A glimpse into Michael Smith ~ advocate, author, naturalist, founding member
Michael Smith was a foundation member of EcoNetwork Port Stephens, surveyor, naturalist, advocate and author. In his 16 year stay in Port Stephens he published many books and maps. You may be familiar with “Bushwalks around Port Stephens”, “The Guns of Tomaree” a wartime history of Tomaree Headland”, and many more listed below.
During the early 1990s, he performed extensive volunteer field research tracking native fauna in the Port Stephens region. He frequently advocated for local wildlife conservation, notably pushing for regional fauna corridors.
by Michael Smith
Thirty three years ago I conducted a Live-Trapping Survey on the Tomaree Peninsula. The aim was to gather information on what small mammal species lived here and where.
A secondary aim was to encourage members of the public along to view and handle their local population of mammals whilst helping with the survey.
To assist with the latter aim Tomaree Peninsula Adult Education ran a course, for 2 years, helping recruit interested persons.
So what was it like? I wrote this report at the time.
“We are on our hands and knees, the four of us, on a rough four-wheel drive track. An “emu parade”. Hands brush leaves aside. Eyes stare intently at the ground. We shuffle up the track shoulder to shoulder. It is a lost wedding ring we seek. The owner has been married only a matter of weeks. The ring is a family heirloom, handed down from her grandmother. The owner, Anita, is keen to find it. She thinks it probably came adrift when she took her gloves off. She wears gloves in case the animals bite her. The animals are what we have come here to find.
Anita, Allen, Philip and myself reluctantly give up the search for the ring. Incorruptible gold, it will glint at the sun in this leafy forest, perhaps forever.
Anita Pillai of Shoal Bay, with one of the bandicoots trapped in the Wanda Avenue land.
Apart from that it has been a wonderfully successful day. Our traps have captured a record 41 animals overnight. These were six Antechinus mothers, with a total of 35 babies in the various pouches.
The Antechinus is a mouse-sized marsupial that spends the night hunting. Native to Australia it has a fascinating life cycle that we are all just beginning to appreciate. Just a month ago all the males died, leaving the females to raise the family single-handed. And what a family. That gloved hand, that once bore a ring, only minutes ago held one such mother.
Attached to the Antechinus mother’s teats were seven peanut-sized babies, grown so large that the mother’s legs barely touched the ground. The babies are dragged along the ground, bounced over rocks.
They hang on with grim determination whilst their mother, a “bright eyed killer of the night”, seeks out worms, cockroaches, beetles and even mice to turn into muscle and milk.
We hope to produce an inventory of what animals live in our local bushland. Some of the course participants stay just a few nights and decide animal trapping is not for them. Others like our would-be ring-spotters have stayed over a year to see the project through, to learn more about our native animals and get an opportunity to handle them.
Docile New Holland Mouse
In that time we have caught sleepy Possums, strong-kicking Bandicoots, the docile and happy New Holland Mouse, the smelly but likeable Swamp Rat, the scruffy Bush Rat and lots and lots of Antechinus’s, savage, cute, alert and a personal favourite.
The course has given a total of 71 people the opportunity to go bush and handle native animals in their own home range. We have shared the bush with them and now we know what they look like. At the same time we are contributing to the body of scientific knowledge and producing a record of what lived here in the years 1992 and 1993.
It has been a whirlwind of activity. I have given talks to Clubs, like Rotary, Probus and View. Television cameramen have followed us through the bush to put our activities on the small screen. Stories have appeared in the local newspaper. The Nelson Bay Public school environment class has spent a morning with us. The Scouts and Guides joined us for a while to gain their Environment Badge. Our trappers have been retired people, the out of work, greenie evangelists, overseas exchange students, workers, students and mothers.
Our star student, Anita, must break the gloomy news about the ring to her family. She and Allen joined us a long time ago. Since then they have married, had a baby, and Anita has gained her PHD, all without missing a class.
We have watched all the wildflowers bloom, discovered tiny orchids and been bitten by some of the hardest biters in the bush. We have our photographs, our memories and the report. It is time to take off the gloves.”
Survey results:
A total of 206 animals were caught over 2210 trap/nights giving a trapping success of 9.4%. The species were:
| Scientific Name | Common name | Number |
| Rattus rattus | Black Rat | 66 |
| Antechinus flavipes | Yellow Footed Antechinus | 51 |
| Antechinus stuartii | Brown Antechinus | 42 |
| Rattus fuscipes | Bush Rat | 11 |
| Rattus lutreolus | Swamp Rat | 11 |
| Mus musculus | House Mouse | 9 |
| Pseudomys novaehollandiae | New Holland Mouse | 9 |
| Trichosurus vulpecula | Common Brushtail Possum | 4 |
| Isoodon macrourus | Northern Brown Bandicoot | 3 |
Traps were set, generally on a Monday, at 4pm, and collected the following morning at 7.45am. Any animals caught were identified and released.
None of the 206 animals caught died as a consequence of their being trapped. The method used was “Live Trapping” where an animal is attracted into the trap by the bait. On entering the trap (cage) the door closed and the animal awaited release. The traps used were 18 Elliott “A” traps, and 7 wire cage traps. After 3 May 1993, 10 Elliott “B” traps were also used.
Baits in the Elliott traps consisted of a mixture of peanut butter and oats, with the occasional addition of honey. The wire platform traps were baited with mixed grain bread spread with peanut butter. The hook traps were baited with cooked (microwaved) chicken wings although liver and kangaroo meat was also sometimes used.
The survey was restricted to those species of animal that would enter a trap for the type of bait used. While this survey is called a “mammal” survey, no attempt was made to catch such species as bats, kangaroo, echidna, koala etc.
Most of the trapping was done by:
- Michael Smith B. Surv.
- Anita Pillai B. Sc. Hons. PhD.
- Allen Frazer B. Sc. Hons. M. Sc.
- Philip Slack B. Ec.
- Louise Aroney.
Publications during Michael’s time in Port Stephens.
1988-98 “A Boating Guide to Port Stephens and the Myall Lakes”
1992-99 Chart of Broughton Island together with the diving and fishing information for outside Port Stephens
1993 “Bright-Eyed Killers of the Night”, A Mammal Survey of the Tomaree Peninsula
1993-2008 “Bushwalks Around Port Stephens”
1994 “Bush Tucker, Bush Medicine and Useful Wild Plants of the Tomaree Peninsula and the Myall Lakes” NLA link
1994, 2000 “The Guns of Tomaree” a wartime history of Tomaree Headland NLA link
1994, 2001″Bush Mates”, A Guide to the Wildlife of Nelson Bay
1996 “Port Stephens Fishing Guide”
1996, 2000 “Easy Adventures”, A disability guide (map) to the Tomaree Peninsula
1997 “Port Stephens Fact Map NLA link ~ is a piece of local cartographic history and tourism ephemera created by Michael Smith
