Pauline Neura Reilly facts for kids

Pauline Neura Reilly was an amazing Australian scientist who studied birds, called an ornithologist. She also wrote many fun books for children about Australian animals. She was born on December 5, 1918, and passed away on April 22, 2011.

About Pauline Reilly

Pauline Neura Duncan was born in Adelaide, Australia. Her family later moved to Melbourne, where she went to school until 1934. Before World War II, she worked as a secretary. During the war, from 1942 to 1944, she served in the Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force. She was a gunner and also worked for the Australian Army Intelligence Corps. In 1943, she married Arthur Reilly.

Working with Birds

Pauline Reilly joined the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU) in 1956. This is a group for people who study birds. She held many important roles there. She was the Publicity Officer from 1966 to 1967. She also served on the Field Investigations Committee.

From 1972 to 1975, Pauline was the President of the RAOU. This was a very important job! Later, she led the Atlas Committee from 1976 to 1982. She also led the Bird Banders' Association of Australia from 1969 to 1970.

A big achievement for Pauline was starting and leading the first Atlas of Australian Birds project. This huge project involved many people. They collected information about Australian birds from 1977 to 1981.

Studying Penguins

Pauline Reilly spent many years doing fieldwork to study birds. She was especially interested in little penguins. In 1968, she started the Penguin Study Group. This group was part of the Victorian Ornithological Research Group.

In 1973, she led a special trip to the Great Australian Bight. The goal was to research penguins there. In 1978 and 1979, she became the first woman to spend a summer researching on Macquarie Island. This is a subantarctic island where she banded penguins. She was even asked to open a big international conference about penguins in 1992.

Writing for Children

Later in her life, Pauline Reilly moved to Aireys Inlet. This is a town on the coast of Victoria. There, she focused on writing books for children. Her books were scientifically accurate and taught kids about Australian birds and other animals. Many of her books were illustrated by Will Rolland and Kaylene Traynor.

Pauline Reilly passed away on April 22, 2011, when she was 92 years old.

Awards and Honours

Pauline Reilly received many awards for her important work:

• 1981 – She was made a Fellow of the RAOU. This is a special honour from the bird study group.
• 1987 and 1992 – She won Whitley Book Awards for her children's book series. These awards are from the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales.
• 1994 – She received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM). This is a high honour for her service to ornithology.
• 1994 – She won the Wilderness Society Award for Children's Literature (non-fiction).
• 2001 – She was given the John Hobbs Medal from the RAOU. This was for her contributions to studying birds in Australia as an amateur.
• 2005 – She received the W. Roy Wheeler Medallion. This award was for her work in field ornithology.
• 2005 – She was also awarded the Australian Natural History Medallion.

Books by Pauline Reilly

Pauline Reilly wrote many books, both for adults and children.

Books for Adults

• Reilly, Pauline N. (1983). Fairy Penguins and Earthy People.
• Blakers, Margaret; Davies, S.J.J.F.; & Reilly, Pauline N. (1984). The Atlas of Australian Birds.
• Reilly, Pauline N. (1988). The Lyrebird. A natural history.
• Reilly, Pauline N. (1988). Private Lives. Ages, mates and movements of some Australian birds.
• Reilly, Pauline N. (1994). Penguins of the World.
• Dann, Peter; Norman, Ian; & Reilly, Pauline. (Eds). (1995). The Penguins: Ecology and Management.

Children's Books

• Reilly, Pauline. (1988). The Emu That Walks Towards the Rain.
• Reilly, Pauline. (1988). The Kookaburra That Helps at the Nest.
• Reilly, Pauline. (1988). The Lyrebird That is Always Too Busy to Dance.
• Reilly, Pauline. (1989). Australian Birds – True Life Stories.
• Reilly, Pauline. (1990) The Echidna.
• Reilly, Pauline. (1991). Platypus.
• Reilly, Pauline. (1993). Frillneck: An Australian Dragon.
• Reilly, Pauline. (1993). Kangaroo.
• Reilly, Pauline. (1993). The Tasmanian Devil.
• Reilly, Pauline. (1993). The Wombat.
• Reilly, Pauline. (1994). Sugar Glider.
• Reilly, Pauline. (1995). The Penguin That Walks at Night.
• Reilly, Pauline. (1995). The Galah.
• Reilly, Pauline. (1995). Kiwi.
• Reilly, Pauline. (1995). The Koala.
• Reilly, Pauline. (1995). Malleefowl: The Incubator Bird.
• Reilly, Pauline. (1995). Python.
• Reilly, Pauline. (1996). Bilby.
• Reilly, Pauline. (1996). Brolga.
• Reilly, Pauline. (1996). Penguin.
• Reilly, Pauline. (1996). Pobblebonk the Frog.
• Reilly, Pauline. (1997). Echidna.
• Reilly, Pauline. (1997). Kangaroo.
• Reilly, Pauline. (1997). Pelican.
• Reilly, Pauline. (1998). Boobook the Owl.
• Reilly, Pauline. (1998). Emperor the Magnificent Penguin.
• Reilly, Pauline. (2000). Arcto the Seal.
• Reilly, Pauline. (2000). Hippocampus the Seahorse.
• Reilly, Pauline. (2001). Aquila the Eagle.
• Reilly, Pauline. (2003). Ornithorhynchus the Platypus. (This is a revised version of her 1991 book Platypus).
• Reilly, Pauline. (2005). Crocodylus the Freshwater Crocodile.
• Reilly, Pauline. (2008). Varanus the Gardening Goanna.