Thank you Stephen for your support and loyalty to me when I was Director. You have made a very important contribution to conservation in WA through your incredible knowledge of the biota and of land management issues, and perhaps more importantly, your personable nature and gifted networking skills which enabled many valuable partnerships and collaborations to be established. Thanks again and all the very best for the future. .

Regards

Neil

Neil Burrows

Hi Stephen

Just want to say a massive thank you for helping Leanne with her plant ID. She was blown away but your knowledge and really enjoyed working in the herbarium.

I heard that you’re moving on, from my perspective that’s a great shame, you’ve been great to work with and I hope we can continue working together in whatever role you end up in. I know both Harry and Judy both see you as a mentor, they look up to you a great deal and with good reason. I’m sure you’re not short of suitors.

Cheers

Dale

Dale

Dear Stephen

Thank you so much for all your support over the many years that I have worked with you in Science Division.

The manner in which you have always interacted with the admin team in Science has made us want to go above and beyond to assist you.

I will miss your genuine caring personality at work, not many left like you around here anymore….

Wishing you the very best for your next chapter my friend. The next collection of people that work with you are very lucky indeed.

Take care of yourself please 😊

Janine

Janine Morris

Stephen

I have no words. Very sorry to hear this. But, funny thing - one door closes, another opens. Let’s hope that there are good doors ready to open.

Best wishes and we look forward to commiserating/ celebrating when we’re in Perth.

Lis and Richard

Elisabeth McLellan

Hi Stephen

I just wanted to say that I am very sorry to hear that you are leaving the Department. I really enjoyed working with you, especially while doing the Pilbara EIA work at EMB – I learnt a lot and had an awesome time on field trips. I still remember driving through a fire front at API’s site (having driven through a flood to get there in the first place)…. and then there was that time you and Phillipa went into an old mine and came out with a cloud of bats scaring the bejesus out of Stephen White 😊 Also, etched in my memory was the Chevron Wheatstone workshop when you acknowledged that I had already prepared advice and suggested that I speak first and that you would add any additional comments after – a rarity to be acknowledged in a public forum by someone senior and it meant a lot to me. Thank you!

We will miss you here!

Many thanks

Anthea

Anthea Jones

Stephen.

I wish to express my thanks to you for contributing your time over the years sharing your thoughts and advice on biodiversity matters relevant to the Rio Tinto biology team. Your insights have both been been appreciated and valued, I do hope we can continue to seek your advice and input in a capacity that’s suitable to you in future.

Regards

Hanouska

Hanouska

Hi Stephen

This is very sad news for me but also very good news for you. I will definitely miss you. At least we have very good memories of our trips and things we were involved in. May you be happy in you new adventure and challenges and all of the best for the future.

Regards

Tjokkie Pieterse

Tjokkie Pieterse

Dear Stephen

I wish to thank you for the support that you have given us. It has been a pleasure to have you as our assistance director, your knowledge and good nature shines through. I wish you all the best in your future endeavours and plans. I am sure that I speak for all of us in the Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis Program.

Much regard,

Graham

Graham Loewenthal

Hi Steve,

I just wanted to wish you all the very best for the future. I heard today, with some shock, that you were leaving the department! I trust the next stage of your life will be as fulfilling as the wonderful career that you’ve had in the department. Although I haven’t worked with you closely over the years I have always known of you and had a general sense of the work that you and your colleagues have done – especially in my formative years as a wildlife officer.

Well done on an outstanding career your work will have a lasting conservation impact. All the very best for the future and I’m sure we’ll catch up in the South West down the track.

Best regards,

Ben

Ben Tannock

Hi Steven

All the best for the future and your endeavours.

Stay safe and well

Greg Durell

Regional Manager

Wheatbelt Region

Greg Durell

Thank you Stephen!

An on a personal note, thank you for all your advice and support over the years. I consider you a legend of the department and it’s always been a pleasure working with you. I have no doubt that fulfilling pathways and professional adventures lie ahead for you with whatever you choose to do, but I hope you won’t be a stranger. See you someone on the road before too long I hope.

