Richard Piesse died peacefully on Saturday, December 28, after a short stay in palliative care at Peter Mac. Richard was a contributor to our community in multiple ways—he was a volunteer for the Chewton Domain Society and the Tourist Information Centre and was active in the Great Dividing Trail Association, the Field Naturalists Club and FOBIF. He led many walks in the region for these community groups. He was an active supporter of Ern Perkins and the Field Naturalists in doing quadrat surveys, and the detailed knowledge he had of the natural history of this region made him an invaluable supporter and participant in the production of FOBIF field guides.
Richard Piesse (in green cap) as FOBIF walk leader, Tarilta Gorge 2015
Richard moved to Melbourne to be close to his children some years ago. He had been sick for some time, but this did not stop him from regularly coming back to Castlemaine on the train to volunteer in the Tourist Info centre in Mostyn Street, and to go on bush forays with Field Naturalists and FOBIF members, the most recent being in spring 2024.
Richard loved our bushlands and was a knowledgeable and engaging companion to have on bushwalks. Pugnacious and incisive, he was nevertheless ever ready to engage in positive exchanges with forest officers in the best interests of land management. His passing is a loss not just to his family and friends, but to our community as a whole.
Richard in a copse of the rare Acacia sporadica in the Fryers Forest, 2022. In spite of serious illness, he made many excursions into the bush.
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Click on image for info/order page
Click on image for info/order page
