Constant forest defender Bruce Dover at rest after 8 years battle with bitou bush
Mood:
special
Topic: ecology
Bruce Dover environmentalist, died of mesothelioma last Sunday after a short devastating illness. He was surrounded by love in his last 2 months. He got the poison in his lungs decades ago working in a glass factory. A good life taken early in his sixties, a family guy with 4 sons and various grandchildren. An outdoors man who loved his forests 
.......and tried his best to close the Eden chipmill for 20 years.
He spent the last 8 years killing noxious bitou bush in Botany Bay National Park where his ashes now lie as of yesterday.
His sons, half brothers from 14 to 20 something, are shown below after the friends and family have started walking back to the carpark. Earlier they posed for a picture but this one shows them in their private thoughts in a sense still looking up to their beloved dad:
More images of Bruce's environmental activism follow including letter from Minister Peter Garrett
, pics taken by Bruce of the Japanese Ambassador in Canberra
, of the director of The Wilderness Society Alec Marr on the road outside the chipmill.
Of outdoor exploits and beloved family.
Rest in peace Bruce Dover, founding member of the ACF Forest Campaign Group in Sydney since the mid 1980ies.
Sent: Monday, December 01, 2008 12:52 PM
Subject: a constanst forest activist Re: [chipstop] vale Bruce
oh that's really sad news. I saw Bruce in the old ACF office, the early George St one before moving to another George St office. It was 1992. There was Bruce and Margaret Barnes and James Woodford came from TEC to give a "SEFA" briefing.
Bruce was a dedicated forests man - how true. He did stalls from memory during the SEF protection bill in 92-93 but also The Wilderness nominations 92-94 generating 26,000 or so submissions. We did some combined stalls TWS/ACF. A record effort, relating to some 750K hectares of intact forest some park, much of it not. He got out amongst the mainstream where it really mattered.
This action generated momentum along with many other strands of activism, including blockades (Simon Benson for Daily Telegraph at the Eden chipper march 95, NEFA rolling blockades), helped change the govt in 1995 in a tough close green election. It's a real politik lesson that the Big Parties even today still remember.
They will also consider that lesson in the lead up to a close 2011 election (?) not least Rees a product of the 90ies activism. Nick Greiner was quoted in the press last weekend urging the NSW Coaliton to be greenish.
Again from memory he helped with the 2 big Sydney Town Hall meetings in the late 90ies. He was a rock and I really respected him for his constancy.
God bless you Bruce. What a star for our environment.
Tom
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, November 30, 2008 12:51 PM
Subject: [chipstop] vale Bruce
Hi greenies.
Some very sad news - our old friend and colleague Bruce Dover from the ACF Forest Campaign Group in Sydney Bruce lost his battle with mesothelioma this morning.
Longer term campaigners will remember Bruce for his prominent role in the Walk Against Woodchips (x2), the charcoal campaign, Forests for Water Roadshow, Threatened Species roadshow and many other forest campaigns.
When a few of us occupied the chipmill office a few years ago, it was Bruce in the guise of a camera toting “tourist” who recorded the event on film as we were thrown out. His photo of Keith airborn in mid flight exiting the office is still one of our most prized possessions.
Bruce loved nature and never wavered in his commitment to end woodchipping. He told me a couple of weeks ago that his biggest regret .... is that woodchipping goes on, in spite of all our efforts.
Yes we can end it!
regards
harriett
Posted by editor
at 11:46 AM EADT
Updated: Saturday, 6 December 2008 1:46 PM EADT
