous pictures of Australian birds, which are now being exhibited at Chicago, where they received an award of merit’.

Sydney quite frequently to sketch the birds in the rainforest. He stayed at the Railway Guest House where he showed an interest in the canaries routinely carried into the local coalmines. The canaries were one of the few safety devices available to miners. The birds are more sensitive than humans to toxic gases such as carbon monoxide, methane and carbon dioxide. Hence, if they showed signs of distress or died, it was time for the miners to evacuate.

In March 1893 an auction of 25 framed works by Cayley was held at Casino. It was claimed to be the last chance to purchase from a good selection of his paintings because he was planning to take his family to England at the end of the year. It seems, however, that despite several attempts, Cayley never travelled overseas. The Cayleys were back in Sydney, now living in Glebe at the home of Louie’s parents William and Adelaide. There, not long after her father’s death in April 1893, Louie gave birth to their last child, Dorothy Loris (also known as Doris).

Meanwhile, Aldenhoven was working hard to promote Cayley’s paintings. He often displayed the latest example of Cayley’s work in the window of his Hunter Street store and in 1894 he was trying his chances in Melbourne, having sent 130 watercolours to the Federal Coffee Palace in Collins Street for exhibition and sale. Among the works hung in Melbourne by Aldenhoven were Hard Hit, Dignity and Impudence and many other early titles, presumably copies by Cayley himself. Also on show was a painting that showed the exceptional artistic skills that Cayley too rarely demonstrated: A Day’s Shooting, illustrating 28 different game birds, rightly advertised as his masterpiece (now in the National Gallery of Australia). He had painted the original in 1888 for the Melbourne Centennial International Exhibition.

In December 1894 The Northern Star reported that its proprietor, Thomas George Hewitt—who had long been a supporter of Cayley, having bought the first of his paintings when he lived in the district 13 or 14 years before—had received the news that Cayley had moved to Woonona. The Woonona Bulli district, on the south coast of New South Wales, just north of Wollongong, was a growing commercial hub situated in the Illawarra, another of the scenic, bird-rich, forested areas that so attracted Cayley. There was also wealth in the district—from cedar logging, agriculture and ‘black diamonds’ (coal).

Cayley was promoted to the Victorians as the best bird painter since John Gould. It was pointed out that he also had a link to the colony, having lived there when he first immigrated to Australia: The artist, who we are informed commenced his studies in Gippsland, possesses an innate

Old Bulli residents remembered that in the late 1880s, after the rail link was opened on Queen Victoria’s jubilee day in 1887, Cayley visited from

knowledge of the portraiture of birds, whether in motion or repose, alive or dead, delineating their plumage with singular

3 4

above Tom Flower, Two Magpies Fighting over a Bone above left Neville Henry Cayley, Magpie c. 1897 left Neville Henry Cayley, Magpie 1901

The mysterious ‘Tom Flower(s)’ was a copyist and forger of Cayley’s work. In the painting above, Flower refers to Cayley’s Bone of Contention (first painted in about 1885), which shows two magpies squabbling over a bone. Flower’s work is remarkably similar in style to several paintings which are signed ‘Neville Cayley’, but which are not typical of Cayley’s usual style (see for example Cayley's Magpie, at left). A more typical Cayley magpie is the 1897 work, above left. Historical records suggest the existence of an artist named Flower around this time, although it has been suggested by some that the name was a pseudonym used by Cayley himself. Flower’s relationship with Cayley remains to be established.

fidelity and conscientious care, while proving himself at the same time a skilful colourist. Some of the drawings are life-sized, and close observation has evidently familiarised Mr. Cayley with the characteristic habits and attitudes of his subjects, their modes of flight, and their particular habitat, so that each picture is to some extent a page of natural history. The whole of the drawings are to be faithfully reproduced on stone, and then coloured by hand, under the immediate supervision and with the final touches of the artist himself. The undertaking is a very bold and costly one on the part of the publishers, and it is certainly deserving of support by the lovers of art, by sportsmen, and by students of ornithology.

The book hinted at, entitled Australian Birds (c. 1895), did indeed prove too costly and problematic for Aldenhoven. The artworks intended for the publication were photographed and printed at a size of around 27 by 35 centimetres, then handcoloured and signed, the latter an arduous task completed by Cayley himself. They were also assembled and bound individually. The only information provided for the reader was the name of the bird pictured. Unsurprisingly, few copies were produced.

Anthony Alder, Kookaburra on Branch c. 1890

Queensland Museum curator and contemporary of Cayley, Anthony Alder, had some success with his oil paintings of birds, but was ultimately eclipsed by Cayley. The two artists’ compositions were not dissimilar.

In the same year, Aldenhoven and Cayley published several ‘Important notices’ claiming exclusivity to the copyright of all Cayley’s bird paintings, warning that ‘Any person selling or causing such pictures to be sold, will be prosecuted as the law directs’. Possibly it was a response to the fact that a number of his paintings had been released from liquidation auctions, or from copyists of his work, flooding the market. Whatever prompted the advertisements, Cayley

needed the income, and was selling work privately. Aldenhoven would also have needed to secure his stake in Cayley. In December, Aldenhoven was in the process of building a large, well-lit gallery at Hunter Street, where

3 6

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

Cayley’s work would have pride of place. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that:

C A Y L E Y

took that path. A number of Cayley paintings have long been suspected to be fakes; Keith Hindwood, Neville William Cayley’s colleague, was one person who believed there had been counterfeits. Given the flood of Cayley paintings, and the copious copies of old favourites made— sometimes carelessly—by Cayley himself, it would not have been hard to pull off a forgery.

the latest productions of his brush clearly indicate the work of a well-controlled genius. No less than 120 original pictures by Cayley have been secured by Mr. Aldenhoven, but probably one of the finest in his extensive gallery is the ‘Convention of Parrots.’ In this

And who was the mysterious Tom Flower(s) whose paintings of birds so flagrantly plagiarised Cayley’s style and subject matter? Some say it was Cayley himself, but there is no obvious reason why Cayley would have wanted to produce work under a pseudonym. Flower’s watercolours of birds included depictions of shot snipe and ducks, snake-killing kookaburras and squabbling magpies. He even painted a fairywren confronting a kookaburra. Paintings signed ‘Tom Flower’ are very similar to Cayley’s in every way but tend to be more finely finished. There are also paintings signed ‘Neville Cayley’ that have an atypical oval backwards-drawn loop to the tail of the final ‘y’ that may well have been by Flower (see for example Magpie on page 35, bottom left).

the artist has displayed to the fullest extent his regard for detail, his brilliant colouring, and unsurpassed faithfulness.

It was around this time that Cayley’s colleague from the Clarence, Edwin Cox, began giving free art tuition at the Grafton Fine Art Society. In 1888 Cox exhibited in the Clarence Pastoral and Agricultural Society’s annual show a watercolour entitled Wounded Duck and, by the time of their 1903 exhibition, he was reportedly painting the best birds he had ever done: ‘upon a level with the late Cayley, if not beyond him’. The next year a visitor to Grafton submitted an article under the pen name ‘Orara’ to the local Clarence and Richmond Examiner. Orara had visited Cox to view the watercolours of 150 species of northern New South Wales’ coastal birds that Cox had painted in his spare time. Orara opined that demand for the paintings would increase if only Cox were more widely known. It seems that Cox had learned well from Cayley. He too referred to bird skins. As Orara, who knew Cayley, observed: ‘Every bird is painted from nature: it is first prepared by Mrs. Cox, and then this born artist gets to work at it, working on the same lines as Cayley worked’.

Flower was a direct contemporary of Cayley, born only a couple of years before him. His paintings were advertised intermittently at auctions of household effects, often alongside Cayley’s, between 1892 and 1929, but were never shown in an exhibition. It is possible that he was Thomas Frederick Flower of Dunrobbin, Brighton Boulevarde, Bondi, who is listed in the 1930 and 1933 censuses as an artist. Flower married Adelaide Mary Mather in Grafton in 1880, so he could have met Cayley shortly after. He died at Paddington in 1936 aged 84, and, unusually, no parents were recorded on his death certificate.

Did Cayley’s success eventually tempt Cox to go a step further and add Cayley’s signature to his Cayley-inspired watercolours? Someone certainly

3 7

Perhaps he and Cayley knew each other, or even had an arrangement of some kind.

Agricultural, Horticultural, and Industrial Association’s annual show. Also in 1896, the enterprising Aldenhoven, having travelled south to Melbourne, took Cayley’s work north for a multiartist exhibition and sale in Brisbane.

In 1895 the peripatetic Cayley family had a new address: at Glassop Street, Balmain. Cayley had work accepted for the inaugural exhibition of the Society of Artists, opened by Sir Henry Parkes. The new society had been formed by a breakaway group of artists that included Julian Ashton, Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton, Sidney Long and most of the notable male and female painters of Sydney. Their frustration was that the exhibitions of the Art Society of New South Wales were not selective enough, inclusions being decided by the membership, mostly made up of laymen and amateur artists. For a time the two societies held rival exhibitions, even staging them at about the same time. In September 1895, when tensions were at their greatest, The Sydney Morning Herald may have been being mischievous when it reported that the Society of Artists accepted 250 and rejected 100 paintings, whereas the Art Society rejected 162 out of 520 submitted for their exhibition (in other words, both rejected about a third).

Brisbane taxidermist and artist Anthony Alder may well have taken the opportunity to view Cayley’s paintings. Both men had a special interest in birds and both were conservation minded. Alder too had exhibited in the Colonial and Indian Exhibition of 1886, but, aside from some local success, he had not achieved the same renown as Cayley. Yet a year before the Cayley brothers arrived in Australia, Alder had been praised in The Sydney Morning Herald as ‘a most successful painter of animal life’, having exhibited in Brisbane three oil paintings of groups of Queensland birds. The previous month, July 1876, The Queenslander had reported on one of his paintings. Titled Rural Echoes it depicted: two admirably painted life-size ‘laughing jackasses,’ perched on the limb of a gum tree, and making the echoes with that peculiar note which at first so startles and

The attempt to lift standards and create a professional art industry was somewhat successful; Australians were slowly becoming more cultured, but art was still a hard way to make a living. Many artists headed overseas, and in 1902 the Society of Artists was absorbed back into the Art Society, which the next year was granted its Royal epithet.

then amuses new arrivals in Australia. The plumage of these birds is not of a character to tax the skill of the painter in the treatment of brilliant color, but on the other hand, to make an effective picture from birds of their ungraceful shape and ‘quaker’ feathering was no trifling matter to accomplish, and Mr. Alder has made a most effective picture.

Cayley’s work was again chosen for exhibition with the Society of Artists in 1896. Some time that year the family apparently left Sydney again, and may have returned to the Wollongong area. Cayley entered three paintings, ‘which called forth much favorable comment’, in the Wollongong

They were not Alder’s last kookaburras, which proved quite popular over the years. In 1895, the Queensland National Art Gallery purchased his painting of a pair of the birds for their collection. Both Cayley and Alder were

3 8

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

pandering to public tastes, but apart from the difference in preferred medium—Cayley worked in watercolours, while Alder used oils—the similarity in their styles suggests that Alder might have had an early influence on Cayley, whose first kookaburras to go public were dated 1880. Brisbane was a relatively short steamer ride (200 kilometres) from Yamba. It may be that Alder visited the Clarence to obtain specimens for the Queensland Museum from the local naturalists.

C A Y L E Y

note’. He was also still issuing a selection of birds by Cayley as Christmas cards ‘for friends abroad’. Cayley was churning out paintings, often copies of his more popular works; in July 1901, 30 of his watercolours went on show and were snapped up by a single buyer. That same year saw the federation of the six Australian colonies into a nation, and a tour of the country by the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall. The Art Society of New South Wales presented the royal visitors with an album of 24 of their members’ work, each a little watercolour, including one of a pair of lyrebirds by Cayley. In August the society held its 22nd exhibition. Cayley, who had first exhibited at their second show 20 years previously, was among the artists whose work was selected. His magnificent watercolour Still Life, Australian Birds showed a whole shelf covered with dead birds. According to the critic for The Sydney Morning Herald, ‘the profusion of plumage so accurately tinted after nature by Mr. Neville Cayley makes the work important’.

Many kookaburra paintings later (Cayley is estimated to have produced over 1,500), in 1898, the Cayley family was settled at Wiley Street, Waverley, in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. That year Neville junior turned 12 and his youngest sister five. Possibly Louie and Neville were thinking of the children—at 12 their son Neville would have been close to starting high school and Doris, turning five, may have started primary school. They probably attended the nearby Eurotah School, also on Wiley Street. Certainly, Alice was a student at the school in 1900. Neville junior finished his schooling at Waverley State School.

In 1902 the trustees of the Australian Museum released the first part of North’s Nests and Eggs of Birds Found Breeding in Australia and Tasmania (dated 1901), for which the Descriptive Catalogue had been the precursor. It was, a reviewer for The Sydney Morning Herald claimed, ‘a credit to all concerned’. The publication contained about 25 photographic plates of eggs (see page 21), in some issues handcoloured by Cayley, who, The Australian Town and Country Journal reported:

Cayley was again working at the Australian Museum with ornithologist Alfred J. North. He was busy colouring photographic plates of eggs and drawing black-and-white sketches of birds for North’s book, the first volume of which had been released in 1889 as Descriptive Catalogue of the Nests and Eggs of Birds Found Breeding in Australia and Tasmania. As the new century began Aldenhoven was advertising his newly opened gallery, enlarged and beautifully appointed, with a ‘very extensive collection of oils and watercolours [by] N. Cayley (the bird specialist) … and many other artists of

has most delicately colored the plates showing the various eggs, the innumerable tints of which possess a charm of their own, and we are assured by Mr. North, who has devoted his life to the study of the subject, that all these

3 9

Neville Henry Cayley, Rosellas c. 1903

Neville Henry Cayley, Budgerigars 1895

After Cayley’s untimely death, Aldenhoven produced several booklets and cards featuring Cayley’s images of iconic birds. The royalties must have been welcome to Cayley’s often impecunious family.

Cayley painted this watercolour of a pair of Budgerigars perched in their favourite habitat, an abundance of seeding grasses.

paintings, when compared with the originals, will be found exceedingly faithful.

The next year, 1903, Cayley’s chronic kidney problems finally caught up with him. After two years of suffering, at 6 am on Thursday 7 May, he died in Sydney Hospital. The cause was chronic nephritis (Bright’s disease), a painful condition possibly exacerbated by his renowned heavy drinking. He was not yet 50.

Cayley was buried at the local Waverley Cemetery. The death certificate stated that he was born ‘at sea off Dover’ to ‘Nathaniel Cayley’, occupation ‘Navy Captain’. These details appear to have been part of a family myth, maintained to the last. As for Cayley’s third given name, which has been much confused, his death certificate records it as Peniston, his baptismal record as Pennington and his birth record as Penniston, the latter his maternal grandfather’s middle name.

40

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

The death notice in The Sydney Morning Herald was widely repeated and borrowed from:

C A Y L E Y

It is said that poets and artists and the like have only justice done to them after they are dead. In Neville Cayley’s case it is injustice

The artistic world sustains a loss in the

that comes post-mortem. We are shown a

death of Neville Cayley, famous amongst

kingfisher, which is no doubt much as Cayley

ornithologists throughout Europe and

painted it, but it is called a ‘Blue Kingfisher’.

America, for his beautiful and faithful

It does not follow out the old idea that the

paintings of bird life in Australia … many art

kingfisher in flying out from Noah’s Ark took

collections of importance in this country

the colour of its upper feathers from the

include one or more of his paintings …

blue of the sky, and the lower from the sun.

During her recent visit to Sydney, Mme.

In short, it is what is generally known as the

Melba personally inspected Mr. Cayley’s

purple kingfisher [now Azure Kingfisher].

paintings, and purchased several of them.

Then there is a magpie, not a black and white, or even the dull brown and white, as

Cayley had long wanted to publish a book on the Australian birds he so loved. The October after his death, John Sands, by arrangement with copyright holder Aldenhoven, launched a booklet, Australian Birds: A Beautiful Coloured Series by Neville Cayley. The book was advertised as being:

one finds female and immature birds, but a purplish brown and white, the like of which is an ornithological curiosity. Again, we come to the Regent birds [Regent Bowerbirds], both males. Every Queenslander knows that the male Regent bird is of a bright but rich orange colour, and a velvety black. The

printed on art paper in colours, on one side

specimens given and attributed to the dead

of the paper only … the whole enclosed in

artist, Neville Cayley, are of a pale primrose

gold embossed cover—a work of art. Each

yellow and brown. It is questionable whether

illustration a gem and worth framing.

some law should not be introduced to prevent incompetent copyists from publishing

The reproductions, of 11 of Cayley’s bird paintings including the old favourites Dignity and Impudence and Hard Hit, were a poor substitute for Cayley’s dream of a book that would popularise birds. Techniques for mass publication were limited, and the effort was a pale imitation of what might have been. Some of Cayley’s ornithological colleagues were outraged and sprang to his defence, roundly criticising the quality of the booklet, which was strangely mauve tinted, and judging it unworthy of the artist. A report in The Brisbane Courier, repeated in Cayley’s old haunts by The Northern Star, was scathing:

pictures as those of recognised artists.

When the news of Cayley’s untimely death reached southern Victoria, the West Gippsland Gazette added information about his early life in Australia, noting that the artist had: for many years lived in Drouin where he was well known by Mr. C. H. Round and many other old identities of this district.

The educated and pious Charles Round was an estate and land agent and auditor for the shire. The same age as Cayley, Round was also a sketcher,

41

drawing scenes around early Warragul. Quite likely they went sketching together when Cayley was beginning to develop the skills that would bring him a living and fame as Australia’s foremost painter of birds in the late nineteenth century.

It is likely that Cayley taught his children to paint and to enjoy nature. Two of the three, Neville junior and Alice, took up art—painting, at least for a time, in a similar manner to their father, even duplicating his themes and compositions.

Over his relatively short career as a bird painter, Cayley had cornered the market in affordable paintings of Australian birds. For 20 years, he had popularised bird art and produced some very fine works. However, necessity seems to have driven him to reproduce just a few works over and over, sometimes in a less finished manner, chief among them his chatty kookaburras, cheeky blue wrens, bold magpies, handsome galahs, clever cockatoos and unfortunate Black Ducks. These were familiar, well-loved birds. In the case of the galah, while its range was expanding from the inland, it had not reached Sydney by Cayley’s time; nonetheless it was a popular cagebird. Among his favourites were game birds (snipe, quail and even lyrebirds) and colourful or slightly exotic species such as kingfishers, riflebirds, Mistletoebirds, Regent Bowerbirds and birds of paradise.

Just two years after Cayley’s death, Aldenhoven gave Cayley’s son, 19-year-old Neville William, his break, hanging his work alongside his father’s in an 800-painting, multi-artist exhibition in Adelaide. The pair’s paintings were promoted as: ‘excellent studies of Australian birds by Neville Cayley and N.W. Cayley [that] will be interesting to ornithologists and to those who love our feathered friends’. But Neville William had other interests and it was not until he was in his thirties and married that he decided to pursue a career as an artist. In April 1918 Aldenhoven gave him his first solo show. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that in opening the exhibition, Mr Augustus James, the Minister for Education, referred to his ‘friendship and admiration for the late Neville Cayley, the finest actual and realistic painter of birdlife Australia had produced’ and observed that ‘a capable and worthy successor had now been found in N.W. Cayley, the son’.

Though Cayley’s name and art are well known and his style easily recognisable, little is known of his appearance and personality. A publicity photograph taken when Cayley was in his late thirties (see page 4) shows a neatly dressed, dark-haired man with paler eyebrows and a fulsome moustache. The latter was of the handlebar variety, thick and sweeping, as was then fashionable. A faint hint of worry or sadness is contained in the lines between and around his clear, pale eyes. His purported fondness for wine and song and the impact that had on his life and work has become the stuff of legend.

The kindly Aldenhoven continued to act as agent for both Cayleys. In 1920 alterations to Hunter Street saw the famous gallery close, and many of the paintings were sold off. Aldenhoven opened in new premises on King Street but again had to dispose of paintings for want of space. Then, in 1923, the Cayleys’ great supporter died, and with the dispersal of his estate more paintings by Cayley senior were released onto the market. James R. Lawson & Little, auctioneers, must have taken over Cayley’s paintings. In August 1904

42

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

they were exhibiting ‘The Cayley Collection’ in their Pitt Street gallery. They had ‘nearly four score examples of his talent’ on show, including A Day’s Shooting: Group of Australian Game Birds and Open Season: Black Duck Shooting. Presumably, many were Cayley copies of Cayley originals.

C A Y L E Y

left Neville Henry Cayley, Wishing You the Compliments of the Season right Neville Henry Cayley, Joy, Health and Peace Be Yours on Christmas Day

These Christmas cards feature Cayley's illustrations of a row of Laughing Kookaburras and Australian Magpies feeding their young.

Cayley’s son, Neville William, went on to achieve his father’s dream of a bird book for all Australians to learn from and enjoy. The enduring What Bird Is That? is dedicated, with elegant simplicity, ‘To my father’. Neville William also honoured the memory of his father by founding a scholarship for final year science or agriculture students at the University of Sydney, to be administered by the Gould League of New South Wales and funded by royalties from What Bird Is That?. The Cayley Memorial Scholarships for ornithological research were awarded for 75 years, eventually being offered to any Australian postgraduate students involved in wildlife study or management relating to birds. Countless students

benefited and improved knowledge of birds, until the final two scholarships were awarded in 2010.

43

P O R T F O L I O

NEV IL LE HE NRY CAY L EY

Hanging, from left: Australian Shelduck Tadorna tadornoides Wood Duck Chenonetta jubata

On the bench, from left: Banded Lapwing Vanellus tricolor Painted Snipe Rostratula benghalensis Masked Lapwing Vanellus miles Latham’s Snipe Gallinago hardwickii Eastern Rosella Platycercus eximius Grey Teal Anas gracilis Pacific Black Duck Anas superciliosa Regent Bowerbird Sericulus chrysocephalus Stubble Quail Coturnix pectoralis

46

N E V I L L E

47

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Stubble Quail Coturnix pectoralis    

48

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Black Swan Cygnus atratus  

49

Australian Shelduck Tadorna tadornoides  

Australian Shelduck Tadorna tadornoides

50

N E V I L L E

51

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Australian Shelduck Tadorna tadornoides  

52

N E V I L L E

Pacific Black Duck Anas superciliosa

53

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

 Pacific Black Duck Anas superciliosa

54

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Common Bronzewing Phaps chalcoptera  

55

Wonga Pigeon Leucosarcia melanoleuca

56

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Wonga Pigeon Leucosarcia melanoleuca

57

 Wompoo Fruit-Dove Ptilinopus magnificus

58

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Australian Pelican Pelecanus conspicillatus

59

Intermediate Egret Ardea intermedia

60

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Nankeen Night-Heron Nycticorax caledonicus  

61

Black-shouldered Kite Elanus axillaris and Musk Lorikeet Glossopsitta concinna  

62

N E V I L L E

Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax (or kite)

63

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Buff-banded Rail Gallirallus philippensis

64

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Masked Lapwing Vanellus miles

65

Comb-crested Jacana Irediparra gallinacea    

66

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Australian Painted Snipe Rostratula australis

67

68

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Latham’s Snipe Gallinago hardwickii

 Latham’s Snipe Gallinago hardwickii

69

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Cacatua galerita  

70

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Cacatua galerita

71

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Cacatua galerita and Koala Phascolarctos cinereus

72

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Cacatua galerita and Koala Phascolarctos cinereus  

73

Eastern Rosella Platycercus eximius  

74

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Azure Kingfisher Alcedo azureus

75

Laughing Kookaburra Dacelo novaeguineae

76

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Laughing Kookaburra Dacelo novaeguineae  

77

Laughing Kookaburra Dacelo novaeguineae

Laughing Kookaburra Dacelo novaeguineae

78

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Noisy Pitta Pitta versicolor

79

 

Superb Lyrebird Menura novaehollandiae

80

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Superb Lyrebird Menura novaehollandiae

81

Superb Fairy-wren Malurus cyaneus

82

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Superb Fairy-wren Malurus cyaneus

83

 

Superb Fairy-wren Malurus cyaneus

84

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Southern Emu-wren Stipiturus malachurus

85

 

Southern Emu-wren Stipiturus malachurus

86

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Red Wattlebird Anthochaera carunculata

Striated Pardalote Pardalotus striatus

87

Grey-crowned Babbler Pomatostomus temporalis

88

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Pied Butcherbird Cracticus nigrogularis (immatures)

89

Rufous Fantail Rhipidura rufifrons

90

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Willy Wagtail Rhipidura leucophrys

91

Australian Magpie Gymnorhina tibicen

92

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Magpie-lark Grallina cyanoleuca

93

Paradise Riflebird Ptiloris paradiseus

94

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

 Raggiana Bird of Paradise Paradisaea raggiana

95

Scarlet Robin Petroica boodang

96

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Welcome Swallow Hirundo neoxena

97

Mistletoebird Dicaeum hirundinaceum

98

N E V I L L E

H E N R Y

C A Y L E Y

Chestnut-breasted Mannikin Lonchura castaneothorax

9 99

Portrait of Neville Cayley c. 1936

In 1936, Cayley was elected President of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union and this photograph, published in the organisation’s journal, Emu, accompanied the minutes of the 1937 Annual General Meeting, at which he did not stand for President again.

100

NEV IL LE W I L L IAM CAY L EY

T

he inheritor of the Cayley name and mantle, Neville William Cayley, was a January baby, born in Yamba on the north coast of New South Wales in 1886. The family moved to and from Sydney several times during Cayley junior’s childhood, living in various picturesque country towns, with the result that he attended several local public schools. In 1898, they settled in the Sydney suburb of Waverley. Cayley turned 12 that year and it is possible that his parents wanted him to have stable secondary schooling. At 17, he lost his father to Bright’s disease. How the family coped can only be surmised. Certainly, art dealer William Aldenhoven, Cayley senior’s friend and sole agent for 16 years, continued to sell his original work for another 20 years. Cayley’s popular and well-coloured cards—including postcards, first produced by the New South Wales Bookstall Company in about 1904 and reprinted several times—were marketed across Australia and would have brought in royalties.

Neville William Cayley with his sisters Alice (in front) and Doris c. 1896

Neville William Cayley got his first job around the age of 17, painting go-carts for 15 shillings a week, working all day from 8 am. It soon became

This photograph was possibly taken after the itinerant family returned to Sydney in 1895, when Cayley would have been ten years old.

