William Henry "Harry" Butler was an Australian naturalist and environmental consultant, best known as the presenter of the popular ABC television series In the Wild from 1976 to 1981. Butler was born on 25 March 1930 in Perth, Western Australia. He attended Claremont Teachers' College in Western Australia and later the Western State College in the United States. He co-wrote "Sun Arise" with fellow Western AustralianRolf Harris, which reached the Top 10 in the UK in 1962. Butler was a populariser of science and natural history for both child and adult audiences, especially through the ABC television series In the Wild, which led to him being named Australian of the Year in 1979. He also authored the books In The Wild, In the Wild and Looking at the Wild. As conservation consultant to the Barrow Island oilfield and many other projects, Butler played a major role in environmental conservation and restoration in Australia. In 1968, he participated in the fifth of the Harold Hall Australian ornithological collecting expeditions. He lectured, and was honoured, at museums in Western Australia, Canada, and the United States. Butler was a supporter of development projects such as mining, working with corporations and state governments as an environmental consultant. Butler lost some popularity with his support of the construction of the Franklin River Dam in the early 1980s. He died of cancer, aged 85, at a hospital in Perth on 11 December 2015.
Honours
In 1970, Butler was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. In 1980 this was upgraded to Commander level. In 1979, Butler was named the Australian of the Year, jointly with Neville Bonner. In 1993, he was awarded a cash prize for his 30 years of work with the petroleum industry. On 4 March 2012, he was added to the National Trust of Australia's National Living Treasures list. On 11 June 2012, he was named an Officer of the Order of Australia for "distinguished service to the community through the promotion of public understanding of natural history and wildlife conservation, to the development of collaborative environmental partnerships with industry, and to the community." A species of mulga snake, Pseudechis butleri, and a spider, Synothele butleri, are named for Butler. Four species of Australian lizards are named for Butler: Ctenophorus butleri, Delma butleri, Morethia butleri, and Notoscincus butleri. One species of Australian lizard is named for Butler and his wife, Margaret Butler: Eremiascincus butlerorum. On 17 April, 2016, the new Western Australian Museum research facility and storage centre in Welshpool was named in his honour.
