Gordon Binns

Gordon Binns (March 1, 1899 - 24 September, 1976) was an Australian bank manager and amateur ornithologist, notable for his involvement with the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union. He was Secretary of the organisation during the periods 1953-56 and 1959–63, and President from 1965–66.

Gordon Binns
Binns at age 18 (c. 1917), photographed in London, England.
Born(1899-03-01)March 1, 1899
Yarraville, Victoria
DiedSeptember 24, 1976(1976-09-24) (aged 77)
Blackburn, Victoria
Known forinvolvement with Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union

Early life and career

Binns was born on March 1, 1899, in Yarraville, Victoria, and spent his boyhood years in the Victorian townships of Great Western and Victoria.[1][2] In 1914, after leaving school, he began working at the State Savings Bank of Victoria.[1] At age 17, during the First World War, he enlisted in the First Australian Imperial Force,[1] as a member of the 2nd Australian Machine Gun Company.[3] He was wounded in northern France on August 10, 1918, during the Australian attack on Lihons, and spent more than a month in hospital recovering from his injuries.[4] After the war, he remained in England for two years, before returning to Australia and his employment at the State Savings Bank.[1]

Natural history

After 1938, Binns served at several bank branches in rural Victoria, including Cobram (1938-144), Ouyen (1945-47) and Terang (1948-50).[1] During this period, he began writing about natural history, publishing "Notes for Birdland" in Savings Weekly, the journal of the State Savings Bank.[1] For 20 years, he published "The Out of Doors", a weekly column in the Terang Express, using the nom-de-plume Neophema.[1][2] In 1943, he joined the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union.[1] He published several articles in the Union's flagship journal, The Emu, including "Birds of Terang, South-western Victoria".[1][5] In his final years with the State Savings Bank, Binns was manager at several suburban branches (1951-56), at Horsham (1957-1960) and Box Hill (1961-64).[1] During this period, he was also a prominent member of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union, serving as their Secretary from 1953-56 and again from 1959–63, and President from 1965–66.[1][2]

Death and legacy

Binns died in Blackburn, Victoria on September 24, 1976, just a few months after the death of his wife, Ilma.[1] He was survived by his three daughters, Ruth, Phyllis and Meredith, and his son Greg.[1] In an obituary published in the journal The Emu, W.R. Wheeler wrote that "As one who worked with him on Council, I regarded his diligence and energy, particularly over his correspondence with members throughout Australia and overseas, as outstanding. He was truly one of the old school."[1]

gollark: It turns out that my two things have times of death about seven seconds apart, so multiple people is probably good.
gollark: Hmm, 14 minutes until the time of death, I should probably set up teleports and stuff? Who was it that was available to catch?
gollark: No. That would be very inconvenient. If I was doing it manually I'd binary-search it anyway.
gollark: I've got a time down to probably 10 seconds of accuracy with my automated thingy, but more precision is better.
gollark: Probably should have done that earlier but I forgot.

References
  1. W.R. Wheeler (1977) "Obituaries: Gordon Binns", Emu, 77(2): 89-89
  2. Rosanne Walker "Binns, Gordon (1899 - 1976)" Encyclopedia of Australian Science. Published November 5, 1999. Accessed July 21, 2019.
  3. "Binns, Gordon (Corporal, b.1899 - d.1976)" Australian War Memorial. Accessed July 21, 2019.
  4. "Khaki service dress breeches : Corporal G Binns, 1 Machine Gun Battalion, AIF" Australian War Memorial. Accessed 21 July, 2019.
  5. Binns G. (1953) "Birds of Terang, south-western Victoria" Emu-Austral Ornithology (September 1, 1953), 53(3): 211-21.
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