Easter Bilby

The Save the Bilby Fund is run by Ranger Frank ‘the bilby man’ Manthey and Ranger Peter McRae. Frank is a dedicated ranger for the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS). Frank and Peter are the champions of the bilby cause and have already raised more than $200,000 for a bilby sanctuary and breeding programme.

Thanks to the generosity of everyday Australians, the Save the Bilby Fund along with QPWS manage a fenced area in the Currawinya National Park (south-west Queensland) where bilbies can live without fear of feral animals.

There have been reasonably successful moves to popularise the bilby as a native alternative to the Easter Bunny by selling chocolate Easter Bilbies (sometimes with a portion of the profits going to Bilby protection and research).

Easter Bilbies are an increasingly popular alternative to the traditional chocolate rabbit. But the real bilbies are much harder to find - living secretive lives in isolated deserts across Australia, waiting for the right conditions to start a family.

And if you buy a chocolate Easter Bilby you will also be helping with bilby conservation. Proceeds from the sale of some Easter Bilbies are used by the Save the Bilby Fund to publicise and fund breeding projects around Australia.

Or you could just look out for the Chocolate Bilby this Easter, with the extra bonus that your guilty enjoyment could help fund efforts to save an endangered species.

Want to see how Easter Bilbies are made? Watch this short video clips (automatically adjusts for dial up or broadband users).

Dawn Fraser talks about saving the bilbies ... click on the icon below

Ian Faithfull, in his article On the Origin, History and Significance of the Easter Bilby (Victorian Naturalist, Volume 117, April 2000) suggests that "the concept of the Easter Bilby was invented between 1976 and 1983 by Malcolm Turner of the Hawthorn Junior Field Naturalists Club as a replacement for the Easter bunny at the Club’s traditional Easter bush camps. Officials of the Club acted as the Easter Bilby and delivered chocolate eggs to camp participants on Easter morning." He also notes that the "concept also appears to have been invented independently by Tony Robinson of the South Australian National Parks Service about 1980".

The Anti Rabbit Research Fund of Australia (now known as the Foundation for Rabbit-Free Australia) began using the Easter Bilby in 1991 to highlight the damage that the introduced rabbit does to the native environment. They arranged for the first chocolate Bilbies to be produced in South Australia by Haigh's Chocolates, Melba's Chocolates and Cottage Box Chocolates in 1993. Now many more chocolate Bilbies are available each Easter.

The Easter Bilby is an important reminder to Australians of the plight of our native wildlife.

John Williamson's Easter Bilby Song

Australian music legend, John Williamson launched easterbilby.com.au to the media along with a bit of help from Ranger Frank Manthey and chocolate manufacturer Darrell Lea.

“Australia is blessed with a unique animal species but if we don’t protect our habitat these wonderful creatures will disappear. One very endearing desert-dweller now facing extinction is the bilby. I am delighted to lend my support to saving the bilby as it is these very causes I try to nurture through my songs” says Williamson. To mark the event, Williamson unveiled a new song dedicated to the bilby called "The Easter Bilby".

Listen to John's Easter Bilby Song ... click the link below

Creator Of The Easter Bilby Concept

Rose-Marie Dusting is openly recognised as Australia's "original Bilby Lady" and creator of the emotive Easter Bilby concept.

Her passionate concern to save the bilby and all other threatened native species bubbled to the surface in the late 1970's when, as a mother and teacher of creative writing, she focused on children by promoting an awareness of the need to protect Australia's native species from extinction with her book BILLY THE AUSSIE EASTER BILBY (1979).

In her continuing concern for the bilby, Rose-Marie praises and supports the work of initiatives like the Save the Bilby Fund. "By adopting the bilby as the Australian Easter icon, all members of the public are helping support the crucial work of saving our endangered bilbies and other threatened species for this and future generations to enjoy". From the start, a share of all sales of Rose-Marle's books has been consistently dedicated to various wildlife organisations focused on saving the Bilby.

"We are grateful for Rose-Marie's support, as we are of anyone who embraces our genuine concern about saving species like the bilby, at the same time educating the populace about the problems that many unique animals face", says Ranger Peter McRae.