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Memoirs of the Queensland Museum | Nature 59 © The State of Queensland, Queensland Museum 2014 PO Box 3300, South Brisbane 4101, Australia Phone 06 7 3840 7555 Fax 06 7 3846 1226 Email [email protected] Website www.qm.qld.gov.au National Library of Australia card number ISSN 0079-8835 Print ISSN 2204-1478 Online NOTE Papers published in this volume and in all previous volumes of the Memoirs of the Queensland Museum may be reproduced for scientific research, individual study or other educational purposes. Properly acknowledged quotations may be made but queries regarding the republication of any papers should be addressed to the Editor in Chief. Copies of the journal can be purchased from the Queensland Museum Shop. A Guide to Authors is displayed at the Queensland Museum web site www.qm.qld.gov.au A Queensland Government Project Typeset at the Queensland Museum Vale Jeanette Adelaide Covacevich, AM, PSM (1945–2015) Patrick J. COUPER Vertebrate Zoology Section, Biodiversity Program, Queensland Museum, South Brisbane, Queensland 4101, Australia. Judith McKAY Historian and museum consultant; formerly on the staff of the Queensland Museum. Citation: Couper, P.J. & McKay, J. 2016. Vale Jeanette Adelaide Covacevich, AM, PSM (1945-2015). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum - Nature 59: 257–271. ISSN 2204–1478 (Online), ISSN 0079–8835 (Print). Accepted: 16 February 2016 First published online: 13 April 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.1082/j.2204-1478.59.2016.2016-04 LSID - urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:3A7647FE-2B8D-4BD4-B8D8-422F0E61C261 Jeanette Covacevich, who died in Brisbane on 17 September 2015, was one of the Queensland Museum’s best known and longest-serving staff members. She will be remembered not only for her professional contribution as a herpetologist and curator but also for her personal qualities. A spirited and adventurous woman, she made a lasting impression on all who knew her, and had an extraordinary capacity for making friendships. Her memorial service, held at the State Library of Queensland a month after her death, was attended by some 350 people and live-streamed to another gathering in Cooktown where she lived in later years. FIG. 1. Jeanette Covacevich, 1995. Image: Queensland Museum Memoirs of the Queensland Museum | Nature 2015 59 www.qm.qld.gov.au 257 Couper, P.J. & McKay, J FIG. 2. Jeanette Covacevich and Charles Tanner, ca 1981, handling dangerously venomous snakes, the Western Taipan, Oxyuranus microlepidotus (left) and the Coastal Taipan, Oxyuranus scutellatus (right). Image: Charles Tanner collection, courtesy of John Cann. FIG. 3. The Western Taipan, Oxyuranus microlepidotus, the world’s most venomous land snake. Jeanette Covacevich played a major role in the rediscovery of this species. Image: Queensland Museum. 258 Memoirs of the Queensland Museum | Nature 2015 59 Vale Jeanette Adelaide Covacevich Jeanette was born in Innisfail, north Queensland Herb Rabig. Jeanette established the identity on 26 March 1945, the elder of two children of of this specimen and undertook fieldwork Sir Thomas Covacevich and his wife, Gladys, with her friend the late Charles Tanner to née Bryant. Sir Thomas, a decorated RAF officer obtain additional specimens. This species was of World War II, was a well-known Cairns subsequently shown to have the most potent solicitor and philanthropist. Jeanette grew up venom of any land snake. The snake, its venom in Cairns and from an early age acquired a taste and ecology feature significantly in her many for outdoor adventure and natural history, publications. The interwoven Western Taipan interests that persisted throughout her life. / Plague Rat story was told in an exhibit, Feast She attended Brisbane Girls Grammar School & Famine, when the Queensland Museum where she excelled at swimming, and went on relocated to its present South Brisbane site in to study at The University of Queensland as a 1986. The following year she co-edited a best- resident of Women’s College. She graduated selling book, Toxic Plants and Animals, which was with a BA in 1967, majoring in Geography and accompanied by a major, live exhibition featuring Zoology, and later completed a higher degree some of Australia’s most venomous creatures. in environmental studies at Griffith University To many Queenslanders, Jeanette was (MSc, 1977). known as the ‘snake lady’. She provided an In 1966, Jeanette joined the Queensland identification service for government agencies, Museum in Brisbane as a cadet. She remained medical practitioners and members of the with this institution until her retirement in public and acted as a consultant to the Poisons 2002, by which time she had risen through the Information Centre (based at the former curatorial