Warmest wishes, Jacinta

Jacinta Overman

Hi Steve

Today I heard about your departure from this dept. I was shocked to hear about it.

Anyway I wish to thank you for all the help you have given me including moving me over here from Curtin.

You have been always very pleasant and helpful to all your colleagues and I am very proud to have had a cordial relationship with you .

Let me know your next move. I wish to continue my contact with you .

Best wishes Steve

Cheers

Jacob

Jacob John

Hi Stephen

Let me wish you all the best - hope something freakin awesome comes along.

And the thing about 'the good old days' - is that we didn't know it at the time 🙂

Take care and look after yourself

Kath

Kath Salonga

Hi Stephen

how are you going? feeling bit better I hope.

Let me wish you all the best - hope something freakin awesome comes along,

and the thing about 'the good old days' - is that we didn't know it at the time 🙂

Take care and look after yourself

Kath S.

​

I could not have had a better person to look up to, learn from or be inspired by than you Stephen. Thank you so very much for your generosity. With kind thoughts, Sandra Thomas

Sandra Thomas

Stephen. So sorry to see you leave after all these years.... Thank you for your advice on those special Pilbara places! Enjoy your break and best wishes for the future.

Jill Pryde (Lidge)

Jill Pryde

Hi Steve. My best wishes to you now that you are joining the ever increasing ranks of the ex-department personnel :)

You were great to work with and a good friend. I hope whatever you move onto is to your liking and brings happiness.

My best wishes and appreciation for all you did

Best regards,

Rod Quartermain

Rod Quartermain

Hi Steve, Thanks for all your support over many years. I was very sorry to hear of your impending departure from DBCA. Among your many positive attributes, I really appreciated your professionalism, and that you recognize the benefits of collaboration and promoted it. I know I am just one of a very large group of people who are very disappointed you are moving on but trust it will be to a good place. Your work was much appreciated by so many of us. All the very best.

Linc Schmitt

Hey Stephen, You have always been around; from early days at Woodvale to the 2 fantastic years I spent in the Pilbara and in recent years at Kensington. Thanks for your support, generosity, guidance and humorous outlook. All your varied experience puts you in a unique position to make something really great of the future. Best wishes and keep in touch.

Judith Harvey

Dear Stephen

When I met you - back in 1998, it was on a wonderful Pilbara field trip with you and Bob Bromilow!

Thanks so much for your great generosity in sharing your vast knowledge, including at the TECSC meetings, over many years. Will thankfully continue to catch up with you at the meetings in future!

Very sad to see you go, but all the best for wherever the world takes you and whatever direction you head in your career and travels. I'm sure you'll continue to have a huge positive impact... wherever you are!

Very best wishes

Val

Val English

Hi Stephen,

I wish you all the best in your next endeavours - you will be missed professionally and personally. I particularly want to thank you for the wise and witty contributions you have made over many workshops and gatherings over the years. You are an amazing and warm person who has built up an incredible legacy of knowledge and talent for WA. Well done!

We share our appreciation for spinifex and arid vegetation and so I picked a recent image from the Simpson Desert.

You are always welcome to join us in the field anytime.

Best wishes, Glenda

Glenda Wardle

G’day SVL – been a while!

I have a few photo albums of various trips – some “ Landscope “ trips ; and a few into the Little Sandy desert. The photo is LSD 2001 , and people from left are Steve Scourfield , SVL , Steve Hopper , Phillipa Nikulinsky taking photo , Kelly Shepperd and Carol Davies , me taking the photo and Bob Bromilow hiding from the camera. This was the trip I had Phillipa as a nervous passenger. Maybe see you down Ravensthorpe / Hopetoun way now that you might have a bit more time. Best wishes to you both.