101

tedious. His father had put a brush in his hand at an early age but it was not until after his father’s death that he began to sketch seriously, during a recuperation lasting several months following a football injury to his leg. Prolonged home rest was then standard for broken limbs. Subsequently, Aldenhoven exhibited his paintings of birds alongside his father’s in 1905, when Cayley was 19. The younger Cayley had inherited his father’s love of nature and his first ornithological works were derivative if not imitative, much like his father’s in every way (see page 108), although without the technique. From the start Cayley distinguished himself from his father by signing as ‘Neville W. Cayley’ or ‘N.W. Cayley’. By 1906, 20-year-old Cayley had another passion—for the sea. He was one of the ‘Waverley Cavemen’ who found freedom at Cronulla, away from the more northern beaches with their restrictive dress and bathing regulations. On weekends and holidays, they set up a temporary ‘clubhouse’ in the cave at the southern end of the beach. The trip from Waverley—by train to Sutherland and then by Mrs Giddings’ horse and coach to Cronulla— took most of the day. If Mrs Giddings’ coach was not available there were plenty of other three- to five-horse coaches touting for business. The coachmen often added to the fun, racing each other to the beach. Cayley was among the enthusiasts who founded the Cronulla Surf Club. He became its first secretary in 1907 and filled that role again in 1908. The club, perhaps the first in New South Wales, quickly became a social centre. It held popular sports days. At Easter 1908 a crowd of 2,000 headed to the beach to watch the fancy

dress competition, pillow-fights (on a slippery rail), footraces and wrestling. Cayley’s team was a regular winner of the tug-of-war event. At the third annual carnival in March 1910, a fit 24 year old, Cayley won the ‘carry your chum’ race and the scratch footrace. As other clubs took off so too did interclub competitions. There was also a serious side. The surf club organised an informal lifesaving service. Indeed in February 1914 Cayley was part of a crew on duty who battled big seas to rescue five men and two girls washed out to sea. It was a time of great change in terms of beach culture. In 1907 Surf Life Saving New South Wales led protests that helped minimise the clothing requirements on beaches, however bathers still had to be covered from neck to knee. A constable was appointed to maintain decorum, but he had little luck. He would ride his bike from Kogarah. However, from a secluded place in the sandhills, the bathers kept an eye out for his tall hat and by the time he had struggled—in full uniform—over the sand, they had covered up. When he had passed, they rolled down their tops or sunbaked nude, and shot the waves. Early in 1907 the constable was moved to Cronulla and given a horse, but the authorities were beginning to face reality. By the end of the year, while other beaches were still restricting surf bathers, Cayley and his colleagues had convinced Sutherland Council to consider installing bathing sheds and a water supply. At this time Cayley was living at Cronulla. Later, according to the Sands’ Sydney Directory, his mother, Mrs L. Cayley, ran a boarding house from 1912.

102

Surf Bathing, Manly Beach, New South Wales 1900

Cayley was a dedicated member of the ‘Waverley Cavemen’, who travelled to Cronulla Beach at every opportunity to surf and sunbathe. At Cronulla, there was less risk that strict Council dress and behaviour codes would be enforced, in contrast to northern Sydney beaches such as Manly (pictured).

Duke Kahanamoku with His Famed Surfboard on Cronulla Beach, February, 1915

Cayley was a keen surfer and sunbather, regarded as somewhat scandalous activities at the time. In 1907, he was a founding member of the Cronulla Surf Club and later became a pioneer of the Surf Life Saving movement. When Duke Kahanamoku (at left) visited Australia with his revolutionary surfboard, Cayley (fifth from left) was among the excited bodysurfers who welcomed him to Cronulla.

103

Surfing was not the only thing on Cayley’s mind and from about 1918 he often took a trunk of reference bird skins home from the Australian Museum to help him finish his paintings. His method was to draw the picture quite thoroughly first before painting over it.

with a small group of female friends, gave demonstrations of surf shooting at carnivals. However, by the 1930s, the clubs had become male dominated. It was decided that women were not suitable for beach patrols because they would not be heeded; instead, they were left to organise social events. The Women’s Christian Temperance Union of New South Wales weighed in, claiming that inclusion of female participants in carnivals was ‘lowering the dignity of women’.

The clubhouse cave became two tents, then two tramcars placed end to end. Cayley lobbied for a shed for the club: not just a changing-shed, but a centre for the humanitarian service that had to be provided for the rapidly increasing numbers of swimmers and surf bathers. In 1914, as surf lifesaving became more professional, Cayley was among the first batch of certified instructors. Early the next year, 1915, Duke Kahanamoku, the famed Olympic swimmer and surfboard rider from Hawaii visited Australia, receiving much publicity and raising interest in boarding. However, it was wartime and many young men were called away, some never to return. Cayley helped to keep the surf club going and in 1918, post war, he actively revived interest by visiting the local high school and offering to train the students in rescue and resuscitation, inspiring some to join as lifesavers. The next year he proposed the formation of a swimming club at Cronulla, which, together with the Cronulla Life Saving Club (renamed in about 1921), still exists today. Cayley was made a life member of the Cronulla club in 1920. He was their representative on Surf Life Saving New South Wales, and Vice-President until 1926. He also became a member of the executive of both the Surf Life Saving Association of Australia and the Royal Life Saving Society. In the early days, Cayley’s oldest sister Alice enjoyed the athleticism and experience of the new beach life as much as Cayley did, and,

Nevertheless, postwar consumerism was on the rise and more members of the public were enjoying the pleasures and freedoms of a day at the beach, with the accoutrements to match. Late in the 1930s neck-to-knee attire gave way to one-piece swimming suits for women and trunks for men. By then, Cayley had turned his considerable energies to birds and painting. Although he never totally lost ties with the surf lifesaving movement, the illustrative and ornithological pursuits that he had been exposed to as a child would almost inevitably come to the fore. However, back in 1909, Cayley had not settled on a career path, but he was selling the occasional bird painting. That July he illustrated an article in The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser entitled The Tragedy of Mr and Mrs Jacky Winter: a moral tale involving a boy, a pearifle and a pair of nesting birds. This was possibly his first published artwork. He also contributed

Neville William Cayley, The Tragedy of Mr and Mrs Jacky Winter 1909

Cayley’s first published work appears to have been the illustration of a moral tale based around a pair of Jacky Winters, published in a July 1909 edition of The Sydney Mail. The newspaper had also employed his father as an occasional illustrator of birds.

104

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

105

C A Y L E Y

to that year’s Rowlandson’s Success: A Volume of Australian Literature, an annual published by the New South Wales Bookstall Company. Cayley provided some ‘wash’ illustrations, reproduced in black and white. They were sketches of patriotic kookaburras, two of which were full page: Night Out showed a top-hatted kookaburra clasping a bottle of beer in its feet, while in On Guard the bird sported a sailor’s cap and a scarf decorated with the Union Jack. The cap was emblazoned with the words ‘HMS Powerful’, one of the largest warships of the time and the flagship of the Royal Navy’s Australia Station. The United Kingdom was anticipating a possible war in Europe. Despite his keen interest in birds, Cayley was not yet wedded to them artistically. He attended art classes and joined a group of Sydney artists painting birds and landscapes as ‘furniture pictures’, that is, decorative works without pretension to fine art, for the walls of homes and hotels. Some of his landscapes are dated around 1916 and a botanical work, a ‘luscious collection of flannel flowers, waratahs, and wattles’, as reported in The Sydney Morning Herald, was painted in 1912. Such painting would bring Cayley a modest income, but it would be his love and knowledge of birds that would set his life’s path. His improved skills at landscape painting were never wasted though; they would later come

Neville William Cayley, Gum Trees

In the 1910s Cayley tried his hand as a landscape painter, producing pictures to hang on the walls of hotels and homes. It was not until the 1920s, when he was well into his thirties, that Cayley’s bird portraiture, particularly that produced for educational and scientific purposes, came to the fore.

106

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

above Neville William Cayley, On Guard 1909

to provide naturalistic settings for his depictions of birds.

above right Neville William Cayley, Come and Join Us 1909

On 15 December 1917 at Marrickville, 31-yearold Cayley married Beatrice Lucy Doust. Beatrice was the daughter of Herbert and Minnie Doust of Dulwich Hill, who were possibly friends of the family. The kind, gentle Beatrice was about twoand-a-half years younger than Cayley and they had both lost their fathers as teenagers. Beatrice’s father, Herbert Doust, was a well-known stock and share broker. Facing financial troubles, in January 1900 he had shot himself with a revolver, leaving a wife and four children.

Cayley was invited to provide illustrations of kookaburras for Rowlandson’s Success: A Volume of Australian Literature, which came out in the second half of 1909. In one drawing, a black-and-white version of which appeared in the second volume of the publication, Mrs Kookaburra—complete with tambourine and a copy of War Cry—is ready to spruik for the Salvation Army, while in another a kookaburra sports a Union Jack and a sailor’s cap. The drawings reveal that Cayley had inherited something of his father’s sense of humour, and also his patriotism —war was brewing.

In 1918 the Aldenhoven Art Gallery published Cayley’s first booklet, Our Birds; the originals were displayed in the Hunter Street gallery. The ribbon-tied booklet was a modest start in the field that Cayley was to make his own and the display

107

apparently was his first dedicated exhibition. The Minister for Education, Augustus James, who opened the show, averred that: Mr. Cayley possesses a fine art as a colourist, and a remarkably sympathetic style. His illustrations of bird life display much and varied charm as pictures, and his Blue Mountain landscapes will also be admired.

James took the opportunity to compare Cayley with his father, observing that ‘the original bird painter relied entirely and absolutely upon his exact definiteness of each species’, while ‘the younger man added an attractive wealth of detail to illustrate the habitat of the various feathered songsters’. The Minister also used the occasion to push the cause for the protection of birds and their habitat by educating the young. As a Sydney Morning Herald reporter noted, James had expressed the view that: It was much to be wished that propertyowners in large cities would preserve, instead of destroying and replacing with foreign trees, the natural homes of the birds … [which are] only saved by such places as the National and Centennial parks … In his boyhood hunting the birds with a catapult was regarded as the right and proper thing to do; but with the aid of nature studies a change of opinion had been cultivated at the State schools, and it was surprising how much was known of the fauna and flora of the country.

The eight-leaf Our Birds featured seven popular species (a fairy-wren, robins, a finch, a honeyeater, a whistler and the Budgerigar), illustrated perched on a native plant and with

Neville William Cayley, Duck in Flight Being Shot 1907

Cayley’s early works were very similar to his father’s, but not as technically skilled. This dying Black Duck echoed Cayley senior’s first really successful and most popular image (see page 23).

108

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

Neville William Cayley, covers of Our Fowers (1918) and Our Birds (1918)

Even Cayley’s earliest publications, starting with Our Birds and Our Flowers in 1918, were aimed at educating the public about Australian birds and nature. They were small, attractive, coloured booklets, published by the man who had been his father’s agent, William Aldenhoven. While they look modest today, at the time there was little else to fill that niche.

109

C A Y L E Y

a few lines on distribution, behaviour and habitat. It was followed shortly after by another little book—Our Flowers—one of Cayley’s few strictly botanical works. Released for Christmas 1918, Our Flowers contained seven illustrations of wildflowers with brief notes and a plea for the plants’ preservation by Mr G. Hamilton of the Sydney Teachers College. The modest publications were a tentative step towards Cayley’s later, more ambitious, educational projects. Cayley was soon to suffer one of several losses in his personal life. In January 1919, his first child, a son, was stillborn. But the next year, things looked up. He and Beadie (Beatrice) were living at Granville, where she gave birth to their first surviving son, the third Neville Cayley. They named him Neville Clive Cayley. Around that time Cayley was becoming more involved with the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU). In October 1919 he had joined about 60 delegates at the annual congress in Brisbane, the first such gettogether since 1914 and the First World War. As reported in the organisation’s journal, Emu, the dry conditions ensured a good collection of birds around the destination of the ‘Waterworks’. Cayley and his friends went off in pursuit of Lambert’s Blue Wren (Variegated Fairy-wren) and returned to the others ‘perspiring but happy’. They excitedly reported that they had found two pairs nesting close together and that Cayley had made an impression by ‘emitting the well-known chirp, [which] drew the mother to his hand to fearlessly feed her young’. The delegates agreed that there was such a strong and growing interest in birds that the need for

a comprehensive guide was becoming critical. They acknowledged that Gregory Mathews was part way into his costly 12-volume publication The Birds of Australia (1910–1927), but that what was lacking was a book accessible to everyone. Required too was a checklist—a list of all species in Australia with their common and scientific names. The meeting welcomed the news that Cayley had determined to produce a bird book— to be issued in 60 monthly parts and illustrated with hand-coloured plates. In turn, the RAOU determined to assist. In October 1920 Cayley’s intended publisher, George Robertson of Angus & Robertson, Sydney, held an exhibition of some of the drawings for the imminent book, unimaginatively titled Birds of Australia. May Gibbs’ drawings for Little Ragged Blossom, and More about Snugglepot and Cuddlepie were also on show. The brainchild of Robertson, the bird book was to be edited by Albert Sherbourne Le Souëf, the first director of Sydney’s Taronga Park Zoo, and nature writer Charles Barrett, of Victoria. Cayley’s illustrations were a great selling point. The announcement in The Sydney Morning Herald promised that: ‘Many of these drawings are very beautiful, and will be appreciated even by people having no special degree of ornithological knowledge. The colouring is exquisite’. There were nine paintings of birds including ‘quails, flycatchers, finches’, as well as some ‘well executed’ eggs. Bird lovers across the country greatly anticipated the much-needed publication. Cayley had also begun to supply illustrations for Emu. The first appeared in October 1920: a plate illustrating the Yellow-spotted Honeyeater and Lesser Yellowspotted Honeyeater (now known as the Graceful

110

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

Honeyeater) to accompany an article on birds of the Torres Strait Islands.

with Victorian birds, a frustration for users in other states.

By October 1921 there was no sign of the muchanticipated book and questions were being asked. A Queensland newspaper, The Morning Bulletin, complained that ‘nothing definite can be elicited’ of the ‘long-promoted’ book. The reporter was an admirer of Cayley’s work and revealed the supposed reason for the delay in his wish that ‘the price of art paper would drop in a hurry so that the publishers could get to work’.

The year 1923 was an emotional one for Cayley, ending with two weddings and a funeral. In September, the Cayleys’ long-term agent and supporter William Aldenhoven died. The sensitive and entrepreneurial Aldenhoven had wholeheartedly represented the Cayleys since Neville junior’s birth in 1886. It was Aldenhoven who had put the Cayleys’ name on the map as Australia’s premier painters of birds.

Angus & Robertson continued with their regular promotion of the imminent book. Cayley’s name became even more prominently associated with the project, even though there were many other contributors. Early in 1922, Donald Macdonald, journalist and nature writer for The Argus (Victoria) was calling it ‘Cayley’s Bird Book’, which, he wrote, the publishing house ‘have in hand for early issue’ in 60 parts. The publication would cover all that was known about Australian birds and their habits, unlike Mathews’ book, which was largely taxonomic in purpose. The illustrations would not be stiff depictions of skins from museum cabinets; rather, they promised to be lifelike, showing the birds in action and in appropriate habitat.

In November, Cayley and a number of other birdmen travelled to Brisbane for the nuptials of ornithologist, author and Gould League supporter Alec Chisholm. A pair of lovebirds by Cayley decorated the reception menus. The two men had possibly first met in person at the 1919 RAOU congress, held in Brisbane, where Chisholm was then working as a journalist. As a wedding gift, the local branch of the RAOU ordered a complete set of Cayley’s anticipated book The Birds of Australia. The Brisbane Courier reported that, on presentation, with his usual biting wit, Chisholm: expressed appreciation of the novel but excellent wedding present—novel because it does not yet exist, and excellent because

The next year, a Victorian, John Albert Leach, relieved the pressure somewhat with An Australian Bird Book: A Pocket Book for Field Use, the first field guide for the nation. It was snapped up by bird lovers and Leach added to it for a 1926 revision. Nonetheless, as welcome as it was, and despite the revised edition’s new subtitle A Complete Guide to the Identification of Australian Birds, Leach’s guide was concerned primarily

111

it would be essential, he said, that he should have the works when published.

Then, on New Year’s Eve, Cayley’s sister, Alice, wed the dashing Jack Castle Harris, four years her junior. Both were from artistic families. They had met in Sydney in the early 1920s when Castle Harris was making punched, embossed leather tablecloths in Coogee and Alice was selling her own watercolours of birds. The tall, slender Alice may have lost an earlier beau in 1918 (Herbert

Hanson). Castle Harris—also tall—was blonde and blue-eyed, loved the outdoors and had a fine baritone voice, occasionally performing on the radio. He had been discharged from the military after suffering a gunshot wound on the Western Front. Castle Harris was to go on to take lessons in clay modelling from his cousin Una Deerbon in the 1930s. Alice and her husband visited Una in Melbourne and Castle worked informally with her at the Deerbon School of Pottery while he was employed at Premier Pottery (working on the ‘Remued’ lines). By the late 1930s the couple was back in Sydney, where Castle Harris established his own studio producing distinctive earthenware. Alice is thought to have inspired his use of Australian fauna and flora as motifs. He made gift pieces rather than functional ware: pots and vases entwined with gumnuts, flannel flowers, frill-necked lizards and platypuses. In about 1946 the pair moved the studio to the beautiful town of Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains, and then to nearby Lawson. Alice died at Katoomba in 1960, and Castle Harris at Wahroonga in 1967. Castle Harris’ chunky, vibrant pottery is now collectable, while Alice’s paintings can still be found in collections and art sale houses. Her watercolours are more delicate and decorative versions of her father’s work: kookaburras, finches, wrens and honeyeaters, even a version of Dignity and Impudence. While her father gave some indication of natural habitat in his paintings, Alice’s compositions are somewhat oriental, focused on a loosely painted, centralised background of ornamental branches or grasses. None of her work is dated but, if the few newspaper advertisements for her watercolours

Alice R. Cayley, Scarlet Honeyeater (Myzomela sanguinolenta) 1920s

Cayley senior informally taught his children to paint. Around the 1920s, Cayley’s sister Alice made delicate little paintings of pretty birds. Her birds are similar in attitude to her father’s, but she had her own slightly abstract, oriental approach.

112

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

are anything to go by, she gave up painting in the late 1920s.

C A Y L E Y

I firmly believe that all (to me imaginary) obstacles can be washed away and we can retreat back to that happy state of affairs

Among those eagerly awaiting Cayley’s big bird book was Donald Macdonald, whose newspaper byline was ‘one of Australia’s greatest nature lovers’. In 1922, Macdonald expected the book would be ‘the last word for many generations ahead’. He praised Angus & Robertson for supporting work by Australian practitioners, when other publishers favoured more established English and European authors. ‘Everybody concerned seems to have caught something of the spirit and purpose which animated Mr. George Robertson in fathering this very fine publication,’ Macdonald wrote in an article for The Argus. The book, he said, would be a credit to Australia.

which existed between us not so very long ago.

With sufficient material in hand for at least 12 parts, making up three volumes, Cayley assured Robertson that he was confident that ‘we have enough to start publishing right away’. He proposed a plan whereby four volumes a year might be issued, which would complete the project five years from the publication of the first volume, signing off: ‘My name, which is my honour, is in your hands’. A 12-page statement of progress was attached to Cayley’s missive.

The enthusiastic Macdonald made the perceptive observation that Cayley ‘has his own impressions and convictions, which while they are not always in harmony with the authorities, he may none the less be able to maintain’. Indeed, dissention among the contributors and Cayley’s intransigence proved to be the project’s undoing. Discovering that Cayley’s Birds of Australia was even further off than anticipated, and frustrated by the many excuses, the great expense and the ever-increasing complaints from the primary contributors, George Robertson tried to salvage the project. He held meetings with the main players and proposed a way forward. Archibald J. Campbell, a leading Melbourne ornithologist, was now overseeing the science and Barrett the editing. Just before Christmas 1923, Cayley was still hopeful of proceeding as usual, writing to Robertson:

113

It is clear from examining this statement that the undertaking was overly ambitious. Already under way were paintings of the various plumages and habitats of every Australian species, supplementary pen-and-ink sketches, drawings of feather shapes, markings and bills, and a glossary of related terminology. Colour charts, by watercolourist Francesco (Francis) Salvatore Rodriguez, were nearly finished; with the help of Rodriguez, many of the plates of eggs had also been completed. An article by palaeontologist Frederick Chapman on extinct (fossil) birds was ready, although Cayley had yet to do the illustrations. Maps and migratory routes by Tom Iredale were nearly done; the general glossary, Campbell’s key to identification and egg sections were yet to be written; and 2,000 photos had been gathered by appeal to the public. Crayon drawings of genera had been held up by the ‘side-stepping actions of the RAOU Check list committee’. Many sections—Cayley took pains to point out—were novel; he claimed several times that an item was ‘another new idea of mine’. Not least, he was unwilling to drop any of it.

Cayley waited anxiously for a reply and when he had not heard back he wrote impatiently on 11 January 1924 asking why, writing pleadingly, ‘I have my family to consider and wish to make arrangements to carry on my profession’. Perhaps to reassure Robertson of his commitment, he added that he had been busy preparing prompt cards for promotional talks suitable for journalists, lawyers, doctors, pastoralists, schools of art, and so forth. On 14 January Robertson, just returned from a summer break, responded firmly: ‘I have no intention of discussing the matter, even briefly. There has been far too much of that already’. Robertson advised Cayley to let Campbell and Barrett carry on until the end of the year, while he, Cayley, got on with his drawing. He hoped that by then ‘the situation will have cleared, and we will be in a position to start printing and publishing without fear of being hung up’. Robertson knew Cayley well, ending the brief letter with some sage advice:

Angus & Robertson Booksellers, Castlereagh Street, Sydney 1920s

The offices and storefront of Angus & Robertson booksellers were in Castlereagh Street, Sydney. The firm, led by George Robertson, promoted Australian authors, including Cayley. Apart from a few years in the mid-1920s, after Cayley had been ejected over differences with Robertson over the ‘Big Bird Book’, their partnership was productive.

Now don’t argue. Do your work, and let Campbell and Barrett do theirs, and I have no doubt that by the end of the year our path will be clear of the impediments which at present beset it.

On 18 January 1924 Cayley wrote to Robertson that he was pleased that the project was proceeding and thanked him, ‘the more so since my native buoyancy has suffered of late’. Still, he ventured, he would like to ‘submit one or two points’. Ignoring Robertson’s advice, his argumentative ‘points’ stretched the letter to three pages and included a request for an increase in annual salary to 500 pounds.

Cayley’s impertinence, his ‘native buoyancy’, was the last straw for Robertson, who, a few days later, sent a terse letter of reply. It stated firmly that he was already paying Cayley 97 pounds 10 shillings a year and regarded his claim as ungrateful. Hence, wrote Robertson: ‘I have decided to abandon the project … our business relations now come to an end’.

114

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

In little over a month, four years of intense and costly work had unravelled. Still, Cayley could not believe it. He seemed surprised, describing it as ‘a knock out’ blow, but thanking Robertson for his kindness and generosity. Again, he argued. Robertson’s curt reply chided, ‘why write long letters dragging in extraneous matter, and hinting at ulterior motives’. His decision, Robertson explained, was based on ‘the unsettled state of the ornithological world’. At some stage in the unfolding of these events, Cayley was famously ordered off the publisher’s premises.

C A Y L E Y

Duck’. Should the much-loved names Jacky Winter and Willy Wagtail make way for the more informative Brown Flycatcher and Black and White Fantail? Individuals defended their views on the identification, naming and ordering of species and subspecies with great ferocity. The result, as far as the bird book was concerned, was an everchanging list of birds with which to grapple.

The end was announced to the public in the April 1924 issue of Emu, with a discreet notice stating that ‘we sincerely regret that, owing to unforeseen circumstances, we have been compelled to abandon the publication of Cayley’s Birds of Australia’. There were a few complaints and wide disappointment, for the work had been eagerly anticipated and most amateur and professional ornithologists had contributed in some way to the project. Apart from Cayley’s overblown enthusiasm, the RAOU checklist had been at the heart of the strife—the ‘unsettled state’ and ‘sidestepping actions’ of the ornithological community that Robertson and Cayley had referred to in correspondence. The compilation of a checklist was guaranteed to be controversial given the range of views on bird species and their names. Aside from the scientific considerations, many common names had long been in use. Different names were also used in different parts of the country, which raised the sticky problem of which name was to take precedence. Wars were waged over such issues as whether the common name of the Black Duck, with its grey-brown plumage, should be changed instead to ‘Grey

There had also been clashes between Cayley and some of the main players, certainly the checklistchampioning Campbell and the taciturn Barrett. Cayley’s sense of ownership was understandable after so many years of involvement with, and input into, the publication, not to mention the fact that his name had been so prominently attached to the project. However, the book had been Robertson’s idea and, according to Cayley’s friend Alec Chisholm, Cayley could get people offside with his strident opinions. Campbell, an elder in the Presbyterian church, called for concerned ornithologists to pray for ‘divine intervention’ to change Robertson’s mind. But none was forthcoming and Robertson, who had been supportive for far longer than he could afford, had had enough. Robertson, however, had apparently decided to salvage what he could. He took the opportunity to announce in a letter to the editor of Emu that Angus & Robertson intended to publish Australian Bird Biographies. Beginning early in 1925, it would be issued in parts and would contain illustrations of eggs of nearly every species and engravings from photographs. Robertson was prepared to take risks to promote Australian work and was generally repaid, though not in this case: Australian Bird Biographies, using the material in hand from the abandoned bird book, never eventuated.

115

Despite the altercations and financial loss, Robertson did not hold a grudge. He was fond of Cayley and his wife Beatrice. When Beatrice died suddenly in 1927, Robertson generously organised for some money to be forwarded to Cayley. The humbled Cayley sent ‘heartfelt thanks’ and admitted that he was lonely and dreaded ‘the long nights’. Tragically, Cayley’s beloved Beatrice, who Chisholm described as ‘a good and gallant woman’, had delivered a stillborn daughter in January and had died soon after, aged just 38. When Beatrice died, Neville Clive was six and a second son, Glenn Digby, born in 1924, was two. It must have been hard for Cayley to keep up his ornithological travels and work. His mother Lois moved into his Rose Bay house to help, and remained there until about 1938. When the boys were old enough, they were sent to boarding school and never really got to know their father well.