ranks to the position of Senior Curator Brisbane Children’s Hospital) from 1969, being and co-head of the Vertebrate Zoology Section. on call to assist with snake identifications. This After retirement, she continued as an Honorary service had major implications for the clinical Research Associate until her decline in 2015 management of snakebite victims and led to due to an inoperable brain tumour. Jeanette’s improved patient outcomes and significant museum career was highly productive with cost-savings in their treatment. She also served extensive out-reach. She oversaw the growth on the Scientific and Clinical Immersions Sub- of the herpetology collections from 7 427 committee of the Graduate Medical Course at The specimens in 1966 to 58 216 specimens in University of Queensland (1996–2002) and on the 2002, wrote two books, edited another five Scientific Advisory Committee of Queensland’s and produced 110 herpetological papers Environmental Protection Agency (1997–99). describing 30 new species of reptiles. She was Gregarious and generous, Jeanette gave her interested in the taxonomy, zoogeography time to many organisations. She was president and the conservation of Australo-Papuan of the Australian Society of Herpetologists reptiles, particularly those from rainforests, (1988–90), secretary of the Stradbroke Island deserts and heaths. Her other research interests Management Organisation (1975–84), an were diverse and included publications on adviser to the Rainforest Conservation Society of mammals, Aboriginal trails and medicinal Queensland (1982–98) and a long-time member plants, the palm trees of north Queensland, of both the Queensland Naturalists’ Club and the the importance of museum collections and the Lyceum Club Brisbane. Her longest association, convict history of North Stradbroke Island. however, was with the Royal Society of Jeanette is best known for her work on Queensland of which she was secretary (1974–79), Queensland snakes and her involvement in the councillor (1984–87, 1994–98) and president (1995). rediscovery of the Western Taipan (Oxyuranus Additionally, she co-convened various Royal microlepidotus). This snake, first described by Society conferences (North Stradbroke Island, Frederick McCoy in 1879, was ‘lost’ to science 1974; Focus on Stradbroke, 1984; Queensland: for almost 100 years, until a specimen was the state of science, 1994; The history of natural collected in far western Queensland by grazier, history in Queensland, 1995 and Exploring our Memoirs of the Queensland Museum | Nature 2015 59 259 Couper, P.J. & McKay, J FIG. 4. Jeanette Covacevich (lower left) participating in fieldwork on Thornton Peak, north-east Queensland, ca 1984. Image: Covacevich family papers and photographs 1909–2014 (ACC 30101), John Oxley Library, Brisbane. Queensland’s Brigalow lands and raised both government and public awareness of the plight of these assailed ecosystems. Her conference presentations carried hard-hitting titles such as ‘Is biodiversity maintenance in Queensland’s Brigalow Belt just another oxymoron?’ Always a polished public speaker, Jeanette once declared that the worst crime one could commit was to be boring; the next-worst was to be long-winded. She was in high demand, even in retirement, and continued to address various clubs and community groups. Jeanette was honoured with awards which included the St John Priory Vote of FIG. 5. The Clouded Gecko, Amalosia jacovae (Couper, Thanks (for voluntary teaching regarding Keim & Hoskin, 2007), named for Jeanette Covacevich snakes and snakebite over many years); to honour her contribution to conservation. Image: Member in the General Division, Order Steve K. Wilson of Australia, 1995 (for service to science, particularly in the field of herpetology, and genes and genetic heritage, 1996). Throughout to conservation); the Queensland Museum her career, Jeanette championed many Medal, 2002; the Public Service Medal, 2003 conservation causes. She was one of the first (for outstanding service to the Queensland to document diminished reptile diversity in Museum and to the people of Queensland); 260 Memoirs of the Queensland Museum | Nature 2015 59 Vale Jeanette Adelaide Covacevich the Queensland Natural History Award, 2003; friends and colleagues. She remained active and the Australian Natural History Medallion, in the field by assisting her former museum 2007. Her contributions to science are further colleagues to undertake fieldwork in the far recognised in the following eponymic species north and by participating in Australia Zoo’s names: Terriswalkerius covacevichae Jameson, crocodile research trips to Steve Irwin Reserve 1994 (an earthworm from the rainforests on Cape York Peninsula. In her later years she of north-eastern Queensland); Zophorame also pursued an interest in island history and covacevichae