Clarkesdale Bird Sanctuary

It lies in the state of Victoria in south-eastern Australia, near the small town of Linton, 30 km south-west of the city of Ballarat.

The origins of the reserve lie in the 1960s with the efforts of Gordon Clarke, a sheep farmer in the Linton district who was a keen birdwatcher and conservationist.

He began removing areas of gorse, an invasive weed in the area, to replant one of his paddocks with a wide range of Australian native (though not necessarily locally indigenous) plants in order to attract and protect birds by providing them with food and shelter.

During the 1980s Clarke purchased several additional small blocks of adjacent land which he donated to the Trust for Nature to supplement the existing reserve.

[3] The original aim of Gordon Clarke was to provide a habitat for birds that was richer in food resources than native forest, and towards that end most of his early plantings were of nectar-producing shrubs and trees, especially from Western Australia.