Vale Dr William Henry "Harry" Butler AO CBE Article | Updated 7 years ago Harry Butler WA Museum (25 March 1930 – 11 December 2015) Dr Harry Butler, respected Australian naturalist, TV presenter, environmental consultant and WA Museum employee, passed away on Friday 11 December, 2015. Vale Dr William Henry "Harry" Butler AO CBE Image copyright WA Museum Dr Butler was perhaps most well known to the Australian public as one of the first TV naturalists, presenting programs that allowed everyday people to experience the wonder of nature through their television screens. His shows, ABC TV series In the Wild and In the Wild (II), pioneered filming techniques to help shoot footage of mysterious creatures in habitats most people would never have seen otherwise. Dr Butler worked directly with the WA Museum in the 1960s, where he joined field trips as a collector for a joint WA Museum/American Museum of Natural History project (1963 and 1966). He collected in regions around Perth, Jurien Bay, Hamersley Range, the Pilbara, Eighty Mile Beach, and Barrow Island. With a career spanning many decades, Dr Butler’s field of influence in environmental matters spread far and wide. He spent time working as an environmental consultant where he worked on projects such as the rehabilitation and conservation of Barrow Island (Chevron). Dr Butler was faced with criticism for his association with big industry, but he was of the firm opinion that development was inevitable and needed to be worked with, not against, if any progress was to be made in protecting and conserving our natural environment. In 1970, for his efforts in the field of environmental education and conservation, Dr William Henry Butler was awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), and a decade later this title was upgraded to Commander (CBE). His home nation of Australia also recognised the great value and contributions of Dr Butler, and in 1979 he was named joint Australian of the Year, and in 2012 he was added to the National Trust of Australia’s National Living Treasures list. Later in 2012 he was named an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). Since 1976, the Butler Bequest, which was set up at the WA Museum after the tragic death of Dr Butler’s wife, has provided annual funding to ‘support fieldwork that best aligns with the Museum’s vision, strategic aims and priorities.’ Because of this generosity, WA Museum staff have been able to visit many areas of Western Australia to collect and research that they may not have otherwise been able to do so. Dr Harry Butler has been a great friend and associate of the WA Museum for many years, and will be sorely missed. Explore the Harry Butler Lecture Series: In the Wild West. Museum collectors and carers: one... Almost 'In The Wild' The application of science to our lives Explore all the Harry Butler Lecture Series: In the Wild West.