Bequests Make a Huge Difference for Nature

In 2020, a bequest from an every-day pharmacist in Melbourne helped establish one of Tasmania’s largest private nature reserves. Thanks to a gift from David McGregor, the Tasmanian Land Conservancy was able to protect 11 threatened species by purchasing and protecting a beautiful 1,534 hectare property near Orford.

In 2020, a bequest from an ordinary pharmacist in Melbourne helped establish one of Tasmania’s largest private nature reserves.

It all started in June 2019, when Melbourne conservationists and Tasmanian Land Conservancy (TLC) supporters Bruce and Ann McGregor explained to TLC staff that they were looking for land to protect. Bruce’s father David had died and left most of his estate (acquired with his late wife Jean) to be devoted to securing and maintaining a parcel of land with high conservation values for the protection of endangered wildlife species and their habitat. Knowing the TLC’s excellent record for careful purchase and long-term management of priority conservation land, they thought the organisation would be well-placed to fulfil David’s wish.

TLC staff documented some priority areas, outlining the on-ground conservation values and connectivity to other protected land, and took the McGregors to visit three of these properties. It was one south of Orford on Tasmania’s east coast that caught their eye. The 1,534 hectare property is home to threatened and old-growth vegetation communities, threatened species and freshwater ecosystems. It also sits in a farming region and could have easily been bought and turned over to irrigated agriculture. The combination was compelling, and so the McGregors committed to protect the area, underpinned by David’s bequest.

‘Both Mum and Dad loved camping in the bush and wanted to retire to a place where they could see the mountains and the sea,’ said Bruce. ‘For decades Dad spent a lot of his spare time growing threatened plant species and planting them in his garden, around their farm and along waterways. He loved the small native plants, native birds and restoring gurgling creeks. This property not only helps TLC’s vision but also reflects Jean and David’s values.’

David worked as a pharmacist, and when he retired, he and wife Jean moved to Mansfield, beneath the Victorian alps. Most of David’s estate was tied up in the property, which was sold to realise his vision. Bruce and Ann could have used the bequest to conserve land in their home state but turned to Tasmania because they could protect land in better condition and at a lower price.

Speaking to The Guardian, Ann said the scale of the purchase showed what could be achieved for roughly the price of a house in a sought-after suburb in Melbourne or Sydney. ‘They were not multi-millionaires, by any means,’ she said. ‘Anyone who owns a Melbourne property could do it, really, or if not give a donation.’

John McLeod, philanthropy researcher and co-founder of JBWere Philanthropic Services, explains that across Australia bequests to charities are set to become more significant with rising house values and an ageing population. ‘Gifts in wills provide some of the most important support received by charities and are generally the most significant gift made by an individual. The donor has the benefit of that asset during their lifetime and can then ensure its usefulness to an organisation they know and trust potentially in perpetuity, all with the simplicity of adding a sentence to a will.’

The McGregors’ bequest has gone a very long way. The TLC’s Prosser River Reserve, as the property has been renamed, now protects 11 threatened plant and animal species. Stands of old-growth blue gum are a haven for the critically endangered swift parrots that nest and feed here. The valley is scattered with critically endangered black gum and the 12km of river frontage is a hotspot for threatened flora, as well as being breathtakingly beautiful.

Iconic Tasmanian species have a safe home on the reserve: Tasmanian devils, eastern quolls, spotted-tailed quolls, eastern barred bandicoots, masked owls, grey goshawks, white-bellied sea eagles, wedge-tailed eagles and Wielangta stag beetles can all be found here.

The property is also a site of significant cultural heritage. This area was the home of the Payintaymirimina band of the Oyster Bay tribe. A road used by the band ran along the banks of liyamangina minanya (the Prosser River) and was known as makuminya. After colonisation, parts of that road were repurposed, laid with blue stone bricks by convicts and later known as the ‘old convict road’.

The surrounding landscape and its superb cultural and natural values, featuring many threatened species, are now protected thanks to the late David and Jean McGregor and their commitment to nature. This powerful bequest has enabled an extraordinary conservation legacy.

To find out more about the TLC’s Natural Guardians bequest program, visit tasland.org.au/bequests or email bequests@tasland.org.au

Annabelle Sweetman
Planned Giving Coordinator
Tasmanian Land Conservancy
asweetman@tasland.org.au
0409 429 660