Anthony Musgrave, ‘Bird Picnic’ Groups, Wallarobba 1926

Cayley had been a core member of the RAOU from the time he began his association with the group. In 1922, he was secretary of the newly formed New South Wales branch (which was also the ornithological section of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales). At the Adelaide Congress that year, he represented New South Wales and was praised for not only presenting the sole report for any state, but for ‘a magnificent piece of work’ when he reported that the group had successfully stopped timber felling in the beautiful, eucalypt-covered and rainforested National Park in Sydney (now Royal National Park). Cayley described to the meeting how it had been discovered that the Trustees for the park had signed a contract with a coal company for

In 1925 members of the New South Wales branch of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union were invited to a bird picnic to celebrate the declaration of Wallarobba Sanctuary, near Barrington Tops. The branch had been instrumental in securing the area as a sanctuary for birds and other wildlife. Cayley and five other members made the trip and in subsequent years Cayley returned to the district to sketch birds.

the felling of the park’s timber on a large scale. He stated that the destruction would be:

116

disastrous, not only to the value of the reserve, as an example of virgin forest, but to the existence of the birds and animals for which it was supposed to be a sanctuary.

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

The branch had raised a deputation of likeminded societies that had been successful in stopping the logging and in having the Board of Trustees restructured. Cayley, an effective advocate for surf lifesaving, was becoming a voice for the birds.

above Title page of Feathered Minstrels of Australia (1926) by A.H. Chisholm and N.W. Cayley

Early in 1925, the New South Wales branch of the RAOU received another cry for help, this time from Mrs J.J. de Warren of Dungog. She and a few neighbours wanted to have their properties declared a sanctuary, but their application to the Chief Secretary had been refused. The RAOU rallied and presented the Minister with ample evidence of the area’s

From the late 1920s, and throughout the 1930s, Cayley’s most productive years, he published widely, both as an author and illustrator. His works include several booklets aimed at reaching an ever-broader audience in order to educate them about birds.

above left Cover of Australian Birds and Flowers (1938) by Neville Cayley

117

significance for bird life, including its proximity to Barrington Tops. The decision was reversed. To celebrate the declaration of Wallarobba Sanctuary, Cayley and others were invited to a bird picnic. In October, a party of six Sydney members took the train to Dungog, arriving at midnight. They were met by their hosts and ferried to various homesteads. The properties may not have been quite as hoped—they had mostly been cleared for grazing and dairy farming. This is evident in a photograph of the happy gathering taken by Cayley’s friend Anthony Musgrave, an entomologist at the Australian Museum who had studied art under Julian Ashton. However, in the more wooded areas birds were plentiful and some of the locals suggested that rarities, such as the Turquoise Parrot and Plains-wanderer, occurred in the area occasionally, though they were not in evidence on the day. Cayley befriended the locals and returned several times, possibly to the de Warrens’ property, to paint. But advocacy did not pay the bills. In 1925 Cayley began to write a weekly article for The Sydney Mail. It brought him a small but regular income. The Our Birds series, illustrated with pen-and-ink sketches, aimed to cover the habits of popular birds and rarities. Cayley was billed as ‘a member of the British and Australian Ornithologists’ Union’. The series started in the second week of January 1925 with flightless birds—the Emu, the Cassowary and penguins. Rarities included the Scarlet-chested Parrot, Turquoise Parrot and Bourke’s Parrots, all of which appeared in the second-last article in the series. A new series began immediately, in May 1926. Like its predecessor, Feathered Minstrels of the Bush also started with an odd combination: it featured the Masked Gannet (not much of a

songster!) and the more melodic Grey Shrikethrush. Someone, perhaps Cayley himself, had taken photos of the gannet, which accompanied the article. The shrike-thrush was illustrated, as was to be usual, in grey tones, which reproduced more attractively than the spare sketches in Cayley’s previous series. The final minstrels were the honeyeaters, appearing at the end of March 1928. At the same time that Cayley was writing his regular column, he was working on a similarly themed booklet with text by his friend Alec Chisholm: Feathered Minstrels of Australia. Its purpose, Chisholm wrote, was to ‘render some justice to the vocal abilities of certain birds of Australia’, which tended to be eclipsed in the minds of many Australians by the birds of ‘home’—that is, England. The intention was to publish a series of four booklets, but only the first, its release timed for Christmas 1926, saw the light of day. The articles covered six songsters: ‘Lyre-tail: a Master Mocker’, ‘The Flashing Magpie’, ‘The Grey Thrush: The Woman’s Bird’, ‘The Australian Skylark’ (Horsfield’s Bushlark), the White-throated Gerygone and the Silvereye. With a bit of artistic licence, Cayley drew the birds singing their hearts out with beaks wide open. In 1926, Cayley’s charming children’s book The Tale of ‘Bluey’ Wren came out. Published by Lonsdale and Bartholomew, the book was written and illustrated by Cayley. His oldest son Neville Clive was then four, so Cayley may have tried out the story on him, but it was aimed at an older age group. The text was both appealing and educational: The eggs of Blue Wrens, and all other kinds of Wrens, take about fourteen days

118

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

Neville William Cayley, The Tale of ‘Bluey’ Wren c. 1926

Henry Luke White, Photograph of Neville Cayley, Archibald Campbell and Sidney Jackson, 22 May, 1921

Aimed at educating children about birds, The Tale of ‘Bluey’ Wren came out in 1926.

In preparation for Angus & Robertson’s ‘Big Bird Book’, Cayley (at left) worked with Archibald J. Campbell (centre), who oversaw the science, and Sidney Jackson (at right), curator of the H.L. White Collection, who supplied him with eggs to illustrate. This photograph was taken by White in the garden of his property, Belltrees, at Scone, in 1921.

to hatch. So Bluey was kept on alert for two weeks. Then the shells broke and the babes appeared. What naked, ugly mites they were, with mouths as big as their fat little bodies! But in a very short time feathers began to show, and at three weeks old they were as

119

fluffy as powder puffs. Then they were ready to leave the nest.

Cayley charted Bluey’s adventures as he courted Jenny Wren, chose a site and built a nest, did his share of incubation, bathed and preened, fended off rivals and would-be predators, fed the demanding chicks and generally made himself ‘useful’ by eating insects and gracing gardens. Some of the illustrations of birds and eggs (see portfolio section) that Cayley had painted for his much-touted but abandoned bird book, teamed with many black-and-white sketches by his late father (by permission of the Trustees of the Australian Museum), were at last published in Angus & Robertson’s two volume work The Illustrated Australian Encyclopaedia (1925–1926). Gregory Mathews’ taxonomy was applied, which gave Cayley more species to worry about than was necessary. For example, in the plate featuring the eggs of thornbills there are 18 species, only 11 of which are currently recognised. It was typical of Mathews to split species into two on the slimmest suggestion of any variation. Cayley and Rodriguez developed a method for producing very lifelike illustrations of eggs. The eggs were first photographed and their exact shapes transferred to the sheet; they were then handcoloured to match the specimens and the appropriate shadows were spray-painted on. Cayley travelled to the home of the great collector Henry Luke White, who had some 4,200 clutches of Australian bird eggs. At Belltrees, Scone, White’s somewhat eccentric but talented curator and field collector, Sidney Jackson, looked after Cayley. The two thoroughly enjoyed themselves, baiting each other like

schoolboys. Cayley would apologise to Jackson for accidently smashing some unique set of eggs, presenting him with a crumbling clutch of worthless shells in support of his subterfuge. In return, Jackson would place a large artificial spill of ink or a glowing imitation cigar on one of Cayley’s finished paintings. In the late 1920s, after receiving the note from George Robertson following Beatrice’s death, Cayley felt that he could once again enter the offices of Angus & Robertson. He sought out Robertson and tearily thanked him. Robertson may have been expecting him, because he immediately told the startled Cayley that he could start again, adding half-jocularly that ‘I shall be glad, Cayley, if you do not get in my way any more than you can possibly help’. Robertson, well aware that an Australian bird book was long overdue, had given Cayley another chance. This time the initial outlay was not a problem: the New South Wales branch of the influential Gould League of Bird Lovers had agreed to sponsor a field guide to birds, and Cayley was the best man for the job. The Gould League of Bird Lovers had been established in 1909 in Victoria, to promote the protection of birds and to discourage egg theft, a reaction to the popularity of egg collecting and pea-guns among boys. Named for the ‘father of Australian ornithology’, John Gould, the League promoted appreciation and understanding of birds. It actively countered the culture of killing birds for sport and campaigned for the establishment of nature reserves. Its President was the Prime Minister, the Hon. Alfred Deakin, and one of the main sponsors was the Australasian Ornithologists Union (later Royal Australasian

120

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

Ornithologists Union), also formed in Victoria the same year. The League declared an annual Bird Day, similar to the already-established Arbor Day. The first Bird Day was held on 29 October 1909, during which schools throughout Victoria celebrated birds through various events and contests, including essay and sketching competitions. There were even prizes for the first boy or girl to induce a wild bird to land on them. A great many children paid the membership fee of a penny, taking the pledge to protect native birds and to not take their eggs. The League was soon producing educational material and also ran field days for the public. By the second Bird Day membership was approaching 30,000 and in 1911 it was almost 50,000. The idea took off next in Tasmania and Queensland and multiple branches sprang up across those states. New South Wales held its inaugural Bird Day in October 1911; two years later its membership topped 25,000. The League was a hugely successful concept that soon garnered patronage in high places, from governors, premiers and ministers. In 1938, the centenary of John Gould’s arrival in Australia, current membership across the four states was estimated to be three-quarters of a million. In New South Wales, the Department of Education embraced the idea and teachers were encouraged to involve their pupils. The head of that department was almost always the President of the League. From the 1930s the movement was regularly assisted by Cayley’s involvement— in particular by his contribution of artwork, which appeared on membership certificates and in the magazines and educational sheets that

C A Y L E Y

went out to members and schools. However, their earliest collaboration may have been in 1920 when the League published a description and illustration of the Malleefowl by Cayley in its Supplement to the Education Gazette. Thanks to the League, in the late 1920s Cayley was busy writing and illustrating what was to become his magnum opus: What Bird Is That? A Guide to the Birds of Australia. This time, there was much less fanfare about its preparation, and it was by Cayley alone, although he received considerable help from his colleague, the respected amateur ornithologist Keith Hindwood. In order to avoid the fate of its predecessor, What Bird Is That? was limited in scope—that is, manageable in terms of its completion. It was to be a field guide, with every species illustrated, the meaning of each species’ scientific name explained, and brief descriptive text on the bird’s ‘distribution’, ‘nest’ and ‘eggs’, with ‘notes’ setting out other names, characteristic behaviours and diet. The guide was laid out in such a way that, it was hoped, it would be easy for anyone to identify the birds they saw. The precursor can be seen in Cayley’s series for The Sydney Mail. He presented the birds largely categorised according to their main habitat: birds of lakes, streams and swamps; of ocean and seashore; of heath and undergrowth; of shores and river margins; of blossoms and outer foliage; of mangroves; of open forest; of brushes and big scrubs, and so on. The book was warmly welcomed, although there were initial doubts about its worth and saleability. It was not Cayley’s finest work illustratively: the images of birds were tiny, a dozen or more to a page, and the layout was quirky: rather than grouping birds together in Families, for instance, they were organised according to

121

Neville William Cayley, Some Birds of the Heath and Undergrowth 1931

A typical plate from Cayley’s What Bird Is That? (1931), which was the first field guide to the nation’s birds and had no competitors for three decades. The book was revolutionary: it was affordable and it allowed anyone to identify the birds they saw—the first publication to do so. It has been revised, reformatted and republished many times since.

122

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

habitat. As expected, disagreement over bird names continued. Cayley, for example, chose the clumsy ‘Lyrebird Menura’ over ‘Superb Lyrebird’, and used the name ‘Albert Menura’ in preference to ‘Albert’s Lyrebird’. However, at least some reviewers considered that despite Cayley’s overuse of the hyphen, his ‘Dollar-bird’, ‘Heathwren’, and ‘Log-runner’ were an improvement on the checklist’s ‘Eastern Broad Billed Roller’, ‘Chestnut-tailed Ground Wren’ and ‘Southern Chowchilla’, respectively.

Despite its faults, the guide eventually took off to become the most popular and persistent bird book ever likely to be produced in Australia, if not the world. At last Australians had a reasonably priced book that would allow them to identify the birds that they encountered. The Gould League of Bird Lovers, an organisation concerned with birdwatching and education, had accomplished what the RAOU, with its concern for scientific rigour, could not.

Dust jacket of Australian Parrots: Their Habits in the Field and Aviary (1938) by Neville W. Cayley

Neville William Cayley, a sketch of an Eastern Rosella and an inscription to W.G. Cousins, 30 August 1938, in a copy of Australian Parrots: Their Habits in the Field and Aviary

The title was ingenious—the memorable What Bird Is That?. The phrase was often used in a

123

above Neville William Cayley, Seven Little Australians 1931

The title Seven Little Australians and the attitudes of Cayley’s kookaburra group were reminiscent of his father’s wry approach to the subject. The picture was one of several illustrations produced for Dorothy Drewett’s book Laughing Jack, The Kookaburra, for young readers. Both Cayley and Drewett were members of the Fellowship of Australian Writers. right Neville William Cayley, The Birds Take Flight 1934

The Sydney Mail of 14 February 1934 published an article about the opening of the duck-shooting season and asked Cayley to provide an illustration, just as his father had been asked to illustrate its ending in 1889 (see page 19).

124

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

popular dinner table game in the 1860s and 1870s that was based on paragrams (verbal puns). A question would be asked to which the other players had to try to come up with an answer—for example, what bird is that which it is absolutely necessary we should have at our dinner, and yet need neither be cooked nor served up? A swallow. What bird is that whose number, singular or plural, is difficult to determine? The cock-atoo—that is, the cock or two. But, of course, ‘No question is more frequently on the lips of bushlovers’, as G. Ross Thomas, head of the Department of Education, stated in the foreword to Cayley’s book, ‘occasioned by the bird on the wing, or on the tree in quiet contemplation, or by the lilt of a song. No question could be more spontaneous’. Nevertheless, the inspiration for the catchy title was probably the now forgotten American publication What Bird Is That?, subtitled A Pocket Museum of the Land Birds of the Eastern United States Arranged According to Season. The contents of that book too were clearly influential. It had, for example, a ‘map’ of the parts of a bird and attractive little illustrations of 301 birds by Edmund J. Sawyer, arranged many to a page in ‘cabinets’ according to season and migratory status, such as the ‘Winter Land Birds of the Southern United States’. The all-Australian What Bird Is That? was launched on the Gould League’s Bird Day celebration for 1931. In return for sponsorship Cayley assigned four-tenths of his 10 per cent royalty to the League. With the initially slow sales, royalties were meagre and in 1935 the cash-strapped Cayley offered to sell his share of the royalty to the League for 300 pounds. Reluctantly, the League’s Council agreed. In

C A Y L E Y

time it proved a bad decision on Cayley’s part. Sales were poor at first but, thanks to United States servicemen who were on R and R in Australia during the Second World War, books flew out the door as souvenirs, and royalties came rolling in to the League. Perhaps, too, the increase in sales was evidence of the success of the League in educating children to appreciate birds, as those children grew into adults and joined the book-buying market. The League made good use of the funds for its conservation and educational activities and on Bird Day 1935 announced an annual scholarship in memory of Cayley’s father, to be established with the royalties that Cayley had handed over to the League. The Cayley Memorial Scholarship, initially valued at 50 pounds, was tenable for two years. It aimed to facilitate research into ornithological issues and, for the next 75 years, assisted many students. Cayley was involved in another book for the Gould League’s Bird Day of 1935, which was distributed to every public school in New South Wales. Published by Angus & Robertson, Feathered Friends again had a foreword by Thomas. A general introduction to Australian birds by Chisholm was followed by six articles by well-known ornithologists and naturalists. Cayley edited the publication, contributed an engaging article on the Blue Wren (now the Superb Fairywren) and provided several coloured illustrations. That year the League also introduced the annual Gould League Notes, a magazine that was also distributed to every public school in the state, and to private schools with membership, until 1967. Well into the 1940s Cayley provided gratuitously the descriptive notes and the illustration of

125

a featured bird for the coloured plate that brightened each issue.

above Neville William Cayley, Ground and Night Parrots 1934

The build-up to the abandoned bird book had brought Cayley some extra renown but, once freed from the burdensome task, he soared away. The late 1920s and the 1930s were exceptionally busy and productive times. He began work on a series of new books, painting and writing at such a pace that a new Cayley publication came out almost every year during the 1930s. Beginning with What Bird Is That? (1931), over this period he researched, wrote and illustrated three further substantial works: Australian Finches in Bush and Aviary (1932), Budgerigars in Bush and Aviary (1933) and Australian Parrots: Their Habits in the Field and Aviary (1938), all published by Angus & Robertson.

above left Neville William Cayley, Wedge-tailed Eagle 1934

Cayley also completed another large illustrative project, What Butterfly Is That? (1932) by Gustavus Athol Waterhouse, a prominent

Cayley’s illustrations were used and reused to illustrate many articles on nature, a popular subject at the time. He provided a picture of a Wedge-tailed Eagle to illustrate an article by Charles Barrett for a Weekly Times Wild Nature Series, published on 14 July 1934 as a supplement to The Weekly Times of Melbourne. The illustration was republished, along with several others from the series, in The Weekly Times Wild Nature Book (1934), which had articles on a mixture of Australian and international animals. Similarly, Cayley painted the rare and elusive Night Parrot behind a Ground Parrot to illustrate the differences between the two birds. The illustration was used several times, including by Cayley’s colleague Charles Barrett, who reproduced it to illustrate his Weekly Times publications (1931–1934) and again in his 1949 book Parrots of Australia.

126

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

entomologist based at the Australian Museum. The 34 plates depicted some 339 species of butterfly in colour. It showed their upper and lower wings and depicted the two sexes where they differed. It also included black-and-white illustrations of larvae. Cayley’s father had also painted butterflies and moths.

father’s propensity to coin sentimental titles: a pair of kookaburras is captioned Love’s Old Sweet Song, while a group gathered along a branch is Seven Little Australians (see page 124).

Both Cayley and his father also produced illustrations for newspapers. Cayley junior completed several such pictures in the 1930s. His finches graced The Sydney Mail calendar for 1932. In 1934 he provided a black-andwhite drawing for The Sydney Mail to illustrate an article on the opening of the duck-shooting season, just as his father had done to indicate the end of the season 45 years before (see page 19). Cayley junior’s sketch, entitled The Birds Take Flight, showed the ducks fleeing, whereas his father’s was more graphic. The difference demonstrates the shift in public attitudes that the Cayleys themselves had helped bring about. As the President of the Gould League pointed out in 1936: Although some of the paintings of the late Neville Cayley, depicting dead birds, would possibly arouse adverse criticism to-day, it must be remembered that his last work was done 15 years before the introduction of the Bird Protection Act.

When, in 1931, Alec Chisholm and Dorothy Drewett jointly published a children’s volume that combined Chisolm’s Hail, the Kookaburra, on the bird’s biology, with Drewett’s Laughing Jack, the Kookaburra, a biologically accurate narrative about the merry, murderous habits of a party of kookaburras, Cayley provided some of the illustrations. He displayed a touch of his

C A Y L E Y

During the 1930s Cayley also provided illustrations for publications that included: Youth Annual (1930), a collection of verse and stories by notable Australian writers; Australian Birds and Blossoms (1931) and several other Sun Nature Books by Charles Barrett, published between 1931 and 1936; Water Life (1934), a 43-page Sun Nature Book by Charles Barrett, Gilbert Whitley and Tom Iredale; Australian Birds and Flowers (1938), a 28-page supplement to The Sydney Morning Herald; and Some Australian Birds (1934), a small book of poems by W.H. Honey. He wrote and illustrated an article on parrots for the 1937 Australia To-day, an annual publication by the United Commercial Travellers Association of Australia. The publication, and Cayley’s article, aimed to promote Australia, and Cayley’s contribution appeared together with pieces on Australian development by the Prime Minister, Joe Lyons, and on civil aviation by the Controller-General of Civil Aviation, again illustrating how successfully birds had been placed on the national agenda. In 1938 Cayley also found time to illustrate menus for the Orient Liner SS Orana. The various birds were captioned ‘the Australian scarlet-breasted robin’, ‘long-tailed grass finches’, ‘Gouldian painted grass finches’, ‘rosella parrakeets’, ‘cockatiels’ and ‘rufous-fronted fantails’. Among various other painting and publishing projects, Cayley also continued his regular illustrations and descriptive notes for the Gould League and illustrations for Emu. As an expert on, and advocate for, nature, he sent

127

letters to the editor of various newspapers drawing attention to items of interest such as the mass bird deaths in a 1932 heatwave in Queensland and, also in Queensland, the slaughter of koalas and possums for their fur. Despite the Great Depression of the very first years of the 1930s, Cayley kept producing illustrations and text for books and Angus & Robertson kept publishing his work. As did other nations, Australia suffered years of high unemployment, poverty, low profits, plunging incomes, and lost opportunities for economic growth and personal advancement. Recovery began in 1932, but took some years. Still, what The West Australian called the ‘phenomenal output of books by Australian writers’ in 1930 continued into 1931, which was summarised by the newspaper as: ‘a year of difficulty, for the bookbuying public, and of anxiety for the book-sellers’. Nevertheless, the article continued, it had been ‘a year of notable activity, on the part of the Australian publishing houses’. It opined that: ‘Messrs. Angus and Robertson must count this a year of splendid achievement with such books in their list as … Neville Cayley’s “What Bird Is That?’’ ’. In 1933 Cayley lost the extraordinary George Robertson. Robertson had been his great supporter and something of a father figure. The burly, bearded bookseller died in August of that year. Among the mourners at his funeral were ‘a large number of professional and literary men’, the tabloids reported. Nevertheless, a lone female, Mrs Mary Gilmore, was listed. So too was Ernest Frederick Crouch, Cayley’s second cousin, and Arthur Francis Basset Hull, Cayley’s colleague from the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales (RZSNSW) and the RAOU.

Neville William Cayley, Scarlet Honeyeater and Eastern Spinebill on title page of Australian Birds (1930)

The title page for Australian Birds, a 64-page booklet issued by the Shell Company in 1930, featuring several coloured illustrations of birds and eggs by Cayley. It came with the message: ‘Motorists! Wherever you go in search of your feathered friends, remember—“YOU CAN BE SURE OF SHELL”’.

128

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

As Cayley well knew, Robertson could be blunt, quick tempered and stubborn, but he was also generous: always ready to help a needy author financially and to publish a worthy book even though it would lose money. Robertson had been a visionary figure in the Australian book world and was held in high esteem by all who knew and worked with him. The Courier-Mail paid tribute to his bravery and influence under the wordy but apt heading ‘George Robertson. A Great Publisher; the Man Who Inspired the Mitchell Library and Gave Splendid Books to Australia’, continuing: Imagine for a moment the early A. and R. books without him, the slapdash Banjo, the crude, irregular and disciplined Lawson; most of the serious books never written, simply because no other publisher would have risked the loss on them.

Robertson’s death was an enormous loss, but he had established a market for Australian writers, and his company, Angus & Robertson, carried on in the same spirit.

David Low, A Black and White Study of George Robertson 1955

A larger-than-life character, publisher George Robertson was a great supporter of Cayley and his firm Angus & Robertson published all of Cayley’s significant books, beginning with the ground-breaking What Bird Is That? in 1931.

New technologies were making publication of colour less costly, a particular boon to a painter of birds. As early as Christmas 1930, The Sydney Mail produced what the advertisements claimed was one of its best issues ever. It was not only ‘rich in seasonable stories, articles and verse’, but displayed a good deal of colour, ‘the finest example of which is a really beautiful study of blue wrens in a golden wattle tree, from a painting by Neville W. Cayley’, which, it was predicted, would be cut out and treasured by thousands. Advances in technology were also enriching the many talks given by Cayley. At the RZSNSW

129

jubilee of 1929, held at David Jones, Sydney, the attendees ‘were asked to divide their attention between a ball, a bridge party and a series of brief lectures’, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. Most chose the former, but the zoological talks were praised. Alec Chisholm stirred the audience with his assertion that Moreton Bay, where he had recently investigated bird life, was far lovelier than Port Jackson, but was countered by another naturalist who pointed out that mosquitoes and sandflies inhabited the shores of the northern harbour ‘in deadly hordes’! Pictures of Australian snakes, butterflies and island birds: were thrown on the screen by means of the epidiascope, a new instrument acquired by the society for depicting enlargements of pictures or objects in their natural colours. The method was outstandingly successful for showing a series of bird paintings by Mr. Neville W. Cayley.

Such technologies were a step forward from the old hand-coloured glass lantern slides that had been used previously to illustrate lectures. Cayley was a regular presenter throughout the 1930s at the Gould League’s ‘annual hullabaloo’—as his comrade Chisholm put it—in Sydney. Cayley also often judged the birdcall competitions, at which acclaimed bird-call imitator Frank Clarke would give a performance of his art. Cayley’s lecture schedule was gruelling and, according to Chisholm, he was always well prepared. His subjects were as varied as his audiences. In February 1933 he gave a talk on Australian birds to the Popular Science Club of the Australian Gas Light Company; in July he was on radio station 2FC (later Radio

Neville William Cayley with his painting Black Swans in Flight, in The Sydney Morning Herald, 28 April 1938, p. 14

As well as illustrating and writing for books and newspapers, the Gould League and the scientific journal Emu, giving talks to groups and on the radio, and holding prominent positions in various learned societies, Cayley supplied illustrations for several exhibitions.

National) speaking on the harbingers of spring; in September he gave an address titled ‘Rambles in Birdland’ to a packed crowd at the Lyceum. At the latter, he fascinated the audience with tidbits of information about the lives of birds. As The Sydney Morning Herald reported, Cayley stated that observation of male blue wrens had cleared their reputation of having more than one wife, for, ‘It was now known that the various dingy-coloured females in attendance upon the brilliantly plumaged male were not wives, but were members of the previous brood’. (Cayley

13 0

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

was correct about the helper fairy-wrens but it is now known that the female is far from faithful, visiting other males under cover of the pre-dawn gloom.) Never one to let an opportunity to correct commonly held misconceptions pass, Cayley went on to defend the musical abilities of the Australian songlarks and fieldlarks which were ‘comparable with the English skylark for richness and cadence of notes’ and stated his regret at the introduction and acclimatisation of foreign birds as most of them, he said, were ‘useless, and some mischievous and destructive’. The show was wrapped up with Clarke’s ‘splendid’ imitations of bird calls.