John Tucker

Hi Stephen, wishing you well on where your journey takes you next. Thanks for your wisdom over the years. I still have a giggle once in a while remembering one particular site visit near the Fortescue Marshes with you where, after I had bogged the vehicle for the third time in 15 minutes, you took over the driving saying "we were unlikely to get out of the area otherwise!". The Department will sorely miss your knowledge and experience, but I am so grateful that I have been one of the many who had benefited from your service to nature conservation in Western Australia.

Diane Dowdell

I was really devastated to hear that the time has come for you to leave - Jim Sharp told me this morning. You were an inspiration to many of the CALM people in my time and well beyond that. Not just the Aboriginal staff but many others, including me. Although we didn't work all that closely together I loved your work in so many ways, including that of so long ago on banksias and cockies; but really it was just about you and who you were. Grateful to have shared some of your professional life.

CHRIS HAYNES

Hi Steve

Congratulations on a great career.

Your contribution to the understanding and conservation of WA's biodiversity has been immense. I have appreciated your thoughtful , friendly and good humoured ability to relate to all the people and interests you have interacted with, me included. Thank you for the way you encouraged and supported Aboriginal staff and lead in numerous processes and ways to make their pathways in the department better. You have left a great legacy for and through them. Lea and I wish you and Regina all the best for the future.

Jim Sharp

Jim Sharp

Dear Steve, sorry to see you leave DBCA and its been great to share our knowledge of the Pilbara. I think we only did one field trip together and that was to Juna Downs in about 1991 with Helen Allison. You didnt know quite how to take us as we sang most of the way back to Karratha. Enjoy your new role, wherever that may be

Andrew Mitchell

How to bring joy and enthusiasm to the world of grumpy and frustrated development advisors? Introducing the jolly genius giant of the natural science team from the CALM world of the eighties! Stephen you have brought immense enlightenment and fun to the EMBers over many years. Thanks from the heart for your massive contribution to managing industry in wa and the very best for what we all know will be a stellar future. I am in NSW at the moment but hope to see you again soon in our more natural habitat!

Nic Woolfrey

Jonathan Majer

Thank you Steve for the wonderful depth and breadth your knowledge and that you are always willing to share it. You were always immensely kind as you answered my, I am sure often naïve, questions and provided a feeling of support. Thank you the contribution you have made in so many areas. We all need you to stay involved with the future of our wonderful environment. Best wishes for all you choose to do from now.

Chris Munday

As a neophyte to the Pilbara, how better to be introduced to its amazing flora and landscape than with the doyen of the area. Utterly impressed Steve with your encyclopedic knowledge of the flora (I'd been warned of that), but your skill and considerateness at arriving at yet another breathtaking waterhole at lunch and prowess at the camp over were welcome revelations. Lots of talents there for a rich and enjoyable retirement. Thanks for a week of indelible memories and too many names by now sadly forgotten.

Neville Walsh

Wishing you all the best with what's to come and thanking you dearly for all your thoughts, knowledge, experience and friendship which you have so happily provided along the way. It's been awesome.

Cheers

Jeremy

Jeremy Naaykens

Hi Steve,

It is sad to see you leave DBCA/CALM after all these years, but the contribution you have made is fantastic. Your deep knowledge of the environment has been an inspiration for many - myself included. Please stay in the field and perhaps come back up to the Pilbara, where you will certainly be welcome! Best wishes in your future endeavours,

Peter.

Peter Long

Dear Stephen, your agility climbing Burrup rockpiles the day we searched for Vigna sp Burrup rockpiles (as it was then) amazed me - but not your enthusiasm which was as always for anything flora/Pilbara. Your epic contribution to the knowledge of Pilbara flora, communities, landscape is unrivaled as is your passion to protect it. THANK YOU Stephen, not jut from the heart of one Pilbara botanist but from the very heart of the Pilbara itself. We still need you! Vicki

Vicki Long

I've learn so much from you - it's one of the things I've always admired about you - your ability and willingness to share knowledge and insights, particularly about the Pilbara, its history and its biodiversity (including all the different mulla mulla species!). I know the Lang Hancock Railway experience was a bit mixed (I still can't believe the bulldozer incident happened!) but again, learnt a lot and really appreciate your knowledge and support throughout. Best of luck with the next adventure - I'm sure it will be great.

