OK, here is another story. Beat this one. Many years ago, when the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) was established, (NACCHO
is the national peak body representing 148 Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) across Australia. From
https://www.naccho.org.au/about/ )
I applied for a job with them. At the time their emblem was a very obvious drawing of the Bald Eagle (obviously the emblem of America), (overlaid on what I
assumed was a football). I wrote to them asking why they were using probably the most recognisable symbol in the world (a foreign country) to represent an Australian Indigenous group. It is not as if the Bald Eagle is not distinctive. The reply letter I got
from them (I think I still have both letters) gave the impression that they did not really appreciate my suggestion that this was very odd that a group that say they are so attuned to the land would present themself that way. Basically telling me to let them
choose what they do. Several months (or was it years?) later they did change their emblem and now feature a Wedge-tailed Eagle over an Australian map.
I assume the big error was from them telling some ignorant designer to make an emblem featuring an eagle, and the dill didn’t go any further than to source
a Bald Eagle image and they didn’t bother to look or think what it is before adopting it. Their current website looks good and I don’t see any mention of this story.
I didn’t get the job. I don’t even remember what the job was.
Philip
From: Canberrabirds [
On Behalf Of Graeme Clifton via Canberrabirds
Sent: Tuesday, 2 December, 2025 4:19 PM
To: Geoffrey Dabb
Cc: Canberrabirds
Subject: Re: [Canberrabirds] Mysteries of suburbia, TWO
Hi Geoffrey,
The Matcham-Holgate Cricket Club on the Central Coast of NSW had a Bellbird as its emblem. This was appropriate as the home ground matches were played to the background tinkering of Bellbirds.
However, from the 1970s, a diagram of a Crested Bellbird has appeared on the Club’s literature. To my knowledge they are unaware of this error.
On 2 Dec 2025, at 1:52 pm, Geoffrey Dabb via Canberrabirds <> wrote:
On a wall in Telopea Park School, said to be the oldest school in Canberra, facing a play ground, is a series of 4 large and spectacular bird images. Each bears the name of what I assume is a school house, and what I
take to be an aboriginal name for the bird. The birds are Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Emu, Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo and Crimson Rosella. The name on the YTBC is ‘Gang-gang’. This raises a question whether the mascot of Farrer House (if I remember that
name) is a Gang-gang, in which case they have the wrong picture, or a YTBC, in which case they have the wrong name. Or I might be quite wrong about this. Perhaps the school has a source of information that correctly aligns name and picture, and staff and
students are well aware of this. In that case, it is only the naïve passer-by who is likely to be misled. Perhaps someone with a connection with the school can clarify this.
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