C A Y L E Y

In September 1936 there was another exhibition and sale, this time in the Myer Emporium, Melbourne, where Cayley was billed as the ‘leading bird-artist of the Commonwealth’. Then, that November, the exhibition moved to the Myer Emporium in Adelaide. In April 1938 Cayley’s work was on show at the Blaxland Galleries, Sydney, and, that November, at the Gainsborough Gallery in Brisbane. From the latter, Queensland Governor Sir Leslie Wilson and his wife, Lady Wilson, purchased a watercolour of a pair of kookaburras, expressing, as The Courier-Mail put it, ‘pleasure at the excellent reproduction of the colouring of the birds and their life-like attitudes’. While he was in Brisbane, Cayley took the opportunity to convince the popular Nature Lovers’ Society that they should federate with the Gould League. With his friend Will Mahony, Sydney cartoonist and black-and-white illustrator, he also visited the Brisbane Art Gallery (now Queensland Art Gallery) to view the works of their famous fathers: Neville Cayley and Frank Mahony, who had both been members of the Art Society of New South Wales and illustrators for The Picturesque Atlas.

Although there was some overlap between the illustrations produced by Cayley for books, for the Gould League and the RAOU, and for his exhibitions, Cayley still painted volumes in the 1930s. He had seldom exhibited, but late that decade he had a steady schedule of exhibitions that put his work before the art-buying public. In April 1936, a collection of his paintings was on show in a gallery at David Jones’ George Street store, together with a few works by Cayley’s late father. Lady Gowrie, the wife of the New South Wales Governor, purchased a painting of a spinebill honeyeater feeding on native fuchsias and told the assembled press she had given What Bird Is That? to King George V for Christmas. The King was already in possession of a Cayley painting, Splendid Grass-parrakeet (Scarletchested Parrot), presented to him in 1932 by the members of the Avicultural Society of London, who were aware that the King possessed a live pair of the birds.

The 1936 David Jones exhibition gave critics the chance to compare the work of Cayley and son. The father’s work was judged less fine and detailed than the son’s and his kookaburras ‘delightful, admirably summing up all the humour and almost Hogarthian vitality possessed by the Australian national bird’. Regarding Neville William, who no longer had aspirations to be a fine artist, if he ever had, a reviewer made clear that he was an ornithological artist, suggesting that his work was ‘so fine and detailed that it takes on the importance of science’ and

13 1

that ‘For detail of plumage and colouring of some of the lesser known Australian birds these watercolours are invaluable’. The reviewer observed: Occasionally the scientific side of his work is apt to oust the artistic. Some of the birds are woodenly grouped and obviously intended as a plate rather than a picture. However, in the majority there is sufficient charm of background to make them complete pictures in themselves.

Hanging in a Brisbane gallery in 1938, Cayley’s watercolours of birds and flowers received a favourable analysis from a fine art critic writing for The Courier-Mail, who thought that two stood out: Perhaps the most outstanding studies in the collection are two action pictures of birds. In ‘Galahs in Flight,’ a flock of galahs are flying high across the Murrimbidgee Plains, their soft rose and grey feathers in contrast to the fleecy white clouds across a background of blue sky. The other, ‘Black Ducks on the Wing,’ shows, with minute detail, the rise from covey of two black ducks, while below them is the thin grass of the marsh.

The reviewer noted that Cayley’s work was of ‘special interest’ because it reproduced ‘so well the vivid colours and the soft tints of the birds of Australia’s bushlands’, continuing: Mr. Cayley paints effectively crimson finches, pictorella finches, and red brown finches, each with their particular monotone. In several of his paintings of this type he has followed, it seems, the method of old Chinese artists, subjugating all surroundings to a surface tone … Red-backed fairy wrens

resting on a clump of flannel flowers reproduce the vividness of the bird’s colouring and the soft depth of the flowers.

Although it must have cheered Cayley to have his artistry appreciated and his bird paintings purchased to be hung on walls, his interest remained scientific and educational. Unlike his father, he did not belong to any art societies. Instead, he was a prominent and active member of several scientific and conservation societies. He was a council member of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, its President from 1932 to 1933 and one of its first two Fellows. He was also a member of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union and its President from 1936 to 1937; a Life Member of the Gould League of Bird Lovers and its Vice-President until his death; a member of the Wild Life Preservation Society of Australia; and a trustee of The National Park on the outskirts of Sydney, from 1937 to 1948. Though most of Cayley’s energies were directed towards the world of birds, some involved the world of words. In 1936, he joined and was elected to the executive of the Fellowship of Australian Writers, founded by Mary Gilmore. At the time, his friend explorer and adventure travelwriter Charles Price Conigrave was one of several concurrent vice-presidents; the others included Dorothea MacKellar and Hugh McCrae. The fellowship held regular meetings and lectures, a Christmas party and an annual ball. Its members discussed such issues as the rising threat of fascism, censorship and the desirability of a literary fund. One of the fellowship’s goals was the promotion of Australian writing; in this the uniqueness of the Australian landscape was integral, so that Cayley was not alone in finding inspiration in nature. Miles Franklin, Dorothy

13 2

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

W.S. Smith, Group Photograph of Members of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union c. 1921

Drewett and George and Dorothy Ashton were believed to be among Cayley’s associates in the fellowship. Franklin’s diary note for 17 August 1939 records a supper with Cayley and her good friend author Flora Eldershaw at a coffee house, after a meeting of the writers’ group.

Some of the members of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union at the organisation’s Sydney congress in 1921. Cayley is second from the left in the back row next to his great friend Keith (‘Lofty’) Hindwood, who is standing in the centre. Cayley’s other colleagues include Archibald Campbell, who is in the second row at right, and Dr John Albert Leach, third from the right in the front row.

Another of Cayley’s colleagues in the fellowship was Frank Clune, a writer of adventure travel books. At meetings, Clune gave talks on his travels across Australia, which Cayley no doubt would have enjoyed. On a visit to Clune’s house in about 1945, Cayley met George Boreham, a correspondent of book collector Father Leo Hayes. Ten years later, Boreham would remember that Cayley had arrived bearing a gift

13 3

for Clune’s wife—‘an exquisite small painting of a bird’. Boreham was thrilled to be able to identify the bird immediately, as Microeca fascinans (Jacky Winter). ‘Are there two of us?’ Cayley said, thinking that he had met a like soul. Many years before, as a young man, Boreham had spent a considerable amount of time at the Australian Museum, organising his egg and nest collection. He had to admit to Cayley that ‘if it had been any other bird I would not have known its scientific name; just that one, of all I once learned, stuck in my mind’. Still, he was pleased that he had impressed Australia’s leading birdman. In July 1933, on retiring after one year as President of the Royal Zoological Society, Cayley gave an address on parrots, the subject of his work in progress Australian Parrots: Their Habits in the Field and Aviary. He realised that he was not alone in his passion for parrots, stating that ‘scientists, bird-lovers, and tourists’ were ‘attracted by the beautiful parrots of Australia’. Having already completed books that included avicultural information on finches and budgerigars, which he hoped would bring ‘closer cooperation between ornithologists and aviculturists’ to advance the study of birds, Cayley was at pains to explain that he approved of captive breeding only in certain circumstances: Unless a serious attempt is made to try and save the few species now on the verge of extinction it will be too late, and they will pass away without our knowing anything of their life histories. I wish it to be clearly understood that in advocating the breeding of parrots in captivity, I do so in the hope that it will be carried out under licence and in a purely scientific manner, not on a commercial basis. 

For the past decade the ornithological fraternity had been transitioning from the time when the world’s resources, including its wildlife, seemed endless, to one in which there was increasing concern that certain birds, some once common, had become vanishingly rare. The collection of specimens had been an acceptable, gentlemanly hobby as well as the standard way to study birds. In the 1930s, it was obvious that there was a real need to learn more about the living bird and increasingly the collection of specimens was deemed desirable only for particular purposes. But old habits die hard, and there were bitter disputes that came to a head at an RAOU camp at Marlo in Victoria, at the mouth of the Snowy River, in October 1935. Cayley was among the 20 attendees from Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. The New South Wales group included Cayley and his friend Keith Hindwood, businessman and renowned amateur ornithologist, as well as Charles Bryant, editor of Emu, and Noel Roberts, the editor of several Sydney and Newcastle newspapers. The main activity at camp was a search for the rare and elusive Eastern Bristlebird, but the need for the restriction of collecting was a major topic of discussion. George Mack, from the National Museum of Victoria, got fed up with all the talk and provoked the majority by leaving the breakfast table to shoot a Scarlet Robin nesting on the edge of the camp. Mack had permits that allowed him to collect, but Scarlet Robins were already well represented in all the major institutions—he was simply thumbing his nose at the expense of the robin. The New South Wales contingent left in protest. The Melbourne–Sydney divide had been evident from the establishment of the RAOU but, even

13 4

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

Menu for the Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union Dinner, 1922

though several Victorians were sympathetic towards the views of the Sydney contingent, for a time the debate around the ‘Marlo incident’ exacerbated the tensions. At the following year’s national campout the gathering discussed the proposition that ‘no collecting be permitted at camps’. After much debate, a compromise was adopted that allowed collection of novel birds and eggs, and only then with approval from others in the camp. A committee was formed to develop a consensus on the wider issue but they could agree only on the weak statement that the collector should be under obligation ‘to add to the sum of human knowledge’, and should not merely gather material for its own sake.

In 1922, the annual conference of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union was held in Adelaide, South Australia. It was the organisation’s 21st birthday and Cayley attended as the New South Wales representative. His signature tops the back page of the menu.

prominent ornithologists. Reports on the confiscations found their way into newspapers in several other states. Mr Chaffey, the New South Wales Chief Secretary, responsible for administering the Birds and Animals Protection Act, warned that ‘legal proceedings would be taken against persons found in possession of eggs of protected birds’ and that ‘the eggs would also be seized’. He went on:

But the writing was on the wall whether the RAOU was prepared or not. In New South Wales, a month or so after the campout, police seized egg collections, data slips and related correspondence from the homes of several

any person having such eggs should send them to the Australian Museum without

13 5

delay … With few exceptions … practically all native birds and animals were protected at present. Any person disturbing, hunting, or shooting any such species was liable to a penalty of £20.

Some members of the RZSNSW were raided and, consequently, the Minister gave a cautionary address to the society’s ornithological section, of which Cayley was the Chair. In response to the Minister’s warning, Cayley stated that the society did not condone the illegal collection of eggs and regretted ‘that the section should get the “backwash” of what had occurred’. He also defended his members, as The Sydney Morning Herald reported, telling the Minister that: ‘The men whose eggs had been seized were among the foremost ornithologists of the State, and their collections had been started long before collecting was made illegal’. Still, it was time for everyone to clean up their act. The days of unrestricted interactions with wild birds whether for hunting (sport), trapping (commerce) or hobby (aviary and cabinet collections) were on the wane. Budding ornithologist Allen Keast soaked up all the talk about the Marlo incident and when he joined the Australian Museum in 1948 he was horrified to see the unopened boxes of confiscated clutches languishing. Most of the owners had refused to hand over their catalogues and data slips and without provenance the eggs were useless. Keast was later to become the first recipient of the Cayley Scholarship and, later still, Professor Emeritus of Biology at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada, and a life member of the RZSNSW. But in 1936, at the age of 14, Keast had just joined the RZSNSW and he was in awe of the membership. He later

wrote a recollection of his exciting and formative years with ‘the cream of Sydney’s ornithological galaxy’—the likes of ‘Lofty’ Hindwood, the great and generous expert on Sydney’s birds, the dynamic Jock Marshall, Chisholm with his broad knowledge and historical perspective and the witty Tom Iredale. Iredale, of the Australian Museum, and his wife, the bird artist Lilian Medland, were another of Cayley’s circle. Medland painted birds for Gregory Mathews, for Iredale and, like Cayley, for the Gould League. At the centre of the galaxy was Cayley, in the Chair. Indeed, the meeting room was ‘graced by a magnificent set of Cayley paintings’. The fraternity (there were few women) was generous with their knowledge and an inspiration to the young Keast. He was welcome on the bird-filled field outings; few people had cars, so enthusiasts usually travelled by train or boat. Meetings were memorable for more than the high standard of the presentations and discussions: playful put-downs were the norm. Keast was there when a visitor from Colorado correctly judged the mood. The American told the group of his delight at encountering an Emu in Central Australia. Chisholm asked him how he knew it was an Emu. The quick reply, ‘from the way it flew’, won him instant acceptance. Another day a member was challenged over his assertion that it was a good year for Mistletoebirds and that he had found 30 nests—notoriously difficult to find hidden among the mistletoe. He arrived at the next meeting with two hessian sacks full of disused nests, dumping them onto the table. Keast had fond memories of Cayley, describing him as ‘of medium stature, roundfaced, bespectacled, jovial, highly enthusiastic’. He observed that although Cayley was ‘completely

13 6

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

would manufacture a skin from bits of other

an artist’ he had ‘a very broad knowledge and love of birds’. Keast thought some of the high jinks went too far. He recalled:

skins and drop the creation into a group of birds he was borrowing. I think on one occasion Neville was halfway into describing

He [Cayley] handled museum skins he was

a new species before he found out the truth.

going to paint with the tenderness reserved for works of art. His enthusiasm meant that he was vulnerable to the dirty tricks of the taxidermists at the Australian Museum who

Dust jacket of Furred Animals of Australia (1941) by Ellis Troughton

C A Y L E Y

Cayley may have been taken in but he probably did not really mind. As his good friend Hindwood remembered, he was always a boy at heart. Yet,

Neville William Cayley, a sketch of a koala and an inscription to W.G. Cousins, Christmas 1944, in a copy of Furred Animals of Australia

Cayley had the charming practice of painting a little sketch to accompany his inscribed volumes.

13 7

there were many very real stoushes over the years, including several within and between the organisations that Cayley so actively supported, and he did not shy away from issues that he felt were important. His patience was endless when waiting to see birds in the wild, but he was not so tolerant in meetings when there were contentious issues he cared about under discussion, especially when the welfare of birds was at stake. He became known as ‘Stormy Petrel’ for his controversial stances. Regardless, he seldom made enemies and often acted as a spokesperson. Cayley belonged to a great many societies, as did many middle- to upper-class men and women of the day. Sir Philip Game, the Governor of New South Wales, and Lady Game, as well as Aubrey O’Halloran, Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of Freemasons of New South Wales, and his wife, were members of the RZSNSW, which not only engaged in scientific pursuits and issues but also held a splendid annual ball. Cayley went on weekend birdwatching excursions, camping with the likes of English visitor Lady Campbell Williams, socialite Doreen Hordern, who was the daughter of Sir Samuel and Lady Hordern, and charity hostess Mrs Norman Lowe. As a prominent name in relation to birds Cayley must have had considerable amounts of correspondence to deal with, requests from the press, and visitors. Early in 1936, Cherry Kearton, well-known British wildlife filmmaker and author, visited Australia. When Kearton arrived in Sydney in January, Cayley was among those who welcomed him to an informal gathering of the RZSNSW. Kearton told the group of his experiences while filming around the world and took the opportunity to tell the members about his campaign to expose the cruelty involved in

the making of some ‘wild’ animal documentaries. Later in the week, the society also entertained Kearton and his wife at a luncheon at Taronga Zoo, and staged a showing of his films there the next day. In February Cayley took Kearton to The National Park to try to film a Satin Bowerbird and see the famed lyrebird. Kearton spent some hours in a hide with his camera trained at a bower, but the bird did not appear, nor did the lyrebird they heard in the scrub outside the cabin show itself. Nevertheless, Kearton took film and stills to use in his talks back in England and in his subsequent book: I Visit the Antipodes (1937). Kearton wrote about the outing with Cayley: as we drove through the various shopping centres Mr Neville Cayley, the famous bird artist, proved himself to be an expert shopper by the way he went about purchasing all kinds of provisions for our outing. Indeed, the stock of provisions grew to such an alarming extent that I began to wonder where it was going to be packed in the car; however, thanks to his genius we were all soon comfortably arranged, and away we went. Passing by the side of Botany Bay a crude notice caught my eye stating ‘FINE PRAWNS FOR SALE.’ ‘By Jove! Those would be a treat,’ I said. Quickly pulling up the car Neville Cayley jumped out, and in a few moments returned with four pounds of prawns.

A late arrival at the cabin, Dr Jock Marshall, came with his contribution: a large bag of fresh prawns! Marshall was a young protégé of Cayley and Chisholm. As a teenager, Marshall had lost an arm in a shooting accident. Worried about the future of her unhappy, bush-loving son,

13 8

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

Entering the 1940s, and in his mid-50s, Cayley could no longer maintain the extraordinary pace of the 1930s. Kidney and heart problems, inherited from his father, made life increasingly difficult. He cut down on public appearances and concentrated on books and painting. In 1940 two small books for children that he had illustrated came out: The Solvol Bird Book: 54 Australian Birds and The Solvol Animal Book: 55 Australian Animals. The booklets—and a third, on fishes— were sponsored by soap manufacturer Kitchen & Sons and supplied free to every child in the state.

Keith Alfred Hindwood, Portrait of N.W. Cayley (left) and A.H. Chisholm, Springwood, NSW, November 1947

For most of his adult life, Cayley (at left) was friends with journalist and ornithologist Alec Chisholm and they collaborated on several volumes. In 1947, by which time Cayley was suffering from severe kidney problems, their mutual friend and fellow ornithologist Keith Hindwood took this photo of the pair at the entrance to the house that the Cayleys were renting at Springwood in the Blue Mountains.

his mother had written to the famous birdman Cayley, who in turn had introduced him to Chisholm. They encouraged Marshall in his zoological interests and he attended university and was later appointed to the foundation chair of biology at Monash University.

Ellis Troughton, Curator of Mammals at the Australian Museum, had penned the little animal book and he and Cayley were working on a field guide. The title What Mammal Is That? did not have the same appeal as its predecessors on birds and butterflies, so they settled on Furred Animals of Australia. It was published in 1941. Not only did the book allow anyone to identify the country’s mammals, but it explained their uniqueness and made a plea for an end to their exploitation and extermination. As Troughton pointed out, the guide presented ‘a fresh field of illustration for the artist’. Certainly, Cayley had painted a few mammals in the past, but birds were his specialty and the form and fur of mammals presented a very different challenge. But Cayley proved himself up to the task, completing 25 coloured plates illustrating some 170 species. In 1940 Cayley was also working on a project for the wealthy manufacturer and influential trustee of Taronga Zoo, Edward Hallstrom, who had commissioned a collection of 29 paintings of parrots, which he presented to the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales in 1941.

13 9

The two men were friends even though Cayley had tackled Hallstrom over the restrictive size of the zoo’s aviaries.

rambles in the bush of the northern New South Wales coast with his father and his father’s ‘boon companion’, Bullwaddy, a local Aboriginal man:

Hallstrom also commissioned a second set of paintings and in March 1943 he presented them to the National Library of Australia: 43 works in all, then valued at 500 pounds. Hallstrom told a reporter for The Canberra Times that his intention was: ‘to preserve an indelible record of these types of birds, some of which it seemed might soon be extinct’. In 1941 Cayley also continued his life’s calling of educating the public about birds. He contributed four illustrated articles on birds to the Melbourne-published monthly, Walkabout: Australia’s Geographic Magazine. ‘Babies without Bother’ covered the parasitic cuckoos, ‘Australia’s Feathered Architects’, nests and display bowers, and ‘Australia’s National Bird’, the Emu. For February’s contribution, ‘Aerial Gymnasts’, Cayley drew on his youth: ‘No team of bronzed surf lifesavers in the pink of condition are more physically fit than the aerial gymnasts of the bird world’. Also around that time, Cayley turned his talents to painting fish, again altogether different in form and finish to feathers and fur. He painted 48 fish species in colour and six sharks and rays, published in grey tones, for The ‘Oceanarium’ at Marineland, a promotional publication for the Manly Oceanarium. To his surprise Cayley was invited by author John Hicks to write a foreword for Girriki, Teller of Tales: A Series of Aborigine Myths and Legends for Children (1945), published by Associated Newspapers. Although he claimed little knowledge of Aboriginal lore, Cayley revealed that he had learned bird lore from childhood

Bullwaddy certainly knew his birds and their habits, and saved us many unsuccessful walkabouts … All that was necessary to give him was a color description of the bird and some idea of its size, indicated in a sign language, which he answered with grunts or with nods and shakes of the head until he recognised what we were after; then, with a smile and glistening eyes, the hunt was on.

Back in Bowral in 1890, when Cayley was four, his father had made a call for a fair go for Aboriginal people (see page 29). It probably was not the only time that Cayley senior had defended the people he had come to know through birds, and it would not have been a popular viewpoint in some quarters. Cayley junior obviously learned some of his passion for causes from his father. In May 1941 Cayley’s dear mother, Louie, died. At 77 she had outlived his father by 38 years. In 1944, after 17 years as a widower, with the children grown and his mother gone, Cayley remarried. Phyllis Mary Linton (née Goodson) was an attractive divorcee with two daughters. New Zealand born, she had been a commercial photography model and had featured on a wartime enlistment poster for ambulance workers before she and Cayley met in 1940. They were married at Chatswood on 2 November and set up house at Cecil Street in Gordon. The suburb, on Sydney’s north shore, was in the midst of a residential boom but still retained some of its heritage charm. A couple of years later, Bowral historian and Town Clerk Archie Victor Parry wrote to Cayley seeking information about Cayley’s father. Parry was doing

140

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

toddler was no longer there but he was pleased to see the oil painting of Mount Gibraltar that his father had painted from their garden in 1890. It was in the home of a resident, the daughter of a local who had bought it some years before for a song. A photograph of the Cayleys at about that time shows a pleasant-looking, snappily dressed, middle-aged couple. Cayley’s outfit, though hardly bohemian, suggests a little of the unconventional attire that his father, with his memorable red coat, seems to have adopted.

Neville William Cayley and his second wife Phyllis Mary c. 1946

In 1944, 17 years after his first wife, Beatrice, had died, Cayley married Phyllis Mary Linton. In 1946 Cayley made a nostalgic trip with Phyllis to the Bowral district, where his family had lived from 1888 to 1890, when he had been a very young child. He left this photo with the local historian, Archie Parry.

research for a publication he was preparing for the Jubilee of Federation in 1951. The enquiry sparked Cayley’s interest and in November 1946, he and Phyll (as she was affectionately known) travelled to the Bowral district, staying at a Burradoo guesthouse. The cottage Cayley had lived in as a

Also around this time, Gilbert Mant visited Cayley at his big old house at Gordon. For many years the journalist and author had written a regular opinion piece, ‘The Way I See It’, for the Sunday Sun (later The Sun-Herald). Mant thought that a history of the Cayleys, ‘one of the most extra-ordinary father-son stories I know’, would make a good human interest article. He spent a ‘wonderful’ Sunday interviewing the artist in his ‘lovely garden’, which, Cayley told him, was visited by 64 species of bird. ‘He hears birds all the time, where other people hear the sounds of traffic and human beings’, Mant observed. Indeed, they were chatting over afternoon tea when Cayley suddenly interjected: ‘What’s a currawong doing around here so late in the year?’. Cayley told Mant a little about his childhood and his approach to painting, emphasising that he did not work from photos and that it might take him two days to paint one bird, together with weeks of watching in the field. Cayley also told Mant that he was still working on the legendary bird book that he had begun in 1918. He acknowledged that it was the brainchild of George Robertson and that several ornithologists had made contributions. Some 800 plates, he said, had been completed.

141

How many times had Cayley come to believe that he was nearing the end of what had become known as the ‘Big Bird Book’? Back in 1931, the year that What Bird Is That? came out, Cayley had been working on his finch book and corresponding with aviculturists around the country. In a letter to Simon (Binks) Harvey, the secretary of the South Australian Avicultural Society, Cayley claimed that in March 1930 he had ‘finished the last plate, completing every known species of Australian bird and visitor, just over 700’. He went on: In most cases, male, female, immature, as

could no longer afford to do so and after which he was paid. Ever a believer in the Gould League’s philosophy that education is more potent than legislation in the matter of bird preservation, he continued providing material to the league for a couple more years, until 1947, when, in a cruel blow, a stroke left him without the use of his right, painting hand. Indeed, from about 1943, a series of strokes, and Bright’s disease (nephritis), diagnosed late that decade, took their toll. But Cayley still had one more book in him. Not the ‘Big Bird Book’, the dream of which he had kept alive for most of his life, but a more modest tome. He turned his attention to another of his favourite groups of birds—the perky, elfin fairywrens. The illustrations had first been published in a 1945 article commissioned for National Geographic magazine, which shipped the originals back from the United States to be used for his book. The book came out in 1949, under the joyful title The Fairy Wrens of Australia: Blue Birds of Happiness and, fittingly, under the banner of his lifelong publishers Angus & Robertson. It was dedicated to ‘my wife Phyllis Mary who has shared my pleasure in producing this work on these beautiful birds’. The paintings reflected his delight in the little creatures’ lively loveliness.

well as outstanding forms of each species, were figured to scale, exactly 12 years’ work. Besides the birds, I drew examples of the egg life-size of every known species, so I feel that I have done my share towards Australian ornithology.

Cayley had always led a hand-to-mouth existence and when he could no longer afford to rent the house at Gordon, he and Phyllis moved for a year to Springwood in the Blue Mountains. However, the climate was too cold for Cayley, so they moved to Avalon on Sydney's northern beaches. As Cayley’s health deteriorated, he worked less, and Phyll took on some secretarial work. Towards the end of the 1940s, Angus & Robertson provided them with a small income. Hallstrom too helped financially, with a gift of 300 pounds. Cayley supplied his last plate for the RAOU journal Emu in 1945. He painted an adult and an immature Banded Stilt to accompany a review article on the enigmatic species, triggered by the unexpected discovery of a huge flock in southern Victoria. He had provided illustrations gratis from 1920 until 1927, when he announced that he

According to Cayley-profiler Jack Harvey Prince, a bizarre incident precipitated the rapid decline in Cayley’s health. Prince does not give a source, but in the late 1970s he interviewed Cayley’s widow and Arnold McGill, among others. Since 1934 a sensational homicide, known as the Pyjama Girl Murder, had gripped the nation as a variety of suspects, witnesses and theories were paraded before the public and the police

142

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

became increasingly desperate to identify both the victim and the perpetrator. In 1943, it came to light that the victim had had liaisons with her lover at a house called Canary Cottage. An overzealous government pathologist decided that the lover, a suspect, must be a bird enthusiast. He approached Cayley with the proposition, so upsetting him that it triggered a series of strokes.

specimens in the museum … I recall several rambles in Queensland wilds with the artistnaturalist and other good companions. Cayley missed nothing of interest. He identified unseen birds by their call notes and songs, and was seldom wrong in answering the question ‘What bird is that?’ after only a glance at some small bird that had puzzled his companions.