Bronwyn Bell

Hi there Steve... Am going to miss you! You always answered my questions without making me feel like I dunce, you always provided practical input and information when I needed it, especially when we had some ridiculously short turnaround times! Most of all will miss your wry wit and humour. Thank you, all the very, very best and have loads of fun. Andrea

Andrea Agocs

Farewell Steve, very sad to see you and your wealth of knowledge go. I wish that I got to work more closely with you but the encounters I did have were always positive, inspiring and joyful so thank you. Thank you for all your great work on the TSOP in the Pilbara. I wish you all the best for the future and I hope we cross paths again soon.

Ps. sorry I did not get to say goodbye in person but I hope this message reaches you.

Hannah Anderson

Steve - it's been an absolute privilege and honour to work with you on a range of different topics. When I came to WA, one of the first pieces of advice I received was "you have to talk to Steve." Since then I've found out that your ability to link people and ideas, spark collaborations and champion conservation is second to none. Thank you for your ongoing support, advice and inspiration. I have no doubt you will find other ways to expand your role as an ambassador for biodiversity in WA. I look forward to continuing our collaboration in the years ahead.

Bruce Webber

Hi Stephen

It was very sad indeed to hear of your departure from the Department after so long. I thank you for your support both to me, and to countless others over these many years and I have always had enormous gratitude for your foresight and understanding in so many aspects of conservation management. You were a true enabler, a role that is so important and for which a lot of good science has been the result. I wish you good health and all the success you deserve in whatever is in the future! Pete

Peter Spencer

Stephen - thanks for all of your help over the years, and for being such a great role model to so many people.... Your unique mix of Academic smarts combined with a pragmatic outlook aimed at practical solutions, means that not only do you provide the best solutions, but also they’re achievable in the real world! I particularly appreciate your integrity and cheery disposition. Thanks for being such a great advocate for the environment and the people that care for it. Looking forward to working with you in a different capacity in the coming years and sharing the occasional beer or haighs chocolate. I’m honored to not only consider you a work colleague, but also a mate!

Cheer

Ben Sparrow

Ben Sparrow

The Pilbara is a breathtaking landscape and all that have been there and experienced the best of it have all had someone to initially guide them through - its a tough first gig for most city slickers! For me, Steve was one of those people - always ready with some simple advice or a tip or a map or a book (I think I've yet to return one of them) or just a chat that got you inspired. Steve, the legacy you leave is your love of the Pilbara which has become a love of so many others. What a gift you have given to so many!

Leon Staude

Hey Steve, great to get to know you over the last couple of years. You are well respected in your field and a great bloke too. With over 200 items in our library catalogue with your name attached to them, your legacy will last a lifetime.

Nicole Wreford

Dear Stephen,

Like everyone else, I am very sad that you’re leaving. Having your support and encouragement means a lot, and you’re a great role model for young scientists like me. Hopefully, I will have some new work to show you soon. Enjoy your break!

Cheers,

Harry

Harry Moore

Thanks for all your support over the years: herbarium tours with the rangers, Birriliburu bush tucker IDs, cat tracking expeditions and so much more.

​

You will have a bit more spare time to get that boat out and about. Enjoy your retirement but we are sure you will not be idle on the Botanical front.

All the best to you and Regina.

Fletch and Kerry

Wayne and Kerry Fletcher

Damn! Wish I had been on some of those fieldtrips. Best wishes Stephen and thanks for your helpfulness and friendliness to newbie.

Emer

Dear Steve,

Thank you for teaching me all about the Pilbara and its many values, and for taking me to some of your favourite spots. I will always treasure these memories. All the best with your next adventure, Phillipa

Phillipa Wilson

Steve,

Thanks for all the wise advice and generous support over the years. Your contribution to conservation has been great and your knowledge and expertise will be sorely missed at DBCA. See you later and best wishes for the future.

