Graham Pizzey

Graham Martin Pizzey (4 July 1930 – 12 November 2001) was a noted Australian author, photographer and ornithologist.

Early life and education Graham Pizzey was born and grew up in grew up in East Ivanhoe on the Yarra River. At age seven he was given a copy of John A. Leach's 1926 An Australian Bird Book, and while attending Geelong Grammar School as a boarder he used photography to record his observations of the local countryside. After leaving school in 1948 he worked in his family's leather business, while studying part-time and publishing articles and photographs on natural history, the first appearing in 1948 in the Wild Life, whose editor Crosbie Morrison encouraged Pizzey's talent.

Freelance In 1957 Pizzey married Sue Taylor, who assisted him on field expeditions and typed his manuscripts for his numerous articles on natural history for newspapers, notably in the Melbourne Age (1954–64). Encouraged by their reception, in 1960 Pizzey resigned from the family business to become a full-time freelance writer and photographer. The couple settled eventually on the Mornington Peninsula, but traveled widely across the Nullarbor the north-west, east coast, and central Australia, even after their children were born, educating them by correspondence. to 1974, in Walkabout, and regular appearances in The Australian Women's Weekly and later in Burke’s Backyard Magazine. International journals, including National Geographic, featured his writing and pictures and he wrote and took part in some early Australian Broadcasting Commission television natural history documentaries, The series took viewers into unique Australian environments, and explored the native wildlife in these habitats.

His popular A Field Guide to the Birds of Australia, documenting 750 species, commissioned by Collins and researched and written over 15 years, and reprinted 14 times.

Reception Writing in a 1959, an unnamed Canberra Times reviewer deemed A Time to Look "A gripping book for all who are interested in the natural world, especially bird life," styling Pizzey "the well-known young Melbourne naturalist";"The volume is illustrated beautifully by 37 pages of pictures which give about 140 entrancing views of bird life obtained only through the exercise, by the author, of superlative patience. Pizzey immerses himself in the atmosphere of the natural world and he holds that whether by way of the keeping of bees, the enjoyment of snow on high mountains, fishing thundering rivers, farming or underwater swimming in the rock pools of long stretching ocean beaches, the study of plants, astronomy or physics, or just by the appreciation of birds, life be comes richer by such immersions. This is not a story book but a free and informal commentary on bird life." A fully revised Field Guide, illustrated in colour by Frank Knight, was a bestseller in 1997. He was also active in the Peninsula Conservation League, the Australian Conservation Foundation, and the Friends of the Museum of Victoria.

Personal life In 1991 Pizzey and his wife, Sue, moved into semi-retirement onto 40 ha. of bush and heathlands adjoining the Grampians/Gariwerd National Park near Dunkeld, Victoria, where they created wetlands and planted local vegetation to restore habitats. Paying guests were provided 'eco-accommodation' there.

In mid-2000 he was diagnosed with cancer, but nevertheless published two books, Journey of a Lifetime. Selected pieces by Australia's foremost birdwatcher and nature writer and The Australian Bird-Garden. Creating havens for native birds, and continued planning new projects. He died on 12 November 2001, and was survived by Sue and children Caroline, Sarah and Tom. He was honorary ornithologist to the Australian Museum, a position he retained until his death. Pizzey, Graham. (1980). A Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Collins: Sydney. Pizzey, Graham. (1997). The Graham Pizzey & Frank Knight Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Angus & Robertson: Sydney. Pizzey, Graham. (2000). Journey of a Lifetime. Selected pieces by Australia's foremost birdwatcher and nature writer. Angus & Robertson: Sydney. Pizzey, Graham. (2000). The Australian Bird-Garden. Creating havens for native birds. Angus & Robertson: Sydney. Pizzey, Graham, 'Morrison, Philip Crosbie (1900-1958), Naturalist' in Australian Dictionary of Biography, John Ritchie, ed., vol. 15 (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 2000), pp. 418–420.