In another strange twist, according to Prince, six years later Cayley sought treatment for his worsening nephritis. It was in the days before dialysis and he had been convinced by his friends to visit a specialist who was supposed to have developed a treatment. Cayley was staggered to find it was the same pathologist. The recommended injections were to no avail and the following year, on 17 March 1950, Cayley died at his home in Avalon. He was 64. He was cremated with Anglican rites at Northern Suburbs Crematorium. The tributes flowed in. Cayley had been much more than Australia’s favourite bird artist and author. The Sydney Morning Herald called him ‘Australia’s foremost painter of birds, mammals and insects’. To the lifesaving movement, he was a pioneer of surf lifesaving. To the RZSNSW ‘he was a man of great ideas’ and his services to the Society ‘were of inestimable value’. The Gould League remembered him as ‘brimful of ideas for its advancement’, an honoured Life Member and a ‘distinct loss’ for the League and its thousands of members. In The Townsville Daily Bulletin, a colleague of Cayley’s remembered him for his exceptional bush skills: Unlike many artists who attempt to portray wild life … [he] was a keen observer, familiar with birds in their haunts as well as scientific

C A Y L E Y

To many of his ornithological friends, Cayley was amiable, helpful and a good companion. Hindwood, his closest friend, wrote in Emu that he was ‘sincere, kindly and friendly, without spite or rancour’ and that he ‘bore the vicissitudes and disappointments of life philosophically’. Furthermore, his love of birds was ‘unquenchable’ and his enthusiasm was ‘infectious’. As Hindwood observed, a great many naturalists credited their interest in bird study ‘to his advice and guidance, given unstintingly’. Another influential long-term colleague, Chisholm, also wrote that Cayley was ‘always ready to chat (and even argue) about birds with his colleagues, and always willing to guide the footsteps of youth’. He pointed out that much of Cayley’s work was honourary and that ‘Australia has reason to be grateful for the self-sacrificing service of an enduring character which he rendered to the nation’. Despite his long reach, as Chisholm hinted, Cayley’s work was not remunerative. He died intestate and some of his paintings had to be sold to pay off his debts. His son Glenn organised the cremation. Still at Avalon, the next year Phyllis took part in a full-page advertisement for mayonnaise, complete with her photo and testimonial: ‘Kraft Wonder-flavour Mayonnaise is better than any I’ve ever made. And I’ve been

143

to know their wildlife. As Hindwood observed, Cayley’s ‘influence on Australian ornithology was widespread and beneficial’. His greatest accomplishment was to popularise birds, to make them admired, appreciated and accessible to anyone, and his influence endures.

making salad dressings for many years’. In 1953, she married writer Harold Cedric Hopegood, known as Peter. In the 1970s, after some time living on Norfolk Island, and again a widow, a painting of a Yellow Robin by Cayley and other memorabilia of their few years together still hung in her Sydney apartment.

There were calls for a memorial for Neville William, and Hindwood organised for Cayley’s brother-in-law, Jack Castle Harris, to make a bronze sculpture of an eagle, which was to stand inside the entrance to Taronga Zoo. However, when installed, it was discovered that the work had mysteriously been commemorated to another person, and it later ‘disappeared’.

Throughout his life, like his father before him, Cayley occasionally painted pretty works of familiar birds that appealed to public tastes—‘bread-and-butter’ art—that sold readily. Nevertheless, as Hindwood said of him: One never thought of Cayley in the sense that he painted birds because it was the easiest way to make a livelihood; rather he did so because of his love of birds, which were an integral part of his life.

His father’s work has greater artistic value, as representative of the art of its time, when Australia was defining its Australianness. The years leading up to Federation had brought a pride in the country and its unusual landscapes, plants and animals, and birds such as the lyrebird, kookaburra and rosella became icons. At the same time there had been a push towards strong art that was truly Australian in character. Cayley senior’s art fitted the bill. Cayley junior’s art, on the other hand, was more illustrative and was intended to be scientifically accurate. His compositions were sometimes poor and his birds posed stiffly, but he had a fine eye for colour and the Australian light. He added appropriate habitat as background and strove to get the form and feathering correct. Yet, his work also reflected the social trends and public attitudes of the time, for average Australians were becoming more affluent and wanted to get

The name Neville Cayley lives on in the artists’ descendants. Cayley junior’s younger son, Glenn Digby (b. 1924) was killed in a logging accident in 1958. The older son, Neville Clive Cayley (1920–1992), served in the Army during the Second World War, married and fathered a son, Neville David Cayley (and a daughter, Joan Lesley). Over a century after the first Neville Cayley claimed the title of Australia’s leading bird artist, there are few born in Australia who would not recognise the name, and even fewer who have not heard of What Bird Is That?, the book that the father attempted and the son achieved. Many twentieth-century Australian ornithologists, nature lovers and wildlife artists name it as the book that sparked their interest in birds. In 1950, the year that Neville William died, the book was in its 14th reprinting, with some 50,000 copies sold. The second edition came out that year, revised and enlarged by Cayley’s close friends Chisholm, Hindwood and the younger shorebird enthusiast, Arnold McGill. The trio of ornithologists changed the format very little, but over the years

14 4

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

Neville William Cayley, Waratah—Telopea speciosissima

Neville William Cayley painted flowers as well as birds, especially early in his painting career. Later, appropriate plants served as backgrounds for his birds. Neville William Cayley, Coxen's Fig-Parrots 1930s

subsequent additions have restructured the book, and added Cayley’s more attractive full-page illustrations and much additional information. The most recent edition came out in 2011, exactly 80 years after the original.

reason that their name continues to be so well remembered by so many Australians:

In the very first What Bird Is That? Cayley captured the philosophy that he, and his father before him, sold to the nation and with it the

Birds express all that is beautiful, joyous, and free in nature. They delight our eyes, charm our ears, quicken our imagination, and through association with the bushland inspire us with a profound love of country.

1 45

P O R T F O L I O

NEV IL LE W I L L I A M CAY L EY

Birds’ Eggs 1. Crested Tern Thalasseus bergii

9. Sacred Kingfisher Todiramphus sanctus

2. Sooty Tern Onychoprion fuscata

10. New Holland Honeyeater

3. White Tern Gygis alba

Phylidonyris novaehollandiae 11. Eastern Yellow Robin Eopsaltria australis

4. Sulphur-crested Cockatoo Cacatua galerita 5. Australian Magpie Gymnorhina tibicen

12. Silvereye Zosterops lateralis

6. Tasmanian Native-hen Tribonyx ventralis

13. White-chested White-eye Zosterops albogularis

7. Noisy Miner Manorina melanocephala

14. Golden-headed Cisticola Cisticola exilis  

8. White-browed Babbler Pomatostomus superciliosus

148

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

Palm Cockatoo Probosciger aterrimus

14 9

Glossy Black-Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus lathami From top: adult female (two individuals) adult male immature

150

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

Baudin's Black-Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus baudinii

15 1

Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo Lophocroa leadbeateri  

152

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

 

Gang-Gang Cockatoo Callocephalon fimbriatum From left: immature adult female adult male  

15 3

Galah Eolophus roseicapillus

154

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

Long-billed Corella Cacatua tenuirostris

155

Cockatiel Nymphicus hollandicus

156

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

From top: Scaly-breasted Lorikeet Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus Red-collared Lorikeet Trichoglossus haematodus rubritorquis Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus haematodus  

15 7

From top: Purple-crowned Lorikeet Glossopsitta porphyrocephala (two individuals) Varied Lorikeet Psitteuteles versicolor Musk Lorikeet Glossopsitta concinna Little Lorikeet Glossopsitta pusilla (at right)  

158

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

Double-eyed Fig-Parrot Cyclopsitta diophthalma From top: Coxen’s Fig-Parrot Cyclopsitta diophthalma coxeni (two individuals) Red-browed Fig-Parrot Cyclopsitta diophthalma macleayana (adult male above, adult female below)

15 9

Eclectus Parrot Eclectus roratus From top: immature adult female adult male

160

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

Red-cheeked Parrot Geoffroyus geoffroyi From top: adult female adult male immature male

161

Superb Parrot Polytelis swainsonii From left: immature male adult male adult female  

162

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

Regent Parrot Polytelis anthopeplus From top: immature adult female adult male  

163

Princess Parrot Polytelis alexandrae From top: immature adult male adult female

164

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

From top: Pale-headed Rosella Platycercus adscitus (two individuals) Western Rosella Platycercus icterotis Northern Rosella Platycercus venustus

165

 

Red-capped Parrot Purpureicephalus spurius From top: immature adult male adult female  

166

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

From top: Bourke’s Parrot Neopsephotus bourkii (two individuals) Swift Parrot Lathamus discolor (two individuals)

167

From top: Golden-shouldered Parrot Psephotus chrysopterygius (adult female above, adult male below) Hooded Parrot Psephotus dissimilis (adult male above, adult female below)  

168

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

Paradise Parrot Psephotus pulcherrimus From top: adult female adult male immature

169

 Budgerigar Melopsittacus undulatus  

170

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

From left: Blue-winged Parrot Neophema chrysostoma (adult male above, adult female below) Rock Parrot Neophema petrophila (adult female above, adult male below)  

171

From top: Orange-bellied Parrot Neophema chrysogaster (adult female above, adult male below) Elegant Parrot Neophema elegans (adult male above, adult female below)

172

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

 From top: Turquoise Parrot Neophema pulchella (adult male above, adult female below) Scarlet-chested Parrot Neophema splendida (adult female above, adult male below)

 Night Parrot Pezoporus occidentalis  

173

Superb Lyrebird Menura novaehollandiae From top: adult male adult female

174

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

Satin Bowerbird Chlamydera violaceus From top: adult female adult male  

175

Clockwise from bottom left: Purple-crowned Fairy-wren Malurus coronatus (adult male) Superb Fairy-wren Malurus cyaneus (adult male) Variegated Fairy-wren Malurus lamberti (adult male) White-winged Fairy-wren Malurus leucopterus (adult male) Superb Fairy-wren Malurus cyaneus (adult female)

176

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

Superb Fairy-wren Malurus cyaneus From top: adult female or immature adult male adult female or immature

177

Chestnut-rumped Heathwren Hylacola pyrrhopygia

178

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

Rufous Fieldwren (Victoria) Calamanthus campestris winiam  

179

White-eared Honeyeater Lichenostomus leucotis

180

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

White-cheeked Honeyeater Phylidonyris nigra

18 1

Chats 1. Yellow Chat Epthianura crocea (adult male) 2. Orange Chat Epthianura aurifrons (adult female) 3. Orange Chat Epthianura aurifrons (adult male) 4. Crimson Chat Epthianura tricolor (adult male) 5. White-fronted Chat Epthianura albifrons (adult male) 6. Crimson Chat Epthianura tricolor (adult female) 7. Gibberbird Ashbyia lovensis (adult male)  

182

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

Birds' Eggs 1. White-fronted Chat Epthianura albifrons

18 & 19. Western Thornbill Acanthiza inornata

2. Crimson Chat Epthianura tricolor

20. Brown Thornbill Acanthiza pusilla

3. Orange Chat Epthianura aurifrons

21. Buff-rumped Thornbill (central coastal Queensland) Acanthiza reguloides squamata

4. Yellow Chat Epthianura crocea

22. Brown Thornbill (Tasmanian) Acanthiza pusilla diemenensis

5. & 6. Gibberbird Ashbyia lovensis 7 & 8. Australian Reed-Warbler Acrocephalus australis 9. Golden-headed Cisticola Cisticola exilis

23 & 25. Inland Thornbill Acanthiza apicalis

10 & 11. Little Grassbird Megalurus gramineus

24. Slaty-backed Thornbill Acanthiza robustirostris

12. Tawny Grassbird Megalurus timoriensis

26. Striated Thornbill Acanthiza lineata

13. Spinifexbird Eremiornis carteri

27 & 28. Chestnut-rumped Thornbill Acanthiza uropygialis

14. Rock Warbler Origma solitaria

29 & 31. Yellow-rumped Thornbill Acanthiza chrysorrhoa

15. Speckled Warbler Pyrrholaemus sagittatus

30. Buff-rumped Thornbill Acanthiza reguloides

16. Yellow Thornbill Acanthiza nana

32. Tasmanian Thornbill Acanthiza ewingii

17. Yellow Thornbill (inland) Acanthiza nana modesta

18 3

 

33. Slender-billed Thornbill Acanthiza iredalei

Australian Magpie Gymnorhina tibicen

1 84

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

Australian Magpie Gymnorhina tibicen

18 5

Finches 1. Red-eared Firetail Stagonopleura oculata 2. Star Finch Neochmia ruficauda 3. Painted Finch Emblema pictum (adult male) 4. Pictorella Mannikin Heteromunia pectoralis 5. Beautiful Firetail Stagonopleura bella  

186

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

Star Finch Neochmia ruficauda From top: immature adult male (two individuals) female adult  

18 7

Platypus Ornithorhynchus anatinus

188

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

Sugar Glider Petaurus breviceps  

18 9

Red Kangaroo Macropus rufus From left: female male  

190

N E V I L L E

W I L L I A M

C A Y L E Y

Old Wife Enoplosus armatus

19 1

List of Illustrations Note: The images in the portfolio sections are drawn from the collections of the National Library of Australia, and the caption titles are those that appear in the Library's catalogue. Current common and scientific names appear beside each illustration in the portfolios.

Neville Henry Cayley cover see caption for page 78, below page 4 Van Kaspelen Portrait of Neville Cayley 1892 b&w print of a drawing; 16.1 x 11.6 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-vn3800273 page 5 Charles Nettleton (1826–1902) Hobson’s Bay Railway Pier, Melbourne 1878 albumen silver print; 37.2 x 52.5 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6589392-134

page 12 Neville Henry Cayley (1854–1903) Crested White Cockatoo 1884 watercolour; 53.3 x 38.1 cm Courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, V*/Sp Coll/Cayley/2 page 13 Nicholson and Company Music Store, Sydney c. 1905 b&w print; 19.8 x 12.2 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-vn4776831 page 15 Neville Henry Cayley (1854–1903) Dignity and Impudence 1893 watercolour; 36.8 x 31.2 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6928696 page 16 (left) Neville Henry Cayley (1854–1903) Delias aganippe (Wood White or Red-spotted Jezebel) New South Wales 1887 no. 49 in ‘Australian Lepidoptera’ (unpublished) (1887–1888) Courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, PXA 2558

page 9 Neville Henry Cayley (1854–1903) Yamba Township 1886 watercolour Courtesy Maclean District Historical Society

page 16 (right) Neville Henry Cayley (1854–1903) Family Sphingidae, Chaerocampa erotus (Hawk Moth, now Gnathothlibus erotus), Sydney 1887 in ‘Australian Lepidoptera’ (unpublished) (1887–1888) Courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, PXA 2559

page 11 (top) Neville Henry Cayley (1854–1903) Shifting Camp on the Clarence River NSW from Maclean to Wombah 1882 no. 5 in Views in Queensland, NSW and Tasmania, 1866–1902 by J.O.B. (probably James O. Burgess) Courtesy Dixson Galleries, State Library of New South Wales, DGA 5/5

page 18 Neville Henry Cayley (1854–1903) Regent Bird 1886 in Picturesque Atlas of Australasia, vol. 2, part 39: Fauna of Australia, edited by Andrew Garran, p. 729 (Sydney: The Picturesque Atlas Publishing Co., 1886–1888)  Australian Rare Books Collection nla.cat-vn1654251

page 11 (bottom) Neville Henry Cayley (1854–1903) The Wreck of the SS New England on the Clarence River Bar in The Illustrated Sydney News, 20 January 1883, p. 8 Courtesy State Library of New South Wales

page 19 (top) Neville Henry Cayley (1854–1903) Leadbeater’s Cockatoo 1886 in Picturesque Atlas of Australasia, vol. 2, part 39: Fauna of Australia, edited by Andrew Garran, p. 727 (Sydney: The Picturesque Atlas Publishing Co., 1886–1888)  Australian Rare Books Collection nla.cat-vn1654251

192

L IS T

page 19 (bottom left) Neville Henry Cayley (1854–1903) Australian Game in The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 14 September 1889, p. 583 Newspapers and Microforms Collection nla.cat-vn2318597

of

IL LUS TR ATIONS

Courtesy Berrima District Historical & Family History Society Inc. page 28 (left) Neville Henry Cayley (1854–1903) Albino Kookaburra 1890 watercolour on print; 36.5 x 28 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6843376

page 19 (bottom right) Neville Henry Cayley (1854–1903) The Last Day with the Ducks in The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 7 September 1889, p. 527 Newspapers and Microforms Collection nla.cat-vn2318597

page 28 (right) Neville Henry Cayley (1854–1903) Robin Red-breast in the Snow 1894 watercolour; 20 x 25 cm Courtesy Gordon Rodgers

page 20 Charles Bayliss (1850–1897) Pitt St., Sydney 1886 albumen print; 14 .7 x 19.6 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-vn3989399

page 30 Neville Henry Cayley (1854–1903) Cobb & Co. Coach on the Road in Forest Setting watercolour; 20 x 39.5 cm Courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, SV*/Cobb/3

page 21 Neville Henry Cayley (1854–1903) Eggs from 16 Species 1889 plate VIII in Descriptive Catalogue of the Nests and Eggs of Birds Found Breeding in Australia and Tasmania by Alfred J. North (Sydney: Trustees of the Australian Museum, 1889) Australian Rare Books Collection nla.cat-vn1879733

pages 32–33 Neville Henry Cayley (1854–1903) Not titled (Australian Gamebirds) 1888 watercolour; 73.8 x 128.2 cm Courtesy National Gallery of Australia

page 23 Neville Henry Cayley (1854–1903) Black Duck c. 1896 watercolour; 31.7 x 25.4 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6928671 page 25 Neville Henry Cayley (1854–1903) Bird of Paradise (Paradisornis rudolphi Finsch), a Native of New Guinea (now Blue Bird of Paradise, Paradisaea rudolphi) c. 1892 chromolithograph print; 57 x 39.2 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an10641608 page 26 Neville Henry Cayley (1854–1903) View over Bowral 1890 b&w print

page 35 (top left) Neville Henry Cayley (1854–1903) Magpie c. 1897 watercolour; 22.6 x 18.7 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6552754 page 35 (top right) Tom Flower (c. 1852–1936) Two Magpies Fighting over a Bone watercolour; 43.5 x 54.5 cm Courtesy David Crane page 35 (bottom) Neville Henry Cayley (1854–1903) Magpie 1901 watercolour; 61.3 x 46.1 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an24668553 page 36 Anthony Alder (1838–1915) Kookaburra on Branch c. 1890 oil on wood panel; 24.7 x 20.1 cm

193

Pictures Collection nla.pic-an2243510 page 40 (left) Neville Henry Cayley (1854–1903) Rosellas c. 1903 colour postcard; 8.8 x 13.8 cm Courtesy State Library of Victoria page 4o (right) Neville Henry Cayley (1854–1903) Budgerigars 1895 watercolour; 35 x 26 cm Courtesy Marvin Hurnall page 43 (left) Neville Henry Cayley (1845–1903) Wishing You the Compliments of the Season (Kookaburras) greeting card; 12.2 x 15.4 cm Courtesy Greg Currie page 43 (right) Neville Henry Cayley (1845–1903) Joy, Health and Peace Be Yours on Christmas Day (Magpies feeding young) greeting card; 16.5 x 12.6 cm Courtesy Greg Currie

Portfolio: Neville Henry Cayley pages 46–47 Still Life: Australian Gamebirds 1890s hand-coloured print; 25 x 36.5 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6927754 page 48 Stubble Quail, Coturnix pectoralis 1890s hand-coloured print; 28 x 36 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6927697 page 49 Black Swan 1890s treated, hand-coloured print; 25 x 35 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6928227

page 50 Shot Ducks 1890s watercolour; 71 x 62.5 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6952712 page 51 Shot Mountain Duck 1894 watercolour; 47 x 38.6 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6928658 pages 52–53 Mountain Duck 1888 hand-coloured print; 23.5 x 35.5 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6837764 page 53 Black Duck 1890s treated, hand-coloured print; 20.7 x 35 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6837766 page 54 Black Duck 1893 treated, hand-coloured print; 28 x 36 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6837767 page 55 Bronzewing 1894 treated, hand-coloured print; 36.4 x 28 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6927766 page 56 Wonga Pigeon c. 1880 watercolour; 40.4 x 27.6 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an3303654 page 57 Wonga Pigeons 1897 watercolour; 50.6 x 39.4 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an13886714 page 58 Purple-breasted Fruit Pigeon 1890s treated, hand-coloured print; 36.5 x 28 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6843439

194

L IS T

of

IL LUS TR ATIONS

page 59 Pelicans 1886 watercolour; 40.4 x 29.2 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6942173

page 67 Painted Snipe, Rostratula australis 1893 hand-coloured print; 27.4 x 36 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6927792

page 60 Plumed Egret 1895  hand-coloured print; 25.7 x 34.2 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6837994

pages 68–69 Australian Snipe 1902 watercolour; 72 x 130.5 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-vn4696095

page 61 Night Heron 1890s treated, hand-coloured print; 36.5 x 27.7 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6843302

page 69 Australian Snipe c. 1896 watercolour; 50.8 x 63.5 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6928676

page 62 Black-shouldered Kite, Elanus axillaris, with a Musk Lorikeet, Glossopsitta concinna 1894 hand-coloured print; 35.5 x 28 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6843369

page 70 White Cockatoo, Cacatua galerita 1894 hand-coloured print; 36.3 x 28.1 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6837759

page 63 Eagle Hawk 1887 watercolour; 50.1 x 33.4 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6942171 page 64 Buff-banded Rail 1894 hand-coloured print; 28 x 36.3 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6927704 page 65 Spur-winged Plover 1892 hand-coloured print; 29 x 36.2 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6843449 page 66 Comb-crested Jacana, Irediparra gallinacea, Also Known as Lotusbird 1893 hand-coloured print; 28 x 37 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6843384

page 71 White Cockatoo 1890s watercolour; 28 x 21.5 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6952710 page 72 Cockatoo and Koala between 1880 and 1903 watercolour; 39.3 x 59.5 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6952708 page 73 White Cockatoo and Native Bear 1890s treated, hand-coloured print; 36.3 x 28 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6837968 page 74 Eastern Rosella 1897 watercolour; 31.3 x 24.9 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6552757 page 75 Blue Kingfisher, Richmond River 1890s hand-coloured print; 25 x 35 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6843367

195

page 76 Kookaburras on Branch 1888 watercolour; 62.5 x 49 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6928695

page 84 Blue Wren 1892 treated, hand-coloured print; 29.7 x 37.3 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6928686

page 77 Two Kookaburras on a Branch 1893 hand-coloured lithograph; 63.3 x 50 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an14535756

page 85 Emu Wrens and Nest 1893 treated, hand-coloured print; 36.3 x 27.8 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6928241

page 78 (top) Kookaburras, Dacelo novaeguineae 1890s watercolour; 57.2 x 48.2 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6928679

page 86 Emu Wren 1892 treated, hand-coloured print; 36.5 x 28 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6928243

page 78 (bottom) Kookaburra Feeding Young 1892 treated, hand-coloured print; 36.3 x 28 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6843375

page 87 (left) Red-tipped Pardalote 1890s hand-coloured print; 35.1 x 25 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6928691

page 79 Noisy Pitta 1894 treated, hand-coloured print; 28 x 36.3 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6843442

page 87 (right) Red Wattlebird 1893 hand-coloured print; 36.4 x 28 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6928688

page 80 Lyre Birds 1893 hand-coloured lithograph; 66.2 x 51.3 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an14534402

page 88 Grey-crowned Babbler 1894 hand-coloured print; 25 x 35.5 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6837705

page 81 Lyrebird 1890s watercolour; 64.2 x 49.8 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6952337

page 89 Young Butcherbirds and Nest 1890s watercolour; 60 x 45 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6952691

page 82 Group of Blue Wrens 1893 hand-coloured print; 36.3 x 28 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6928232

page 90 Rufous Fantail 1890s hand-coloured print; 29.8 x 23.3 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6838000

page 83 Blue Wren 1890s treated, hand-coloured print; 36 x 27.5 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6928681

page 91 Willy Wagtails 1890s watercolour; 37 x 28 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6928672

196

L IS T

page 92 Magpies Feeding Young 1893 lithograph; 62.7 x 50.1 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6942168 page 93 Magpie Lark 1893 treated, hand-coloured print; 36 x 27.5 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6843394 page 94 Paradise Rifle-bird, Ptiloris paradiseus 1893 hand-coloured print; 36.3 x 28 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6927740 page 95 Raggi Bird of Paradise 1890s treated, hand-coloured print; 36.2 x 28 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6837712 page 96 Scarlet-breasted Robin 1893 treated, hand-coloured print; 36.1 x 28 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6927741 page 97 Swallows 1893 treated, hand-coloured print; 28 x 36 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6928222 page 98 Mistletoe Bird 1890s treated, hand-coloured print; 35 x 24.7 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6843401 page 99 Chestnut-breasted Finch, Lonchura castaneothorax 1890s hand-coloured print; 35 x 24.7 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6837995

of

IL LUS TR ATIONS

Neville William Cayley page 100 Portrait of Neville Cayley c. 1936 b&w print; 10.5 x 8 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-vn3794284-s1 page 101 Neville William Cayley with his sisters Alice (in front) and Doris, c. 1896 Courtesy Cheryl Macfarlane page 103 (top) New South Wales Government Printing Office Surf Bathing, Manly Beach, New South Wales 1900 gelatin silver print; 28 x 36 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an13294757 page 103 (bottom) Duke Kahanamoku with His Famed Surfboard on Cronulla Beach, February, 1915 in A Pictorial History of Cronulla by Pauline Curby, p. 41 (Crows Nest, NSW: Kingsclear Books, 1998) Australian Collection nla.cat-vn755720 page 105 Neville William Cayley (1886–1950) illustration for The Tragedy of Mr. and Mrs. Jacky Winter in The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 29 July 1909, p. 36 Courtesy State Library of New South Wales page 106 Neville William Cayley (1886–1950) Gum Trees watercolour; 60.3 x 33 cm Courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, V*/Sp Coll/Cayley Jr/1 page 107 (left) Neville William Cayley (1886–1950) On Guard frontispiece in Rowlandson’s Success: A Volume of Australian Literature, vol. 2 (Sydney: New South Wales Bookstall Co., 1909) Australian Collection nla.cat-vn2019417

