The Croaker Newsletter of Cape York Herpetological Society

February 2010 Volume 1, Issue 1

We’re back!!
After a long absence the Cape York Herpetological Society is reborn! After folding in the late 1990’s parts of the original membership joined the Tablelands Frog
Club, then running concurrently. The wheel has come full circle with the resurrection of the old name, which hopefully hints at a wider focus than just frogs. Our aims will be to increase and distribute knowledge of tropical herpetofauna, wild and captive, both within the society and to a wider audience.
Herpetofauna is here defined as all Australian members of the class Reptilia as well as the class Amphibia. Depending on the wishes of the membership there may be some scope to include articles concerning some invertebrate taxa as there is frequently a common interest amongst keepers. (I have to declare a personal interest here - ed)
In the past, field trips, both short and extended, were a big part of the society’s activities. This tradition will continue. Please bring all ideas for destinations, coordination, willingness to actually do some organizing! etc. with you to the meetings.
One of the key roles of the society will be to foster an interest in in herpetofauna and herpetoculture amongst young people. Any association that consists solely of ageing old fogeys lamenting the glory days of their youth and damning the present is doomed to wither on the vine. This little journal humbly urges all members, and potential members, to share their passions with those that will come after and nurture and celebrate their curiosity. A commitment to environmental sustainability is, in this editor’s opinion, the greatest legacy we can leave our kids.
Our ability to retain and preserve the smaller and more fragile parts of the natural world will be a measure of the amount of damage we do to the ecological framework on which we, and our descendents, ultimately depend.

Annual General Meeting

The annual general meeting of the society will take place on February 19 at 7.00 pm sharp. The venue is, as always, the meeting room at the Cairns City Library in Abbot Street, Cairns. Entry is via the doors to the left of the main entrance. They are open after hours. The AGM is where the Executive Committee is elected for the next year. Only financial members in good standing are eligible to stand and/or vote. It is in the interest of all members to attend and have your say.
All attendees are asked to bring a plate of munchies to share. The Third Law of Chocolate postulates that there is a theoretical critical mass of Tim Tams beyond which time and space begin to implode but that has never (at least to my knowledge) been achieved. Lets see if we can change that!

We need your help!

Any journal, no matter how well intentioned, is only as good as its content. Accordingly, we need your input. Accounts of field trips, husbandry tips, remarkable pics, misadventures, product or book reviews, fictional stories - anything with a herpetological flavour - will all be gratefully received.
The society is mainly concerned with indigenous tropical herps but articles relating to exotics or southern taxa (as part of a travel account for instance) may provoke enough jealousy to be well worth including.
Remember, this your journal. Please support it. Articles submitted for publication may be edited for reasons of space or
clarity.

We need a name!

With the resurrection of the society comes a need for a new title for this periodical. One of the previous ones, “Chondro” is no longer even scientifically valid and it is my personal feeling that the last one, “Saltuarius”, was a bit too highbrow and hard to remember.
Can you help? The title need not be scientific and stodgy. It can be irreverent, witty, anything at all, as long as it reflects the passion of the membership to the conservation and appreciation of North Queensland herpetofauna and the dissemination of herpetological knowledge.
Please forward any suggestions to the editor either at or before the AGM so we can canvass
them at the meeting (over Tim Tams!).

We also need a logo!

To all you designers out there we are also in need of a new logo. The essence of good logo design is simplicity, originality and relevance.
We would be grateful for any suggestions. Once again your reward will be a feeling of pride in seeing your creation on both the newsletter masthead and all official correspondence as well as a sense of gratification in that you have eased the editor’s workload and contributed mightily to his well being.
Thanks.

To read the rest of the Newsletter, join now! Membership .

top