|
|
Ron Heberle
Ron was born on Christmas Eve 1913 in Perth WA.
He grew up in the city being educated at the Victoria Park Primary School and
the Thomas Street Secondary School.
At the age of 17 he went, with his brother, to Kalgoorlie to work on a diamond
drilling crew. It was during holidays in Esperance that they befriended a
fisherman and found catching and selling fish door to door quite lucrative. So
much so that his father left his Perth job and joined the boys.
They spent a couple of days fishing and then sold their catches through
Ravensthorpe, Lake King and as far away as Wagin. Good advice finally saw them
settle their business in Katanning (1936).
Ron joined the RAAF in WW2 and was sent to England as a pilot.
He returned and in 1946 married Pauline.
The Heberles fished the fairly remote areas along the South coast from
Esperance to the west of Albany and travelled through long stretches of
undisturbed bush. Ron's love and knowledge of native flora was nurtured by his
mother (she had a wonderful collection of pressed flowers) and his travels had
him in contact with such beautiful plants as the Royal Hakea.
When his father retired Ron and his family moved to Albany and it was the
flower shows for his children's school (Spencer Park Primary) which had them
all searching and collecting orchids. With the headmaster, Ron Oliver, Ron,
Pauline and their children increased their interest in the terrestrial orchids
around the Albany area.
Ron learnt photography with the help of friends and family. He preferred colour
slides as he found they gave him truer colours and it was easy for him to share
his joy and photos with other orchid lovers.
Ron has published regularly in The Orchadian, has orchids named after him, is a
member of the AOF and is a valued confidant and supplier of materials to orchid
people in Australia, Europe and the USA. He has an extensive knowledge of the
geography of the south west of WA and the precise location of many orchid
species.
His interest in natural hybrids and variations within species has been
beautifully recorded in his 1500 plus slides. These slides are to be donated to
the National Herbarium in Canberra. Ron likes to point out that these slides
only represent a fraction of his experiences with the wonderful WA terrestrial
orchids.
Ron and Pauline recently moved to Perth and joined our Orchid Species Society
of WA. He wishes to make his records available to as many people as possible
and this is why he has invited our society to put samples of his photography on
our Internet site.
ENJOY!
Graham Bowden
|