197

page 107 (right) Neville William Cayley (1886–1950) Come and Join Us 1909 watercolour; 38 x 28 cm Courtesy Greg Currie page 108 Neville William Cayley (1886–1950) Duck in Flight Being Shot 1907 watercolour; 60.6 x 45.5 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6952705 page 109 (left) Neville William Cayley (1886–1950) cover of Our Flowers (Sydney: Aldenhoven Art Galleries, 1918) Australian Rare Books Collection nla.cat-vn2280334 page 109 (right) Neville William Cayley (1886–1950) cover of Our Birds (Sydney: Aldenhoven Art Galleries, 1918) Australian Rare Books Collection nla.cat-vn758015

(Sydney: Sydney Morning Herald, 1938) Australian Rare Books Collection nla.cat-vn970484 page 117 (right) Neville William Cayley (1886–1950) title page of Feathered Minstrels of Australia by Alec Chisholm (Sydney: Simmons Ltd, 1926) Australian Rare Books Collection nla.cat-vn1976749 page 119 (left) Neville William Cayley (1886–1950) cover of The Tale of ‘Bluey’ Wren (Sydney: Lonsdale & Bartholomew, c. 1926) Australian Collection nla.cat-vn1771238 page 119 (right) Henry Luke White (1860–1927) Photograph of Neville Cayley, Archibald Campbell and Sidney Jackson, 22 May, 1921 sepia-toned print; 13.5 x 8.5 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an24768299

page 112 Alice R. Cayley (1889–1960) Scarlet Honeyeater (Myzomela sanguinolenta) 1920s watercolour; oval 18.4 x 12 cm Courtesy Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, SV*Bird Aus/14

page 122 Neville William Cayley (1886–1950) Some Birds of the Heath and Undergrowth plate xxiv in What Bird Is That? A Guide to the Birds of Australia (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1931) Australian Rare Books Collection nla.cat-vn1918903

page 114 Angus & Robertson Booksellers, Castlereagh Street, Sydney 1920s b&w print; 18.5 x 14.6 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-vn4975003

page 123 (left) Neville William Cayley (1886–1950) on dust jacket of Australian Parrots: Their Habits in the Field and Aviary by Neville W. Cayley (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1938) Courtesy Andrew Isles Natural History Books, Melbourne

page 116 Anthony Musgrave ‘Bird Picnic’ Groups, Wallarobba plate 49 in Emu, vol. 25, 1926, opposite p. 275 Australian Collection nla.cat-vn756499

page 123 (right) Neville William Cayley (1886–1950) small signed sketch of Eastern Rosella and inscription to W.G. Cousins dated 30 August 1938 in copy of Australian Parrots: Their Habits in the Field and Aviary (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1938) Courtesy Andrew Isles Natural History Books, Melbourne

page 117 (left) Neville William Cayley (1886–1950) cover of Australian Birds and Flowers

page 124 (top) Neville William Cayley (1886–1950) Seven Little Australians

198

L IS T

in Laughing Jack by Dorothy Drewett, pp. 6–7 (Sydney: Pratten Bros Ltd, 1931) Australian Collection nla.cat-vn2016586 page 124 (bottom) Neville William Cayley (1886–1950) The Birds Take Flight in The Sydney Mail, 14 February 1934, p. 32 Courtesy State Library of New South Wales page 126 (left) Neville William Cayley (1886–1950) Wedge-tailed Eagle in The Weekly Times Wild Nature Series, no. 85, supplement to The Weekly Times, 14 July 1934 Courtesy David Crane page 126 (right) Neville William Cayley (1886–1950) Ground and Night Parrots in The Weekly Times Wild Nature Series, no. 73, supplement to The Weekly Times, 21 April 1934 Courtesy David Crane page 128 Neville William Cayley (1886–1950) Scarlet Honeyeater and Eastern Spinebill on title page of Australian Birds (Melbourne: Shell, 1930) Courtesy David Crane page 129 David Low (1891–1963) A Black and White Study of George Robertson by David Low in Fragment: The House Magazine of Angus & Robertson and Halstead Press, October 1955, p. 11 (Sydney: Angus & Robertson) Australian Collection nla.cat-vn107155 page 130 Neville William Cayley with His Painting Black Swans in Flight in The Sydney Morning Herald, 28 April 1938, p. 14 Newspapers and Microforms Collection nla.news-page1182311

of

IL LUS TR ATIONS

page 135 Menu for the Royal Australasian Ornithologists’ Union Dinner 1922 16.2 x 10.7 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-vn3794284-s2/s3/s4/s5 page 137 (left) Neville William Cayley (1886–1950) on dust jacket of Furred Animals of Australia by Ellis Troughton (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1941) Courtesy Andrew Isles Natural History Books, Melbourne page 137 (right) Neville William Cayley (1886–1950) small signed sketch of koala and inscription to W.G. Cousins dated Christmas 1944 in copy of Furred Animals of Australia by Ellis Troughton (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1941) Courtesy Andrew Isles Natural History Books, Melbourne page 139 Keith Alfred Hindwood (1904–1971) Portrait of N.W. Cayley (left) and A.H. Chisholm, Springwood, NSW, November 1947 b&w print; 10.4 x 8 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-vn3796108 page 141 Neville William Cayley and his second wife Phyllis Mary, c. 1946 Courtesy Berrima District Historical & Family History Society Inc. page 145 (left) Neville William Cayley (1886–1950) Waratah—Telopea speciosissima colour print; 27.7 x 17.7 cm Courtesy Greg Currie page 145 (right) detail, see caption for page 159

page 133 W.S. Smith Group Photograph of Members of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union c. 1921 b&w print; 15 x 20.3 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an24862598

199

Portfolio: Neville William Cayley page 148 Neville William Cayley (1886–1950) and Francis S. Rodriguez (1884–1968) Birds’ Eggs plate XVIII in The Illustrated Australian Encyclopaedia, vol. 1, edited by Arthur Wilberforce Jose and Herbert James Carter (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1925–1926) Australian Rare Books Collection nla.cat-vn108336 page 149 Palm Cockatoo (Probosciger atterimus) 1930s watercolour; 75.5 x 55 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6952728 page 150 Glossy Black Cockatoo (Harrisornis lathami) 1930s watercolour; 75.5 x 55.6 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6952719 page 151 White-tailed Black Cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus baudinii) 1930s watercolour; 75.3 x 54.3 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6952723 page 152 Pink Cockatoo (Lophocroa leadbeateri) 1930s watercolour; 75.8 x 56.8 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6952698 page 153 Gang-Gang Cockatoo (Callocorydon fimbriatus) 1930s watercolour; 75.5 x 55.5 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6952714 page 154 Galah (Eolophus roseicapillus) 1930s watercolour; 55 x 37.5 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an7021903 page 155 Corella (Licmetis tenuinostris) 1930s watercolour; 75.7 x 55.5 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6952725

page 156 Cockatiel (Leptolophus hollandicus) 1930s watercolour; 55.7 x 37.8 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6952700 page 157 Lorikeets 1950s colour photomechanical print; 39 x 29.3 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-vn4939121 page 158 Varied Lorikeet (Psitteuteles versicolor), Musk Lorikeet (Glossopsitta concinna), Purple-crowned Lorikeet (Glossopsitta porphyrocephala), Little Lorikeet (Glossopsitta pusilla) 1930s watercolour; 54.9 x 37.4 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6952697 page 159 Blue-browed Lorilet (Opopsitta coxeni), Red-browed Lorilet (Opopsitta leadbeateri) 1930s watercolour; 55 x 37.5 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an7021897 page 160 Red-sided Parrot (Lorius roratus) 1930s watercolour; 76.2 x 54.1 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6952721 page 161 Red-cheeked Parrot (Geoffroyus geoffroyi) 1930s watercolour; 55.2 x 38 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6952740 page 162 Superb Parrakeet (Polytelis swainsonii) 1930s watercolour; 55 x 37.7 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6940251 page 163 Regent Parrakeet (Polytelis anthopeplos) 1930s watercolour; 54.9 x 37.6 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an7021893

200

L IS T

page 164 Princess Parrakeet (Northipsitta alexandrae) 1930s watercolour; 55 x 37.5 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an7021889

of

IL LUS TR ATIONS

page 172 Orange-breasted Parrakeet (Neonanodes chrysogaster), Elegant Parrakeet (Neonanodes elegans) 1930s watercolour ; 55.3 x 37.8 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6952695

page 165 Western Rosella (Platycercus icterotis), Pale-headed Rosella (Platycercus adscitus), Northern Rosella (Platycercus venustus) 1930s watercolour; 55 x 37.5 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6940217

page 173 (left) Turquoise Parrakeet (Neophema pulchella), Scarlet-chested Parrakeet (Neophema splendida) 1930s watercolour; 56 x 37.5 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6940224

page 166 Red-capped Parrakeet (Purpureicephalus spurius) 1930s watercolour; 55.3 x 37.8 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6952741

page 173 (right) Night Parrakeet (Geopsittacus occidentalis) 1930s watercolour; 55.2 x 37.8 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6952739

page 167 Bourke Parrakeet (Neopsephotus bourki), Swift Parrakeet (Lathamus discolor) 1930s watercolour; 55.3 x 37.5 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6952737

page 174 Superb Lyrebirds, Male and Female c. 1933 watercolour; 26.7 x 19 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-vn4939194

page 168 Golden-shouldered Parrakeet (Psephotellus chrysopterygius), Hooded Parrakeet (Psephotellus dissimilis) 1930s watercolour; 55 x 37.5 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an6952732 page 169 Paradise Parrakeet (Psephotellus pulcherrimus) 1930s watercolour; 55.2 x 37.5 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an7021899 page 170 Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus) 1930s watercolour; 54 x 36.5 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an7021891 page 171 Blue-winged Parrakeet (Neonanodes chrysostomus), Rock Parrakeet (Neonanodes petrophilus) 1930s watercolour; 55.8 x 37.5 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an7021894

page 175 Satin Bowerbirds, Male and Female c. 1933 watercolour; 26.7 x 19 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-vn4939447 page 176 Fairy Wrens 1950s colour photomechanical print; 39 x 29.3 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-vn4939070 page 177 Blue Wrens, Male and Female c. 1933 watercolour; 26.7 x 19 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-vn4939216 page 178 Chestnut-tailed Heath Wrens c. 1933 watercolour; 26.7 x 19 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-vn4939178

201

page 179 Winiam Field-wren (Calamanthus winiam), Male at Nest 1928 watercolour; 30.4 x 20.3 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-an24261338 page 180 White-eared Honeyeaters c. 1933 watercolour; 26.7 x 19 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-vn4939417 page 181 Honeyeaters 1950s colour photomechanical print; 39 x 29.3 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-vn4939096 page 182 Neville William Cayley (1886–1950) and Francis S. Rodriguez (1884–1968) Chats plate XIII in The Illustrated Australian Encyclopaedia, vol. 1, edited by Arthur Wilberforce Jose and Herbert James Carter (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1925–1926) Australian Rare Books Collection nla.cat-vn108336 page 183 Neville William Cayley (1886–1950) and Francis S. Rodriguez (1884–1968) Birds’ Eggs plate XLIX in The Illustrated Australian Encyclopaedia, vol. 2, edited by Arthur Wilberforce Jose and Herbert James Carter (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1925–1926) Australian Rare Books Collection nla.cat-vn108336   page 184 Two Black-backed Magpies c. 1930. watercolour; 25.3 x 18.8 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-vn4969788 page 185 Black-backed Magpie c. 1933 watercolour; 26.7 x 19 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-vn4939411

page 186 Neville William Cayley (1886–1950) and Francis S. Rodriguez (1884–1968) Finches plate XV in The Illustrated Australian Encyclopaedia, vol. 1, edited by Arthur Wilberforce Jose and Herbert James Carter (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1925–1926) Australian Rare Books Collection nla.cat-vn108336 page 187 Star Finches plate V in Australian Finches in Bush and Aviary (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1932) Australian Collection nla.cat-vn912278 page 188 Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) 1950s colour photomechanical print; 39 x 29.3 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-vn4938988 page 189 Squirrel Flying Phalangers (Petaurus sciureus) 1950s colour photomechanical print; 39 x 29.3 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-vn4939038 page 190 Red Kangaroo (Macropus rufus), Male (right) and Female 1950s colour photomechanical print; 39 x 29.3 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-vn4938951 page 191 Old Wives (Enoplosus armatus) in Coral Garden 1950s colour photomechanical print; 39 x 29.3 cm Pictures Collection nla.pic-vn4939002

page 215 Neville Henry Cayley (1854–1903) May Christmas Be Laden with Every Blessing (Kookaburra feeding young) greeting card; 16.1 x 12.2 cm Courtesy Greg Currie

202

Bibliography

Design and Art Australia Online (DAAO), http://www.daao.org.au/, viewed 1 July 2012.

Note: The references below are ordered alphabetically by surname or title, except for newspapers, which are ordered chronologically.

Arthur E. Greenwood and Harold W.H. Stephen, Catalogue Descriptive and Critical of the Art Gallery: With Sydney Art Notes, Sydney: J.L. Holmes, 1883.

Neville Henry Cayley

Keith Howland, Yamba Yesterday: A Retrospective View 1885–1985. Yamba, NSW: The Centenary Committee, 1994.

1813 to 1880 Baptism Project, Norwich, St. Stephens, http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb. ancestry.com/~tinstaafl/Church_Pages/norwich_ st_stephens5.htm, viewed 1 July 2012.

Christine E. Jackson, Dictionary of Bird Artists of the World. Suffolk: Antique Collectors’ Club, 1999.

Julian Ashton, ‘The Society of Artists’, in Society of Artists Pictures. Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1920, pp. 1–12.

John and Julie Tucker Family History, http://www.tuckerjr.com/getperson. php?personID=I10698&tree=Tucker-Eatch, viewed 1 July 2012.

Edward Bemrose, ‘How to Obtain HighColoured Canaries’, Journal of Horticulture and Cottage Gardener, 11 December 1873, p. 477.

Duncan McFarlane, A History of the Clarence River. Grafton: Clarence River Historical Society, 2005.

Tim Birkhead, The Red Canary: The Story of the First Genetically Engineered Animal. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2003.

John McNamara, From Clarence River Heads to Yamba. Yamba, NSW: Port of Yamba Historical Society, 2010.

W.A. Blakston et al., Illustrated Book of Canaries and Cagebirds, British and Foreign. London: Cassell, Petter, Galpin and Co., 1878.

Eleanor H. McSwan, A History of Yamba and Iluka. Maclean: Maclean District Historical Society, 1978.

M.J. Buckley, The N.S.W. Northern Rivers Lancers. Lismore: Martin J. Buckley, 1991. Dianne F. Byrne and Kevin J. Lambkin, ‘Anthony Alder (1838–1915), Queensland Taxidermist and Bird Painter’, Archives of Natural History, vol. 37, 2010, pp. 53–73. Neville Cayley, letters to Dr. E.P. Ramsay, 31 May, 13 June and 5 July 1889, Edward Pierson Ramsay correspondence, 1862–1903, Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, MLMSS 1589.

New South Wales Government Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, http://www.bdm.nsw.gov. au/familyHistory/searchHistoricalRecords.htm, viewed 1 July 2012. Public Record Office Victoria, ‘Index to Unassisted Inward Passenger Lists to Victoria 1852–1923’, http://prov.vic.gov.au/index_ search?searchid=23, viewed 1 July 2012.

203

Carol Rawcliffe and Richard Wilson (eds), Norwich Since 1550. London: Hambledon Continuum, 2004. Richmond Historical Society, Town and Country Journal on the Richmond. Lismore: Richmond River Historical Society, 2001. Maurice Ryan, Casino: From Crossing Place to Municipality 1840–1980. Casino, NSW: Municipality of Casino, 1980. Maureen Slapp (compiler), ‘The Railway Guest House, Bulli—Family Reminiscences’, http:// www.uow.edu.au/~morgan/railwayinn.htm, viewed 1 July 2012. Ronald Strahan, Rare and Curious Specimens: An Illustrated History of the Australian Museum 1827–1979. Sydney: The Australian Museum, 1979.

Newspapers ‘Commissions Signed by the Lord Lieutenant of the County of Norfolk, and the City and County of the City of Norwich’, The London Gazette, 2 June 1863, p. 2858. Family Notices, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser, 1 September 1863, p. 2. ‘Commissions Signed by the Lord Lieutenant of the County of Norfolk, and the City and County of the City of Norwich’, The London Gazette, 1 January 1864, p. 3. ‘Across the Walnuts and Wine’, Portland Guardian and Normanby General Advertiser, 12 October 1868, p. 4.

Untitled, The Empire, 5 January 1870, p. 3. ‘Court of Chancery, Wednesday, May 28. Caley v Caley’, The Bury and Norwich Post and Suffolk Herald, 3 June 1873, p. 6. ‘Caley against Caley’, The London Gazette, 22 July 1873, p. 3475. Untitled, The Queenslander, 1 July 1876, p. 11. ‘Paintings from Animal Life’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 18 August 1876, p. 5. Advertising, The Argus, 6 January 1877, p. 1. ‘Shipping Intelligence. Hobson’s Bay’, The Argus, 21 September 1877, p. 4 Advertising, The Argus, 24 October 1877, p. 1. ‘Victoria. Melbourne’, Launceston Examiner, 25 November 1878, p. 2. Advertising, The Argus, 5 April 1879, p. 1. ‘Annual Licensing Meetings’, Warragul Guardian and Buln Buln and Narracan Shire Advocate, 18 December 1879, p. 3. ‘Warragul Police Court’, Warragul Guardian and Buln Buln and Narracan Shire Advocate, 1 January 1880, p. 3. ‘Warragul County Court’, Warragul Guardian and Buln Buln and Narracan Shire Advocate, 9 December 1880, p. 3. ‘Shipping. Arrivals’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 14 December 1880, p. 4. Advertising, The Argus, 14 August 1880, p. 3. ‘News of the Day’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 29 January 1881, p. 5.

204

BIBL IO G R A PHY

‘The Clarence and Richmond Examiner’, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser, 16 July 1881, p. 2.

‘Echoes Far and Near’, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser, 23 November 1883, p. 2.

‘The Clarence and Richmond Examiner. Saturday, August 6, 1881’, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser, 6 August 1881, p. 2.

‘Section X—Miscellaneous. Fine Arts’, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser, 3 May 1884, p. 8.

‘The Clarence and Richmond Examiner. Saturday, August 27, 1881’, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser, 27 August 1881, p. 2. ‘The Clarence and Richmond Examiner, Saturday, September 17, 1881’, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser, 17 September 1881, p. 2.

‘News of the Day’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 7 November 1884, p. 7. ‘News of the Day’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 5 February 1885, p. 9. ‘Art Society’s Exhibition’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 11 April 1885, p. 9. ‘Mr Neville Cayley’, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser, 21 July 1885, p. 2.

‘Art Society Exhibition’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 October 1881, p. 6. ‘News of the Day’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 12 January 1882, p. 5.

‘Art Notes’, The Argus, 31 October 1885, p. 12.

‘Clarence P. and A. Society. Horticultural, Flower Show and Fine Art Exhibition’, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser, 28 October 1882, p. 4. ‘The Wreck of the New England’, Illustrated Sydney News, 20 January 1883, p. 7.

Advertising, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser, 21 November 1885, p. 3. Family Notices, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser, 16 January 1886, p. 4. ‘News of the Day’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 3 February 1886, p. 9.

‘Clarence and Richmond Examiner’, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser, 6 February 1883, p. 2. ‘C.P. and A. Society’s Show’, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser, 3 May 1883, p. 8. ‘Country News. (By Telegraph.) (From Our Correspondents.) Newcastle, Friday’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 15 September 1883, p. 12.

‘Art Society of New South Wales’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 August 1884, p. 9.

Advertising, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser, 17 April 1886, p. 3. ‘Description of Some Addresses’, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser, 11 May 1886, p. 2.

205

‘An Australian Art Industry’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 14 June 1886, p. 4.

‘Mr. Neville Cayley’s Water-colour Paintings’, The Bowral Free Press and Berrima District Intelligencer, 6 March 1889.

‘Fact and Rumour’, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser, 31 July 1886, p. 4.

Advertising, The Bowral Free Press and Berrima District Intelligencer, 19 June 1889, p. 3.

‘Colonial and Indian Exhibition Queensland’, Illustrated London News, 28 August 1886, pp. 233–238.

‘Mr. Neville Cayley’, The Bowral Free Press and Berrima District Intelligencer, 26 June 1889, p. 3. ‘Moss Vale. July 20’, The Australian Town and Country Journal, 27 July 1889, p. 15.

‘Military Sports’, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser, 13 November 1886, p. 3.

Advertising, The Sydney Morning Herald, 5 September 1889, p. 6.

‘Cayley’s Art Union’, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser, 22 January 1887, p. 8. ‘News of the Day’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 10 February 1887, p. 7. ‘Neville Cayley’, The Scrutineer, 3 February 1888, p. 2. ‘Picturesque Victoria. By Telemachus’, The Argus, 25 February 1888, p. 5. ‘Section X—Miscellaneous’, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser, 21 April 1888, p. 8. ‘News of the Day’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 21 July 1888, p. 13.

‘The Australian Game Fowl’, The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 14 September 1889, p. 583. ‘Births’, The Bowral Free Press and Berrima District Intelligencer, 12 October 1889. Advertising, The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 November 1889, p. 2. Advertising, The Sydney Morning Herald, 16 November 1889, p. 10. Advertising, The Sydney Morning Herald, 20 November 1889, p. 14.

‘Mr. Neville Cayley’, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser, 28 July 1888, p. 4. ‘Sale of Mr. Cayley’s Pictures’, The Bowral Free Press and Berrima District Intelligencer, 12 February 1889, p. 3.

‘The Last Day with the Ducks’, The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 7 September 1889, p. 527.

‘Meeting. Art Society of New South Wales’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 11 January 1890, p. 13. ‘Bowral on Canvas’, The Bowral Free Press and Berrima District Intelligencer, 18 January 1890, p. 2. ‘Abbreviana’, The Bowral Free Press and Berrima District Intelligencer, 22 January 1890, p. 2.

206

BIBL IO G R A PHY

‘The Late Fire at Bowral’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 24 January 1890, p. 6.

‘Local News’, The Bowral Free Press and Berrima District Intelligencer, 5 March 1892, p. 2.

‘To Lovers of Art’, The Bowral Free Press and Berrima District Intelligencer, 8 February 1890, p. 3.

‘Fact and Rumour’, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner, 26 March 1892, p. 4. ‘Art’, The Northern Star, 27 August 1892, p. 2.

Untitled, The Bowral Free Press and Berrima District Intelligencer, 8 February 1890, p. 2.

Advertising, The Sydney Morning Herald, 26 November 1892, p. 13.

‘Letter to the Editor. The Aboriginal, Tommy Ryan’, The Bowral Free Press and Berrima District Intelligencer, 26 February 1890, p. 2.

Family Notices, The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 April 1893, p. 1.

‘Mr. Neville Cayley’s Water-colour Paintings’, The Bowral Free Press and Berrima District Intelligencer, 6 March 1890, p. 1.

‘Death of M.W. Gregory’, The Northern Star, 22 April 1893, p. 2.

‘Household Furniture—Original Water Colour Paintings’, The Bowral Free Press and Berrima District Intelligencer, 2 April 1890, p. 3.

‘Art in Brisbane. An Interesting Collection’, The Brisbane Courier, 10 August 1893, p. 6. ‘Special Telegrams. (The Argus London Agency). The Chicago Exhibition. Awards to New South Wales Exhibitors’, The Argus, 15 September 1893, p. 5.

‘Art, Music, and the Drama’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 26 April 1890, p. 7. ‘The Bowral Fire Fund’, The Bowral Free Press and Berrima District Intelligencer, 26 April 1890, p. 3.

‘Flower Show and Fine Art Exhibition’, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner, 28 October 1893, p. 8.

‘Artistic’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 31 December 1890, p. 10. Advertising, The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 May 1891, p. 14. Advertising, Illustrated Sydney News, 6 June 1891, p. 14. ‘Australian Museum’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 7 August 1891, p. 6. ‘Hamilton Junior Industrial Exhibition’, Portland Guardian (evening edition), 25 November 1891, p. 3.

‘Mr. Cayley’s Pictures for Auction’, The Northern Star, 11 March 1893, p. 2.

‘Australian Christmas Cards’, The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser, 2 November 1893, p. 4. ‘Farewell to Mr. and Mrs. J.O. Burgess’, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner, 28 April 1894, p. 5. ‘Art Notes’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 12 May 1894, p. 5. Advertising, The Argus, 21 May 1894, p. 8.

207

Advertising, The Sydney Morning Herald, 30 June 1894, p. 2. ‘The Fine Arts. More of Mr. Neville Cayley’s Pictures’, The Northern Star, 15 December 1894, p. 2.

‘Art Society’s Exhibition. An Attractive Show’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 31 August 1901, p. 10. ‘Australian Ornithology’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 3 May 1902, p. 4.

‘Aldenhoven’s Gallery’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 20 December 1894, p. 3.

‘Ornithology’, The Australian Town and Country Journal, 10 May 1902, p. 16.

‘The Art Gallery’, The Queenslander, 20 April 1895, p. 747.

‘Death of Neville Cayley’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 8 May 1903, p. 4.

‘Tuesday, September 24, 1895’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 24 September 1895, p. 4.

‘Death of Mr. Neville Cayley’, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner, 12 May 1903, p. 8.

Advertising, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser, 24 November 1895, p. 3.

‘Death of Neville Cayley’, The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 13 May 1903, p. 1178.

‘Wollongong. (By Our Special Reporter.)’, The Australian Town and Country Journal, 8 February 1896, p. 17.

‘Australian Birds’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 16 May 1903, p. 4. ‘Concerning People’, The Register, 28 May 1903, p. 5.

‘The Society of Artists’, The Australian Town and Country Journal, 12 September 1896, p. 18.

