In Loving Memory of David Stewart
The family would like to thank you for joining online today to celebrate David’s wonderful life. Your thoughts, prayers and support during this time are very much appreciated. Please feel free to leave a message to the family in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
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Organiser
Comments 8
David, will of course never be forgotten, in fact his passing happens to fall on my birthday so every year from now on I will be holding a toast in David’s name.
The memories of the wonderful trips will be treasured forever; exploring the deserts of Australia, four while driving on Moreton Island and the adventurous trips overseas all while watching him eagerly sound recording. The first app to go on my phone was David’s wonderful bird sound collection. His commitment and skill was and will always remain quite astonishing. The wonderful phone conversations & outback stories.
Dave was an absolute legend and one of the true pioneers. And I will miss him greatly.
Thanks for all the frogs old mate. And the many laughs. Frog Week was never dull with you around.
Just had the privilege of listening to your family’s farewell to Dave-a moving and sincere tribute to a man of many talents. Introduced me to recording birdsong and fully supported my early efforts to produce the BOCA CDs. This latter was only possible because of his support and mentoring. Dave stayed with us, in Melbourne reminiscing introducing us to wildlife especially bird frogs. What a character, so totally immersed in the here and now. Unfortunately age and distance put a stop to visits but not to memories. Jill and I fondly recall your friendship and are grateful being able to appreciate your effervescent personality.
Vale Dave, ornithologist extraordinaire.
I shall miss Dave’s laughter, endless stories, and his birding companionship. He shall forever outlive us all in the extraordinary legacy he leaves, with his undeniably superb and revolutionary sound recordings. I shall remember Dave whenever I play one of his calls. And when one day I finally see a Rail-Babbler, Dave will be with me in spirit for a Rail-babbler once saw Dave and me whilst it called hidden from our sight.
I worked with Dave on surveys conducted by National Parks and Wildlife Service in the early 1990s and caught up with him at the occasional bird banding trips that I organized. We didn’t always agree “that’s a Fan-tailed Cuckoo, no it’s not it’s a Brush Cuckoo!!” but I always enjoyed the banter, and he was quite a character. He was the true pioneer of recoding Australian bird song, and we used his cassette tapes in the fauna surveys. This was before the apps were available. I learnt to identify a number of species of birds by their calls from those tapes. You will be sadly missed by many Dave.
Sarah and I were privileged to meet Dave and travel through some remote outback areas with him. With Dave behind the wheel of his beloved Landcruiser alongside his youngest son Alistair, the unimaginable distances would fly by as he regaled us with anecdotes about his remarkable earlier history in The Territory (as Dave would call it). Dave also gave us valuable insights into the countryside we were travelling through, and, of course, the special bird life it harboured. Our trips with Dave, both in the outback and more recently to Lamington, were undoubtedly highlights of our time in Australia.
It was fitting that Dave’s time in the Territory suited his frontier mentality, because he was without doubt the foremost pioneer of Australian bird sound recording. His work will inspire others for generations to come and stand as an enduring testimony to Dave’s hard work and determination. Dave may no longer be with us but his memory and legacy will live forever. Thank you Dave for everything, we will miss you.
I was so very lucky to have spent so much quality time with the great David Stewart. We went on surveys together, frog-finding missions and expeditions for Princess Parrots. It was so much fun to be with David-learning and laughing. He was an absolute legend and an amazing talent. His catalogue of natural sounds is the best ever put together in this country. He was ahead of his time. We will miss him dearly.
I’m sorry I’m unable to attend the celebration.
Dave impacted and inspired so many of his friend’s engagements with birds, and more. It’s been a couple of years since we last communicated, but I’ll forever remember some of his ‘challenges’…like requesting I try and find an Olive Warbler in Arizona, which he felt he’d never see. I did and called him immediately to tell him about it.
I loved his stories about his time as a ranger, and his challenges to us during bird walks in the Huonbrook, Wilsons Creek and Wanganui Valleys.
I use the Morcombe app frequently, but try not to tease too many birds with Dave’s recordings.
I’ll miss you Dave, but will never forget you.