‘The West Gippsland Gazette. Warragul, June 2nd’, West Gippsland Gazette (morning edition), 2 June 1903, p. 2.

‘Nests and Eggs of Australian Birds’, The Australian Town and Country Journal, 29 July 1899, p. 17.

‘Fine Art Exhibition’, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner, 12 September 1903, p. 8.

Advertising, The Australian Town and Country Journal, 14 October 1899, p. 57. ‘Mrs. Wm. Gregory’, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner, 11 November 1899, p. 4. ‘New Picture Gallery’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 16 January 1900, p. 4. ‘Grafton—The Capital of the Clarence River District’, The Australian Town and Country Journal, 30 June 1900, p. 30. ‘Mr. Aldenhoven’s Art Gallery’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 8 July 1901, p. 8.

Advertising, The Sydney Morning Herald, 24 October 1903, p. 4. ‘Notes and Comments’, The Brisbane Courier, 4 November 1903, p. 6. ‘Grafton Revisited. Among the Pictures’, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner, 21 June 1904, p. 4. Advertising, The Sydney Morning Herald, 13 July 1904, p. 2.

208

BIBL IO G R A PHY

‘Fine Art Exhibition, Eight Hundred Pictures’, The Register, 5 May 1905, p. 8. Advertising, The West Australian, 26 August 1905, p. 5. ‘Death of Mr. E.J. Cox’, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner, 7 May 1907, p. 5. Untitled, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner, 14 September 1909, p. 4. Advertising, The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 March 1910, p. 3. ‘Death of Mr. J.O. Burgess’, The Northern Star, 15 November 1910, p. 2. ‘N.W. Cayley’s Paintings’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 6 April 1918, p. 11.

‘The Sydney Mail: Special Christmas Number. Splendid Stories: Beautiful Pictures’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 3 December 1930, p. 12. ‘The Lancers Urge National Defence Below “Danger Mark”’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 18 October 1933, p. 17. ‘Bird Lovers. Cayley Memorial Scholarship’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 28 September 1935, p. 18. Family Notices, The Sydney Morning Herald, 13 May 1936, p. 13. R.C. Law, ‘Stories of the Clarence: Some of the Early Naturalists’, The Daily Examiner, 1 May 1948, p. 2.

‘Aldenhoven’s Famous Gallery Dispersed’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 20 July 1920, p. 7. ‘Exhibition of Drawings’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 11 October 1920, p. 11. ‘Late Mr. C.H. Round’, West Gippsland Gazette, 28 February 1922 (morning edition), p. 2. Advertising, The Sydney Morning Herald, 25 March 1922, p. 6. Advertising, The Argus, 6 March 1923, p. 2. ‘Obituary. Wm. Aldenhoven’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 22 September 1923, p. 16. Advertising, The Sydney Morning Herald, 24 October 1923, p. 8. Advertising, The Sydney Morning Herald, 8 October 1927, p. 23. Advertising, The Sydney Morning Herald, 9 September 1929, p. 3.

Neville William Cayley Angus & Robertson, ‘Correspondence’, Emu, vol. 23, 1924, p. 328. Australian Electoral Commission, Australian Electoral Roll 1903, 1909 and 1919. Anthony Barker, ‘Robertson, George (1860– 1933)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, http:// adb.anu.edu.au/biography/robertson-george-8233/ text14413, viewed 1 July 2012. E. George Boreham, Letter to Father Edward Leo Hayes, 11 November 1955, Hayes Collection, Fryer Library, University of Queensland, UQFL2/283b. Paul Brunton (ed.), The Diaries of Miles Franklin. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen and Unwin, 2004.

209

Bye-Laws of the Prince Leopold Lodge No. 23, of the Most Ancient and Honourable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons, under the Grand Lodge of New South Wales. Grafton: printed by W.M. Madgwick, 1881.

Dame Mary Jean Gilmore, ‘To Neville Cayley’, unpublished poem dated 20 January 1937, Hayes Collection, Fryer Library, University of Queensland, UQFL2/2985. Courtesy Estate of Mary Gilmore.

Neville W. Cayley, ‘A “Bird Picnic” at Wallarobba, N.S.W.’, Emu, vol. 25, 1926, pp. 274–276.

Marvin Hurnall, ‘Collecting Australian Art Ware: A Family Affair’, Antiques & Art in Victoria, August–December 2011, p. 1.

Neville W. Cayley, letters to and from and George Robertson, 1923–1924, Series 01: Angus & Robertson publishing files, 1888–1932, 12 Jan 1933, with associated papers, 1858–1887, Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, CY 1609 (MLMSS 314/17–18).

Christine E. Jackson, Dictionary of Bird Artists of the World. Suffolk: Antique Collectors’ Club, 1999. Clee F.H. Jenkins, John Gould and the Birds of Australia. Perth: Gould League of Western Australia, 1983.

Frank M. Chapman, What Bird Is That? A Pocket Museum of the Land Birds of the Eastern United States Arranged According to Season. New York and London: D. Appleton-Century, 1920.

Cherry Kearton, I Visit the Antipodes. London: Jarrolds, 1937. Allen Keast, ‘The Sydney Ornithological Fraternity, 1930s–1950: Anecdotes of an Admirer’, Australian Zoologist, vol. 30, no. 1, 1995, pp. 26–32.

Alec H. Chisholm, ‘G.R. and the Bird Books’, Fragment: The House Magazine of Angus & Robertson and Halstead Press, May 1955, pp. 11–12. Alec H. Chisholm, ‘Neville W. Cayley: An Appreciation’, Wild Life (Melbourne), vol. 12, May 1950, p. 208. Alec H. Chisholm, ‘Neville William Cayley (1886–1950)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/cayley-nevillewilliam-5540, viewed 1 July 2012. Dudley J. Dickison, ‘The First Fifty Years of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union—1901–1951’, Emu, vol. 51, no. 3, 1951, pp. 184–284.

L. Courtney Haines, ‘A Catalogue of Neville Cayley’s Paintings of Australian Cockatoos and Parrots in the Possession of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales’, Proceedings of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales 1967–1968, 1969, p. 57. Keith A. Hindwood, ‘The Late Neville W. Cayley: An Appreciation’, Emu, vol. 50, no. 1, 1950, pp. 52–56. D. Leithhead, ‘The Gould League of Bird Lovers’, Emu, vol. 38, no. 2, 1938, pp. 243–244. Gary Lester, The Cronulla Story: A Century of Surf Life Saving Vigilance and Service. Sydney: Playright Publishing, 2007.

210

BIBL IO G R A PHY

Allan R. McEvey, ‘A Note on Neville W. Cayley’s Bird-paintings’ in Neville W. Cayley, What Bird Is That?, revised by Terence R. Lindsey. Dingley, Vic.,: Redwood Editions, 2000, pp. xi–xv. Arnold R. McGill, ‘Neville W. Cayley: a Personal View’, in Neville W. Cayley, What Bird Is That?, revised by Terence R. Lindsey. Dingley, Vic.: Redwood Editions, 2000, pp. ix–x. John McPhee, ‘Harris, John Castle (Jack) (1893– 1967)’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, http:// adb.anu.edu.au/biography/harris-john-castlejack-10436, viewed 1 July 2012. ‘Neville W. Cayley’, Pittwater Online News, Issue 27, 9–15 October 2011, http://www. pittwateronlinenews.com/neville-w-cayley-history. php, viewed 1 July 2012.

A.H. Spencer, The Hill of Content. Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1959. Faye M. Young, Building Strong Traditions: A History of the Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club 1908–1957. Southgate, NSW: Fox-Young Consultancy, 2000.

Newspapers ‘Echoes Far and Near’, The Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser, 23 November 1886, p. 2. Family Notices, The Sydney Morning Herald, 16 June 1888, p. 1. ‘Suicide of Mr Doust’, Bathurst Free Press and Mining Journal, 12 January 1900, p. 3. ‘The Latest Telegrams. Sydney. Friday’, The Dubbo Liberal and Macquarie Advocate, 13 January 1900, p. 5.

‘Neville W. Cayley’, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of New South Wales, May 1950, p. 20. ‘N.W. Cayley Dead. Expert on Birds, Animals’, Gould League Notes, vol. 16, 1950, p. 12.

‘Sale of Work’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 21 April 1900, p. 9.

Archie Victor Jack Parry, Bowral: Commonwealth Jubilee 1951. Bowral, NSW: Bowral Commonwealth Jubilee Celebrations Committee, 1951.

‘Fine Art Exhibition. Eight Hundred Pictures’, The Register, 5 May 1905, p. 8. ‘Swimming. Cronulla Surf Club’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 22 April 1908, p. 10.

Barry Pearce, Australian Artists, Australian Birds. North Ryde: Angus & Robertson, 1989.

Rev. T. Hilhouse Taylor, ‘The Tragedy of Mr and Mrs Jacky Winter’, The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 29 July 1909, p. 36.

J.H. Prince, Neville Cayley, His Royal Zoological Society of N.S.W. Collection of Parrots and Cockatoos of Australia. Sydney: Reed, 1980.

‘Bird Day at Schools’, Euroa Advertiser, 1 October 1909, p. 4.

Peter Roberts and David Tribe, The Gould League in New South Wales: From Birdlovers to Environmentalists. Sydney: Cumberland Field Observers Club, 2010.

‘Surf-bathing. Cronulla Carnival’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 30 March 1910, p. 11. ‘Gould League of Bird Lovers’, The Mercury, 3 September 1910, p. 2.

211

‘Birds of Australia. Protection of Bird Life’, Evelyn Observer and Bourke East Record, 13 January 1911, p. 6.

‘Beautiful Birds. Notable Australian Book. Feathers and Eggs in Colour’, The Register, 20 March 1922, p. 9.

‘Bird Day. First Celebration Tomorrow. Objects of the Movement’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 10 October 1911, p. 7.

‘Ornithologists. Annual Congress Opened’, The Register, 18 October 1922, p. 9.

‘Bird Protection. Work of Gould League. More Sanctuaries Needed’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 19 December 1913, p. 6. Advertising, Barrier Miner, 16 February 1918, p. 1. Family Notices, The Sydney Morning Herald, 25 March 1918, p. 6. ‘N.W. Cayley’s Paintings’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 6 April 1918, p. 11. Family Notices, The Sydney Morning Herald, 14 January 1919, p. 6. ‘Science and Nature Study. Ornithologists’ Union. Picnic at Waterworks’, The Queenslander, 4 October 1919, p. 8. ‘Ornithological Association’, The Register, 4 December 1919, p. 9. ‘Exhibition of Drawings’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 11 October 1920, p. 11. ‘News and Notes’, The West Australian, 23 October 1920, p. 8. Advertising, The West Australian, 18 October 1921, p. 1. ‘Odd Feathers’, Morning Bulletin, 26 October 1921, p. 8. Donald Macdonald,‘Cayley’s Bird Book. A Notable Enterprise’, The Argus, 7 January 1922, p. 5.

‘Ornithologists Congress. Protection of Birds Urged. Divergent Views Expressed’, The Register, 18 October 1922, p. 8. ‘Obituary. Wm. Aldenhoven’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 22 September 1923, p. 16. ‘A Woman’s Letter’, The Bulletin, 1 November 1923, p. 26. ‘Personal’, The Brisbane Courier, 8 November 1923, p. 12. ‘Mr. Cayley’s Bird Paintings’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 11 June 1924, p. 8. ‘Australian Birds’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 27 November 1926, p. 12. Family Notices, The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 January 1927, p. 12. ‘War on Opossums. Letter to the Editor of the Herald’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 June 1929, p. 5. Advertising, The West Australian, 4 September 1929, p. 3. ‘Zoologists’ Jubilee. Naturalists Foregather’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 10 October 1929, p. 14. ‘For Women. Annual Dance. Royal Zoological Society’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 31 July 1930, p. 3. ‘Youth Annual’, The Queenslander, 23 October 1930, p. 64.

212

BIBL IO G R A PHY

‘Out Among the People. Our Birds’, Advertiser and Register, 27 February 1931, p. 20.

‘The Duck-shooting Season’, The Sydney Mail, 14 February 1934, p. 32.

‘Obituary. Mrs. E.M. Halloran’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 18 May 1931, p. 11.

‘Briefly. Kooroora Club’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 21 February 1934, p. 7.

‘Birds Killed by Heat Wave’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 February 1932, p. 9.

‘The Mirror of Society’, The Australian Women’s Weekly, 22 September 1934, p. 29.

‘The Bushlover. A Difficulty’, The Brisbane Courier, 16 July 1932, p. 19.

‘Australian Birds. Mr. Cayley’s Lecture’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 18 October 1934, p. 8.

‘Bird Painting Presented to King’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 20 July 1932, p. 10.

‘Bird Banding. Practised by Protection Society. Address by Mr. Cayley’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 22 June 1935, p. 19.

‘Zoological Society. Annual Meeting’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 30 July 1932, p. 14. Advertising, The Sydney Morning Herald, 19 August 1932, p. 2. ‘Australian Birds. Lecture by Mr. Cayley’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 February 1933, p. 12. ‘Broadcasting. Thursday, May 25, National Station 2FC’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 25 May 1933, p. 4. ‘Broadcasting. Friday, July 28. National Station 2FC. Wave Length, 451 Metres’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 28 July 1933, p. 5. ‘Australian Parrots. Address by Mr. Cayley’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 29 July 1933, p. 17. ‘Obituary. Mr. G. Robertson’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 29 August 1933, p. 14. ‘Australian Birds. Mr. Neville Cayley’s Address’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 September 1933, p. 8. ‘George Robertson. A Great Publisher; the Man who Inspired the Mitchell Library and Gave Splendid Books to Australia’, The Courier-Mail, 23 September 1933, p. 18.

‘Bird Lovers. Cayley Memorial Scholarship’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 28 September 1935, p. 18. ‘Ornithologists’ Union. Annual Camp and Congress’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 14 October 1935, p. 6. ‘Protected Birds. Warning by Minister against Egg Collecting’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 21 December 1935, p. 14. ‘Mr. C. Kearton. Experiences with Snakes’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 7 January 1936, p. 9. ‘Mr. C. Kearton. Visit to National Park’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 20 January 1936, p. 10. ‘Broadcasting. Friday, January 31. National Station 2FC. Wavelength 492 Metres’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 31 January 1936, p. 5. ‘Broadcasting. Friday, February 7. National Station 2FC. Wavelength 492 Metres’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 7 February 1936, p. 3. ‘Australian Writers’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 21 February 1936, p. 6. ‘Australian Birds. Neville Cayley’s Pictures’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 13 April 1936, p. 2.

213

‘Social and Personal. Lady Gowrie’s Interest in Birds’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 April 1936, p. 20. ‘Broadcasting. Thursday, May 14, National Station 2FC. Wave Length, 492 Metres’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 14 May 1936, p. 4. ‘Ornithologists’ Union. Conference in Adelaide’, The West Australian, 20 October 1936, p. 18. ‘Beauty of Our Birds Revealed in Watercolours’, The Advertiser, 3 November 1936, p. 11. ‘Australia To-day. 1937’, Sunday Times, 8 November 1936, p. 17.

‘Brisbane Diary’, The Courier-Mail, 3 November 1938, p. 6. ‘Brisbane Diary’, The Courier-Mail, 4 November 1938, p. 4. ‘Wails and Tales’, Surf in Australia, vol. 3, no. 11, 1 July 1939, pp. 2 and 16. ‘In School—and Out’, The Canberra Times, 20 July 1939, p. 8. ‘Native Birds. Neville W. Cayley’s Paintings’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 16 March 1940, p. 13. ‘Some Art Treasures in Sydney’s Hotels’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 13 April 1940, p. 13.

‘Exotic Birds. Need to Check Introduction. Menace to Native Species’, The West Australian, 23 January 1937, p. 21.

Family Notices, The Sydney Morning Herald, 1 July 1940, p. 8.

‘In Praise of Gould’, The Mail, 2 April 1938, p. 9.

Family Notices, The Sydney Morning Herald, 13 May 1941, p. 8.

‘John O’London Literary Circle’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 9 April 1938, p. 5. ‘Neville W. Cayley’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 28 April 1938, p. 14. ‘Bird Paintings Mr. Cayley’s Collection’, The Argus, 8 September 1938, p. 8. ‘Australian Birds. Gould’s Great Work’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 5 October 1938, p. 8. ‘Vivid Bird Life Well Painted’, The Courier-Mail, 19 October 1938, p. 5. ‘Art Exhibition of Birds and Flowers’, The Courier-Mail, 20 October 1938, p. 2.

‘Parrot Presented to National Library’, The Canberra Times, 23 March 1943, p. 2. Gilbert Mant, ‘The Way I See It’, Sunday Sun (supplement), c. 1946, Parry papers, Berrima & District Historical & Family History Society. Untitled, Southern Mail, 15 November 1946, p. 5. ‘N.W. Cayley Dead. Expert on Birds, Animals’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 18 March 1950, p. 2. ‘Wild Nature’s Ways. Bird Artist’, Townsville Daily Bulletin, 22 April 1950, p. 5. Advertising, The Australian Women’s Weekly, 7 November 1951, p. 52.

‘Art Society’s Meeting’, The Courier-Mail, 1 November 1938, p. 13.

214

Neville Henry Cayley, May Christmas Be Laden with Every Blessing

215

Index Page numbers in bold refer to images.

A A Bush Lecture 7 A Day’s Shooting: Group of Australian Game Birds 34, 43 Aboriginal people 29, 31, 140 Acanthiza apicalis egg 183 Acanthiza chrysorrhoa egg 183 Acanthiza ewingii egg 183 Acanthiza inornata egg 183 Acanthiza iredalei egg 183 Acanthiza lineata egg 183 Acanthiza nana egg 183 Acanthiza nana modesta egg 183 Acanthiza pusilla diemenensis egg 183 Acanthiza pusilla egg 183 Acanthiza reguloides egg 183 Acanthiza reguloides squamata egg 183 Acanthiza robustirostris egg 183 Acanthiza uropygialis 183 Acrocephalus australis egg 183 Albino Kookaburra 28 Alcedo pusilla 75 Aldenhoven, William 20, 24, 34, 36, 37, 38, 41, 42, 101, 109 death 42, 111 Aldenhoven Art Gallery 107 Alder, Anthony 38 Kookaburra on Branch 36 Anas gracilis 46–47 Anas superciliosa 46–47, 53, 54, 108 Angus & Robertson 110, 111, 113, 114, 120, 126, 128, 129, 142 Angus & Robertson Booksellers, Castlereagh Street, Sydney 114 Anthochaera carunculata 87 Apostlebird egg 21 Aquila audax 63 Ardea intermedeia 60 The Argus (newspaper) 111, 113 Art Gallery of New South Wales 22, 29 Art Society of New South Wales 38, 39, 131

exhibitions 8, 14, 15, 31 Ashbyia lovensis 182 Ashbyia lovensis egg 183 Ashton, George and Dorothy 133 auctions of artworks 34, 42 Australasian Ornithologists Union 120 see also Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union Australia To-Day 127 Australian Bird Biographies 115 An Australian Bird Book: A Pocket Book for Field Use (Leach) 111 Australian Birds 36, 128 Australian Birds: A Beautiful Coloured Series 41 Australian Birds and Blossoms 127 Australian Birds and Flowers 117 Australian Finches in Bush and Aviary 126 Australian Game 19 Australian Gamebirds 32–33 Australian Lepidoptera and Their Transformations Drawn from the Life 22 Australian Magpie 92, 184, 185 Australian Museum 25, 27, 28, 30, 39, 134, 136 Australian Painted Snipe 67 Australian Parrots: Their Habits in the Field and Aviary 123, 126, 134 Australian Pelican 59 Australian Reed-Warbler egg 183 Australian Shelduck 46, 50, 51, 52–53 Australian Snipe 14 The Australian Town and Country Journal 27, 39–40 Avicultural Society of London 131 awards 13, 24, 26 Azure Kingfisher 41, 75

B Ballina 31 Balmain 38 Banded Lapwing 46 Banded Stilt 142 Barrett, Charles 110, 113, 126, 127 Bateman, Edward Latrobe 30 Baudin’s Black-Cockatoo 151 Bayliss, Charles. Pitt St, Sydney 20 beak and feather disease 13 Beautiful Firetail 186

216

INDE X

Bemrose, Edward 8 ‘Big Bird Book’ 110–111, 113–115, 141–142 bird calls 131 Bird Day 121, 125 Bird of Paradise (Paradisornis rudolphi), a Native of New Guinea 25 ‘Bird Picnic’ Groups, Wallarobba 116 birds, naming of 115, 123 Birds and Animals Protection Act (NSW) 135 Birds’ Eggs 148 The Birds of Australia (Cayley) 111, 113 abandonment by George Robertson 114, 115 The Birds of Australia (Mathews) 110 birds of paradise 25, 27, 42 Black, Walter and Maria 9 Black, William 18 A Black and White Study of George Robertson 129 Black-backed Magpie egg 148 Black Duck 22, 23 Black Ducks on the Wing 132 Black-faced Wood Swallow egg 21 Black Retriever 19, 25 Black-shouldered Kite 62 Black Swan 49 Black Swans in Flight 130 Black-tailed Native-hen egg 148 Blaxland Galleries 131 Blue Bird-of-Paradise 25, 27 blue cranes 20 Blue-winged Parrot 171 blue wrens 26, 42, 110, 125, 129, 130–131 Bone of Contention 14 Boreham, George 133 Bourke’s Parrot 118, 167 Bowral 24, 26, 26 The Bowral Free Press and Berrima District Intelligencer (newspaper) 26, 27, 29 Bright’s disease 40, 142 The Brisbane Courier (newspaper) 41, 111 Bristle-bird egg 21 Brown Thornbill egg 183 Brush Bronzewing 32–33 Bryant, Charles 134 Budgerigar 40, 108, 170 Budgerigars in Bush and Aviary 126

Buena Vista (house) 27 Buff-banded Rail 64 Buff-rumped Thornbill egg 183 Bullwaddy (Aboriginal man) 140 Burgess, James O. 10 butterflies 16, 22, 84, 126–127

C Cacatua galerita 70, 71, 72, 73 Cacatua galerita egg 148 Cacatua tenuirostris 155 Calamanthus campestris winiam 179 Caley, Albert Jarman 6 Caley, Arthur Pelham 7 Caley, Ernest Hugh 7 Caley, Nathaniel Henry 5 occupations 6 Caley, Neville Henry Penniston see Cayley, Neville Henry Caley, William Herbert Stillingfleet see Cayley, William Callocephalon fimbriatum 153 Calyptorhynchus baudinii 151 Calyptorhynchus lathami 150 Campbell, Archibald 113, 115, 119, 133 Campbell, J. L. 28 Campbell Williams, Lady 138 canaries 8, 34 Canary Cottage 143 Carrington, Lady 24 Cayley, Alice 19, 27, 101, 104 death 112 marriage 111 paintings 112 Cayley, Beatrice 107, 110, 116 Cayley, Doris 101 Cayley, Dorothy Loris 34 Cayley, Glenn Digby 116, 144 Cayley, Joan Lesley 144 Cayley, Lois 116 Cayley, Louise 140 Cayley, Neville Clive 110, 144 Cayley, Neville David 144 Cayley, Neville Henry art classes 6

217

artistic comparisons with Cayley, Neville William 131, 144 changes of residence 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 22, 24, 29, 31, 34, 38 commissioned works v, 9, 18, 25, 26–27 death 40, 41 debts 7 disposal of household goods 29, 30 drinking habit 7, 29, 42 emigration 6 exhibitions 38 financial problems 29 first career 6 given names 40 health problems 12, 40 landscape art 14 landscapes 17–18, 20, 27 marriage 14 name change 6 portrait 4 sale of works 7, 17, 26–27, 28, 29, 34, 39, 42 teaching art 14, 15, 26 Cayley, Neville William 42, 119, 130, 139, 141 art classes 106 artistic comparisons with Cayley, Neville Henry 131, 144 birth 9, 17, 101 collaboration with Gould League 121–123 commissioned works 140, 142 conflict with George Robertson 114–115 contributions to Gould League Notes 125–126 death 143 family 101 financial woes 143 first job 101 health problems 139, 142, 143 honouring his father 43 interview by Gilbert Mant 141 landscapes 106 lectures 130 marriage 107 2nd marriage 140 portrait 100 progress on Birds of Australia 113 schooling 39

visit with Sidney Jackson 120 Cayley, Phyllis 141 Cayley, William 6 Cayley, William Henry 39 Cayley Memorial Scholarships 43, 125, 136 Cayley’s Art Union 17, 20 Chaerocampa erotus 16 Chaffey, Frank 135–136 Chapman, Frederick 113 chats (birds) 182 Chatsworth 8 checklists of birds 115 Chenonetta jubata 47 Chestnut-breasted Mannikin 99 Chestnut-rumped Heathwren 178 Chestnut-rumped Thornbill egg 183 Chisholm, Alec 111, 118, 130, 136, 139, 143, 144 Hail the Kookaburra 127 Chisholm, Alec and Cayley, Neville. Feathered Minstrels of Australia 117 Chlamydera violaceus 175 Christmas cards 24, 34, 39, 43 Cisticola exilis egg 148, 183 The Clarence and Richmond Examiner (newspaper) 24, 37 Clarence Pastoral and Agricultural Society exhibitions 8, 10, 12, 31, 35, 37 Clarence River 10, 11, 13 Clune, Frank 133 Coach-whip Bird egg 21 Cobb & Co. Coach on the Road in Forest Setting 30 cockatiels 127, 156 cockatoos 13, 42 Baudin’s Black-Cockatoo 151 Cockatiel 156 Gang-Gang 153 Glossy Black-Cockatoo 150 Long-billed Corella 155 Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo 152 Palm Cockatoo 150 Sulphur-crested Cockatoo 12, 70, 71, 72, 73 collecting of birds and eggs 9, 134, 135, 136 Colonial and Indian Exhibition 20, 38 Comb-crested Jacana 66 Come and Join Us 107

218

INDE X

commissioned works 25, 140 Common Bronzewing 55 A Complete Guide to the Identification of Australian Birds (Leach) 111 Conigrave, Charles Price 132 conservation activities 116, 117 Convention of Parrots 37 copyists 36 copyright 36 Cornwall, Duke and Duchess of 39 Coturnix pectoralis 47, 48 The Courier Mail (newspaper) 132 Cox, Edwin 10, 17, 37 Coxen’s Fig-Parrot 145, 159 Cracticus nigrogularis 89 Crested Bellbird egg 21 Crested Oreoica egg 21 Crested Shrike-tit egg 21 Crested Tern egg 148 Crested Wedge-bill egg 21 Crested White Cockatoo 12 Crimson Chat 182 Crimson Chat egg 183 crimson finches 132 Cronulla Surf Club 102, 103, 104 Crouch, Ernest Frederick 128 Crouch, Frederick George 31 Crouch’s Trade Palace 31 Curlew Song (Kendall) 10 Cyclopsitta diophthalma 159 Cyclopsitta diophthalma coxenii 159 Cyclopsitta diophthalma macleayana 159 Cygnus atratus 49

D Dacelo novaeguineae 76, 77, 78 Daplyn, Alfred 14 David Jones stores 131 de Warren, J.J. 117 Deakin, Alfred 120 Death (illustration) 19, 25 Deerbon, Una 112 Deerbon School of Pottery 112 Delias aganippe 16 Descriptive Catalogue of the Nests and Eggs of

Australian Birds Found Breeding in Australia and Tasmania (North) 39 diamond birds 20 Diamond Firetail 20, 26 Dicaeum hirundinaceum 98 Dignity and Impudence 15, 15, 34, 41 Double-eyed Fig-Parrot 145, 159 Doust, Beatrice Lucy 107 Doust, Herbert 107 Doust, Minnie 107 dragonflies 86 Drewett, Dorothy 133 Laughing Jack, the Kookaburra 124, 127 Drouin 7 Duck in Flight Being Shot 108 ducks 32–33, 42, 52–53, 54, 124, 132 dead and dying 23, 24, 25, 32–33, 37, 46–47, 50, 51, 108 shooting of 19 see also Australian Shelduck; Grey Teal; Pacific Black Duck; Wood Duck Dues (illustration) 29 Duke Kahanamoku with His Famed Surfboard on Cronulla Beach, February 1915 103 Dunn, Emily 5 Dying (illustration) 19, 25

E eagle sculpture 144 Eastern Bristlebird 134 Eastern Bristlebird egg 21 Eastern Rosella 46–47, 74, 123 Eastern Spinebill 128, 131 Eastern Whipbird egg 21 Eastern Yellow Robin egg 148 Eclectus Parrot 160 Eclectus roratus 160 egg collecting 120, 136 eggs 39, 119, 148, 183 seizure by police 135 Eggs from 16 Species 21 Elanus axillaris 62 Eldershaw, Flora 133 Elegant Parrot 172 Emblema pictum 186

219

What Bird Is That? A Pocket Museum of the Land Birds of the Eastern United States Arranged According to Season 125 fig-parrots 145, 159 Fight between a Canary and Blue Warbler 24 finches 108, 112, 127, 132 Beautiful Firetail 186 Diamond Firetail 20, 26 Painted Finch 186 Pictorella Mannikin 186 Red-eared Firetail 186 Star Finch 186 fishes 140 Flower, Thomas Frederick 37 Flower, Tom 35, 37 Two Magpies Fighting over a Bone 35 forgeries 35, 37 Franklin, Miles 133 Free Press (newspaper) 29 Frontal Shrike-tit egg 21 Furred Animals of Australia (Troughton) 137, 139

Emu 118 Emu (journal) 110, 115, 127, 142 engravings 22 Enoplosus armatus 191 Eolophus roseicapillus 154 Eopsaltria australis egg 148 epidiascopes (projectors) 130 Epthianura albifrons 182 Epthianura albifrons egg 183 Epthianura aurifrons 182 Epthianura aurifrons egg 183 Epthianura crocea 182 Epthianura tricolor 182 Epthianura tricolor egg 183 Eremiornis carteri egg 183 Eurotah School 39 exhibitions 17, 131 Aldenhoven Gallery 42 Art Society of New South Wales 14, 31, 39 Clarence Pastoral and Agricultural Society show 8, 9, 10, 12, 31, 35, 37 Colonial and Indian Exhibition 20 International Exposition (Chicago) 34 James R. Lawson and Little’s Gallery 43, 130 Melbourne Centennial International Exhibition 24 rivalries 38 extinction 134, 140

G

F fairy-wrens 8, 15, 37, 82–84, 108, 132, 142, 176– 177 see also blue wrens fantails 30 Feathered Friends 125 Feathered Minstrels of Australia (Chisholm and Cayley) 117, 118 Fellowship of Australian Writers 124, 132 field guides (birds) 110, 111 An Australian Bird Book: A Pocket Book for Field Use (Leach) 111 A Complete Guide to the Identification of Australian Birds (Leach) 111 What Bird is That? A Guide to the Birds of Australia (Cayley) 121–123, 125

Gainsborough Gallery 131 Galah 42, 132, 154 Galahs in Flight 132 Gallinago hardwickii 46–47, 68–69 Gallirallus philippensis 64 Game, Philip, Sir 138 game birds 8, 32–33, 34, 42, 43, 46–47 Gang-Gang Cockatoo 153 gannets 118 Geoffroyus geoffroyi 161 George V, King 131 gerygones 118 Gibberbird 182 Gibberbird egg 183 Gilbert‘s Thickhead egg 21 Gilbert‘s Whistler egg 21 Gilmore, Mary 128, 132 Giriki, Teller of Tales: A Series of Aboriginal Myths and Legends for Children (Hicks) 140 Glebe 34 Glossopsitta concinna 62, 158 Glossopsitta porphyrocephala 158

220

INDE X

Glossopsitta pusilla 158 Glossy Black-Cockatoo 150 Gnathothlibus erotus 16 Golden-headed Cisticola egg 148, 183 Golden-shouldered Parrot 168 Gould, John 120 Gould League Notes 125 Gould League of Bird Lovers 120–121, 125, 130, 132 Cayley collaboration 121–123 Gould League of New South Wales 43 Gowrie, Lady 131 Grafton 7, 8 Grafton Fine Art Society 37 Grafton Infantry 18 Grallina cyanoleuca 93 Grand Hotel (Bowral) 26, 27, 29 greeting cards 24, 34, 39, 43, 101 Gregory, Adelaide 14 Gregory, Lois Emmeline 14 see also Cayley, Lois Gregory, William 14 Grey-crowned Babbler 88 Grey Shrike-thrush 118 Grey Shrike-thrush egg 21 Grey Struthidea egg 21 Grey Teal 32–33, 46–47 Ground and Night Parrots 126 Ground Parrot 32–33 Gum Trees 106 Gygis alba egg 148 Gymnorhina tibicen 92, 184, 185 Gymnorhina tibicen egg 148

H Hail Kookaburra (Chisholm) 127 Hallstrom, Edward 139–140, 142 Hamilton, G. 110 Hammond, P. T. 22 Hanson, Herbert 112 Hard Hit (illustration) 19, 24, 25, 34, 41 Harmonious Thrush egg 21 Harris, Jack Castle 111, 112, 144 Harvey, Simon 142 Hawk Moth 16

Hayes, Leo 133 Heteromunia pectoralis 186 Hewitt, Thomas George 34 Hicks, John. Giriki, Teller of Tales: A Series of Aboriginal Myths and Legends for Children 140 Hindwood, Keith 37, 121, 133, 134, 136, 141, 143, 144 Hirundo neoxena 97 H.L. White collection 119, 120 Hobson’s Bay Railway Pier, Melbourne 1878 5 honeyeaters 108, 112, 118, 180, 181 Eastern Spinebill 128, 131 Graceful Honeyeater 110 Lesser Yellow-spotted Honeyeater 110 Scarlet Honeyeater 112, 128 Yellow-spotted Honeyeater 110 Hooded Parrot 168 Hopegood, Harold Cedric 144 Horden, Doreen 138 Horsfield’s Bushlark 118 Hull, Arthur Francis Basset 128 Hylacola pyrrhopygia 178

I I Visit the Antipodes (Kearton) 138 illuminated addresses 17 The Illustrated Australian Encyclopaedia 120 Inland Thornbill egg 183 Intermediate Egret 60 International Exposition (Chicago) 31, 34 Iolanthe (ship) 17 Iredale, Tom 113, 127, 136 Irediparra gallinacea 66

J Jackson, Sidney 119, 120 Jacky Winter 134 James, Augustus 42, 108 James R. Lawson and Little (company) 42 Joy, Health and Peace be Yours on Christmas Day 43

221

K Kahanamoku, Duke 104 Kearton, Cherry 138 Keast, Allen 136 Kendall, Henry Clarence 10 kingfishers 24, 41, 42, 75 Koala 72, 73, 137 Kookaburra on Branch (Alder) 36 kookaburras 7, 8, 24, 26, 39, 42, 112, 131 Albino Kookaburra 28 Dignity and Impudence 15 On Guard 106, 107 Hail Kookaburra (Chisholm) 127 Kookaburra on Branch (Alder) 36 Laughing Jack, The Kookaburra (Drewett) 127 Laughing Kookaburra 76, 77, 78 Night Out 106, 107 Rural Echoes (Alder) 38 Seven Little Australians 124 Wishing You the Compliments of the Season 43

L Lambert’s Blue Wren 110 Lancers Association of New South Wales 18 landscape paintings 17–18, 20, 27 The Last Day with the Ducks 19 Latham’s Snipe 46–47, 68–69 Lathamus discolor 167 Laughing Jack, The Kookaburra (Drewett) 124, 127 Laughing Kookaburra 76, 77, 78 Law, Robert Craigie 30–31 Lawson (NSW) 112 Le Souëf, Albert Sherbourne 110 Leach, John Albert 111, 133 Leadbeater’s Cockatoo 19 lectures by Cayley, N.H. 130 Leucosarcia melanoleuca 56, 57 Lichenostomus leucotis 180 Life (illustration) 19, 25 Linton, Phyllis Mary 141, 140 Little Grassbird egg 183 Little Lorikeet 158 Lonchura castaneothorax 99 Long-billed Bristle-bird egg 21

Long-billed Corella 155 Lophocroa leadbeateri 152 lorikeets 157–158 Love’s Old Sweet Song 127 Low, George. A Black and White Study of George Robertson 129 Lowe, Norman 138 Lyons, Joe 127 lyrebirds 32–33, 39, 42, 80, 81, 118, 174

M Macdonald, Donald 111, 113 Mack, George 134 MacKellar, Dorothea 132 Macropus rufus 190 Magpie 35 Magpie-lark 93 Magpie-lark egg 21 magpies 12, 35, 37, 41, 42, 43, 92, 118, 184–185 Mahony, Frank 131 Mahony, Will 131 Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo 152 Malleefowl 121 Malurus coronatus 176 Malurus cyaneus 82, 83, 84, 176, 177 Malurus lamberti 176 Malurus leucopterus 176 Manorina melanocephala egg 148 Mant, Gilbert 141 Marshall, Jock 136, 138–139 Mary Ballantyne (shipwreck) 17 Masked Gannet 118 Masked Lapwing 32–33, 46–47, 65 Mather, Adelaide Mary 37 Mathews, Gregory 110, 120, 136 McCrae, Hugh 132 McDougall, A. L. 31 McGill, Arnold 144 Medland, Lilian 136 Megalurus gramineus egg 183 Megalurus timoriensis egg 183 Melbourne 7 Melbourne Centennial International Exhibition 24, 26, 34 Melopsittacus undulatus 170

222

INDE X

Menura novaehollandiae 80, 81, 174 Microeca fascinans 134 military games 18 Mistletoebirds 42, 98, 136 The Morning Bulletin (newspaper) 111 Moss Vale 24 moths 16, 22 Musgrave, Anthony 118 ‘Bird Picnic’ Groups, Wallarobba 116 Musk Lorikeet 62, 158 Myer Emporium 131 Myzomela sanguinolenta 112

N naming of birds 115, 123 Nankeen Night-Heron 32–33, 61 National Gallery of Australia 34 National Library of Australia 140 The National Park 116, 132, 138 see also Royal National Park Nature Lovers’ Society 131 Neochmia ruficauda 186, 187 Neophema chrysogaster 172 Neophema chrysostoma 171 Neophema elegans 172 Neophema petrophila 171 Neophema pulchella 173 Neophema splendida 173 Neopsephotus bourkii 167 Nests and Eggs of Birds Found Breeding in Australia and Tasmania (North) 39 Nettleton, Charles. Hobson’s Bay Railway Pier, Melbourne 1878 5 New England (ship) 12 New Holland Honeyeater 148 (egg), 181 The New South Wales Advertiser (newspaper) 25 New South Wales Bookstall Company 106 New South Wales Volunteer Infantry 18 Nicholson and Company Music Store 8, 13 Night Heron 32–33 Night Out 106 Night Parrot 126, 173 Noisy Miner egg 148 Noisy Pitta 32–33, 79

North, Alfred J. 39 Northern Rosella 165 The Northern Star (newspaper) 31–32, 34, 41 Nycticorax caledonicus 61 Nymphicus hollandicus 156

O The ‘Oceanarium’ at Marineland 140 O’Halloran, Aubrey 138 Old Wife (fish) 191 Olivaceous Thickhead egg 21 Olive Whistler egg 21 Olliff, Arthur Sidney 22 Omeo (ship) 7 On Guard 106, 107 Onychoprion fuscata egg 148 Open Season: Black Duck Shooting 43 Orange-bellied Parrot 172 Orange Chat 182 Orange Chat egg 183 Orient (ship) 7 Origma solitaria egg 183 Ornithorhynchus anatinus 188 Our Birds 107–108, 109 Our Birds series 118 Our Flowers 109, 110

P Pacific Black Duck 46–47, 53, 54, 108, 132 Painted Finch 186 Painted Snipe 46–47 Pale-headed Rosella 165 Palm Cockatoo 149 Paradisaea raggiana 95 Paradisaea rudolphi 25 Paradise Parrot 169 Paradise Riflebird 20, 94 Paradisornis rudolphi 25 Pardalotus striatus 87 Parkes, Henry, Sir 38 parrots 134, 140 Baudin’s Black-Cockatoo 151 Blue-winged Parrot 171 Bourke’s Parrot 118, 167 Budgerigar 170

223

cockatiels 127 Convention of Parrots 37 Eastern Rosella 123 Eclectus Parrot 160 Elegant Parrot 172 Galahs 132, 154 Golden-shouldered Parrot 168 Ground Parrot 32–33, 126 Hooded Parrot 168 Night Parrot 126, 173 Orange-bellied parrot 172 Paradise Parrot 169 Princess Parrot 164 Red-capped Parrot 166 Red-cheeked Parrot 161 Regent Parrot 163 Rock Parrot 171 rosellas 127 Scarlet-chested Parrot 118, 131 Superb Parrot 162 Swift Parrot 167 Turquoise Parrot 118, 173 see also cockatoos; fig-parrots; lorikeets Parrots of Australia (Barrett) 126 Parry, Archie Victor 141 Pegus, Emma 9 Pelecanus conspicillatus 59 pelicans 59 penguins 118 Petaurus breviceps 189 Petersham 29 Petroica phoenicea 96 Pezoporus occidentalis 173 Phaps chalcoptera 55 Phascolarctos cinereus 72, 73 Photograph of Neville Cayley, Archibald Campbell and Sidney Jackson, 22 May 1921 119 Phylidonyris nigra 181 Phylidonyris novaehollandiae 148 (egg), 181 pictorella finches 132, 186 Pictorella Mannikin 186 Picturesque Atlas of Australasia 18, 20, 22 Picturesque Clarence (Stevenson) 17 Pied Butcherbird 89 Pied Grallina egg 21

Pitt St, Sydney (Bayliss) 20 Pitta versicolor 79 Platycercus adscitus 165 Platycercus eximius 46–47, 74 Platycercus icterotis 165 Platycercus venustus 165 Platypus 188 Polytelis alexandrae 164 Polytelis anthopeplus 163 Polytelis swainsonii 162 Pomatostomus superciliosus egg 148 Pomatostomus temporalis 88 Portrait of Neville Cayley 1892 4 Portrait of N.W. Cayley (left) and A.H. Chisholm, Springwood, NSW, November 1947 139 pottery 112 poultry 25 Prince, Jack Harvey 142 Princess Parrot 164 Princess (ship) 17 Probosciger aterrimus 149 Psephotus chrysopterygius 168 Psephotus dissimilis 168 Psephotus pulcherrimus 168 Psitteuteles versicolor 158 Ptilinopus magnificus 58 Ptiloris paradiseus 94 Purple-crowned Fairy-wren 176 Purple-crowned Lorikeet 158 Purpureicephalus spurius 166 Pyjama Girl Murder 142–143 Pyrrholaemus sagittatus egg 183

Q quail 32–33, 42, 46–47, 48 Queensland Art Gallery 131 Queensland National Art Gallery 38 The Queenslander (newspaper) 38

R raffle of art works 27–28 Raggiana Bird of Paradise 95 Railway Guest House (Bulli) 34 Rainbow Lorikeet 32–33, 157 Ramsay, Edward 26

224

INDE X

RAOU see Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union recession 29 Red-backed Fairy-wrens 132 Red-browed Fig-Parrot 159 Red-capped Parrot 166 Red-cheeked Parrot 161 Red-collared Lorikeet 157 Red-eared Firetail 186 Red Kangaroo 190 Red-spotted Jezabel butterfly 16 Red Wattlebird 87 Regent Bowerbirds 18, 20, 41, 42, 46–47 Regent Parrot 163 Rhipidura leucophrys 91 Rhipidura rufifrons 90 riflebirds 42 Roberts, Noel 134 Robertson, George 110, 113, 114, 115, 120, 129 conflict with N.W. Cayley 115 death 128–129 Robin Red-breast in the Snow 28 robins 28, 108, 127, 134, 144 Rock Parrot 171 Rock Warbler egg 183 Rodriguez, Francesco Salvatore 113 rosellas 40, 74, 127, 165 Rostratula australis 67 Round, Charles 41–42 Rowlandson’s Success: A Volume of Australian Literature 106 Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union 100, 110, 116, 132, 133 conferences and campouts 134, 135 dinner menu 135 interstate rivalries 135 Royal Hotel (Bowral) 28 Royal Life Saving Society 104 Royal National Park 116 see also National Park Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales 132, 136 royalties 40, 101, Rufous Fantail 90 Rufous Fieldwren 179 rufous-fronted fantails 127

Rufous Shrike-thrush egg 21 Rural Echoes (Alder) 38

S Sacred Kingfisher egg 148 Salmon, A. 24 Satin Bowerbird 138, 175 Savidge, George 9 Scaly-breasted Lorikeet 157 Scarlet-chested Parrots 118, 131, 173 Scarlet Honeyeater 128 Scarlet Honeyeater (Myzomela sanguinolenta) 112 Scarlet Robin 26, 96, 127, 134 Scott, Alexander Walker 22 Scott, Harriet 22 Scott, Helena 22 Seven Little Australians 124, 127 The Shepherd’s Clock 7 Shifting Camp on the Clarence River, NSW, from Maclean to Wombah, 1882 10, 11 Shot Snipe 24 shrike-thrushes 118 Silvereye 118 Silvereye egg 148 Sir Walter Raleigh (ship) 6 Slaty-backed Thornbill egg 183 Slender-billed Thornbill egg 183 Smaller Rufous-breasted Thrush egg 21 snipe 24, 37, 42, 46–47, 67, 68–69 Society of Artists 38 The Solvol Animal Book: 55 Australian Animals 139 The Solvol Bird Book: 54 Australian Birds 139 Some Australian Birds (Honey) 127 Some Birds of the Heath and Undergrowth 122 Sooty Tern egg 148 Southern Cassowary 118 Southern Emu-wren 85, 86 Speckled Warbler egg 183 Spinifexbird egg 183 Splendid Grass-parakeet 131 Springwood 142 SS Orana (ship) 127 Stagonopleura bella 186 Stagonopleura oculata 186 Star Finch 186, 187

225

Stevenson, Walter Thomas 17 Still Life, Australian Birds 39 Still-life (Dead Birds) 24 Stipiturus malachurus 85, 86 Stormy Petrel (nickname) 138 Striated Pardalote 87 Striated Thornbill egg 183 Striated Thornbills 30 Stubble Quail 46–47, 48 Sugar Glider 189 Sulphur-crested Cockatoo 7, 12, 70, 71, 72, 73 Sulphur-crested Cockatoo egg 148 Sunday Sun (newspaper) 141 Superb Fairy-wren 26, 82, 83, 84, 125, 176, 177 Superb Lyrebird 32–33, 80, 81, 174 Superb Parrot 162 Supplement to the Education Gazette 121 Surf Bathing, Manly Beach, New South Wales 103 Surf Life Saving Association of Australia 104 Surf Life Saving New South Wales 102, 104 surfing 102–104 Swift Parrot 167 swimming attire 102, 104 Sydney 13 The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (newspaper) 19, 25, 30 The Sydney Mail (newspaper) 104, 118, 121, 124, 127, 129 The Sydney Morning Herald (newspaper) 22, 29, 37, 38, 39, 41, 108, 110, 127

T Tadorna tadornoides 46–47, 50, 51, 52–53 The Tale of ‘Bluey’ Wren (Cayley, N.W.) 118–120, 119 Taronga Zoo 140, 144 Tasmanian Thornbill egg 183 Tawny Grassbird egg 183 taxonomy 120 technological advances 129–130 Telopea speciosissima 145 Thalasseus bergii egg 148 The Birds Take Flight 124, 127 The Fairy Wrens of Australia: Blue Birds of Happiness 142 Thomas, G. Ross 125

thornbills 30, 120 eggs 183 timber felling 116 Todiramphus sanctus egg 148 The Tragedy of Mr and Mrs Jacky Winter 104, 105 Tribonyx ventralis egg 148 Trichoglossus chlorolepidotus 157 Trichoglossus haematodus 157 Trichoglossus haematodus rubritorquis 157 Troughton, Ellis. Furred Animals of Australia 139 Turquoise Parrot 118, 173 Two Magpies Fighting over a Bone (Flower) 35 Tyler, Francis 30 Tyler, Mary Maude 6

U Ulmarra and Grafton Light Horse 18

V Van Kaspelen. Portrait of Neville Cayley 1892 4 Vanellus miles 46–47, 65 Vanellus tricolour 46 Varied Lorikeet 158 Variegated Fairy-wren 110, 176 View over Bowral 26, 141

W waders 32–33 Wagner, Conrad 9–10 Walkabout: Australia’s Geographic Magazine 140 Wallarobba Sanctuary 116, 118 Waratah—Telopea speciosissima 145 Warragul 7 Water Life 127 Waterhouse, Gustavus Athol 126 Waverley 39 Waverley Cavemen 102, 103 Waverley Cemetery 40 Waverley State School 39 Wedge-tailed Eagle 63 Wedge-tailed Eagle 126 The Weekly Times (newspaper) 126 Weekly Times Wild Nature Series 126 Welcome Swallow 97

226

INDE X

Wentworth Falls 112 The West Australian (newspaper) 128 West Gippsland Gazette 41 Western Bristlebird egg 21 Western Rosella 165 Western Thornbill egg 183 What Bird Is That? A Guide to the Birds of Australia (Cayley) 43, 121–123, 144 royalties 43, 125 What Bird Is That? A Pocket Museum of the Land Birds of the Eastern United States Arranged According to Season 125 What Butterfly Is That? 126 whistlers 30, 108 White, Henry Luke 119, 120 White-browed Babbler egg 148 White-cheeked Honeyeater 181 White-chested White-eye egg 148 White-eared Honeyeater 180 White-faced Herons 20 White-fronted Chat 182 White-fronted Chat egg 183 White Tern egg 148 White-throated Gerygone 118 White-winged Fairy-wren 176 Whitley, Gilbert 127 Wilcox, James Fowler 9 Wild Life Preservation Society of Australia 132 Willy Wagtail 91 Wilson, Leslie 131 Wishing You the Compliments of the Season 43 Wollongong Agricultural, Horticultural, and Industrial Association 38 Women’s Christian Temperance Union of New South Wales 104 Wompoo Fruit-Dove 58 Wonga Pigeon 56, 57 Wood Duck 47 Wood Swallow egg 21 Wood white butterfly 16 Wooli Hotel (Yamba) 9, 17 Woonona 34 Wounded Duck (Cox) 37 The Wreck of the SS New England on the Clarence River Bar 1883 10, 11

wrens 112 see also blue wrens; fairy-wrens

Y Yamba 8 Yamba Township 1886 9 Yellow Chat 182 Yellow Robin 144 Yellow-rumped Thornbill egg 183 Yellow-rumped Thornbills 30 Yellow Thornbill 30 Yellow Thornbill egg 183 Youth Annual 127

Z Zosterops albogularis egg 148 Zosterops lateralis egg 148

227

cayley & son

p e n n y

o l s e n

Penny Olsen is a research scientist and natural history

‘Birds express all that is beautiful, joyous,

writer. Based at the Australian National University in Canberra, she is the author of numerous publications including Glimpses of Paradise: The Quest for the Beautiful Parrakeet (2007), A Brush with Birds: Bird Art from the National Library of Australia (2008) and Upside Down World: Early European Impressions of Australia’s Curious Animals (2010).

cayley & son

and free in nature. They delight our eyes, charm our ears, quicken our imagination, and through association with the bushland

the life and art of

Neville HENRY Cayley & Neville WILLIAM Cayley p e n n y

o l s e n

Cayley and Son charts the lives and works of Australian bird artists Neville Henry Cayley (1854–1903) and his son Neville William (1886– 1950). Peripatetic, often impecunious, and with a reputation for hard drinking, Neville Henry was nevertheless a highly talented artist, whose dreams of publishing a ‘big bird book’—a comprehensive publication on Australian birds—never came to fruition. His son Neville William was also a keen artist. ‘Buoyant’ in personality, sometimes outspoken

inspire us with a profound love of country.’

and argumentative, he was a pioneer of the surf lifesaving movement before turning his attention to the painting of birds. Taking a more scientific

Neville WILLIAM Cayley, 1931

approach than his father, he was to complete

p e n n y o l s e n

the classic field guide known to bird enthusiasts throughout Australia: What Bird Is That?.

cayley & son the life and art of

Neville HENRY Cayley & ISBN 978-0-642-27789-3

http://bookshop.nla.gov.au

From the depictions of gamebirds in Neville Henry’s work, to his son’s focus on conservation and education, the history of the two men is also a social history of Australia, and their work can be read as a barometer of changing attitudes to wildlife and its conservation. Cayley and Son features a biographical essay on each of the two men, followed by a portfolio of their paintings. With over 100 colour plates of works from the collections of the National Library of Australia, it

Neville WILLIAM Cayley

Natural History / Art

p e n n y

o l s e n

is a book for art- and bird-lovers alike.