Alan Kendrick & Jen Higbid

Thanks Stephen for all the laughter, knowledge and wisdom over the past couple of decades. You have left your mark in more ways than you realise to those who remain, and have crossed paths with you over the many years. Another of the DBCA ship stabilisers has been lost! The nature conservation trips are forever burned into my memory. Joyous and glorious times indeed. All the very best with whatever lies ahead. A new dawn awaits, and it won't involve dealing with endless psychotic bullshit!? Hopefully catch up with you soon for a beer, or two, and a chuckle.

Keith Claymore

Hi Steve

Our paths crossed some 40 years ago in Newman. You were just starting your incredible journey under the Fox Mulga banner. For memory you hadn't even had your first shave.

Over the years we had many associations, too many to remember.

I can however clearly remember the late phone calls. "We are just out of Newman coming to see you. Any chance of throwing the swag. By the way there are a few of us.'

We who have known you and worked with you are the privileged.

Not sure why you have parked the red dusty 4WD but wish you all the best. Perhaps time to get the van out.

All the very best to you mate and Regina.

Cheers Ken Walker

Ken Walker

An outstanding career where one door closes and many more open. I look forward to Stephen continuing to champion the cause of our great but dwindling biodiversity. His quality of speaking the science when we need to protect what remains is a beacon to all and reminder to those charged with protection that now is the time for real action to conserve. Congratulations on a wonderful career that starts a new and even more exhilarating phase.

Kingsley Dixon, John Curtin Distinguished Professor

Steve has been there in the most remote fieldwork on the Canning Stock Route, in the least remote fieldwork helping students in the lab, and always there for big ideas. I think there are enough desert trips planned to take us to 2030. Championing all that’s good and generous. Most recently in the AMSA indigenous engagement workshops you showed once again why leadership comes from the front, within and outside the group. You’re one of the main researchers to bridge the gap with knowledge and culture - respect.

Peter Veth

An interest and love of our environment brings together many people whose paths would not necessarily cross. Such is our association with Stephen which began during his time in the Pilbara and involvement with LCDC meetings. He is held in high regard for his knowledge, support and desire to learn from and listen to all perspectives.

Whatever the next step is Stephen, we at Mount Florance Station wish you all the best.

Tony and Robyn Richardson

18 years in the Pilbara with you was like living a Wild Western novel. The best years of our lives, wish we could do it all over again.

Looking at this site, it seems we made an impact with Brad Barton!

Cheers

Bob Bromilow

Bob Bromilow

Mortified to hear that you are leaving! Always thought that you were an integral part of the fabric of that institution.

Anyway, all the best for you on the other side of the workplace ladder

Jonathan Majer

Steve my very best wishes to you and thank you for your many kindnesses to me. I learnt so much from you but knew that I was still only skimming the surface of your deep knowledge. Your work has left a legacy of which to be proud and you have been an inspiration for the next generation of those seeking to understand and protect West Australia's precious biodiversity. Lyn Beazley

Lyn Beazley

Hey Steve,

It was great to work with you over the years and get in a couple of trips up to Matuwa and Nat Cons through the Goldfields with you. I hope you enjoy the next chapter of your life and you will be missed greatly. I hope to see you back up in the Pilbara so I can learn a lot more now I'm here. I didn't have any photo's of you in the Goldfields handy. However managed to find a couple on the Pilbara share drive :o)

David Pickles

Steve – your advocacy for ecology, and protection and respect for the North of WA have been unique and ranks up there with Mr H Butler OA. Good on you young fella! You have earned some relaxing years!

Harley Lacy

Steve, it does seem a long time ago that we both arrived in the Pilbara, although we did share a corridor at Woodvale for a year or two before that. Those were glory days, with so many wonderful memories of trips to far-flung corners of the country, great colleagues, chasing fires around Karijini, Landscape Expeditions, and always the flora and fauna and landscapes to keep us grounded and remind why we were there. Best wishes for the future mate, I know it will be a fabulous time for you. And thanks for being such a great contributor, and a wonderful colleague for so many years.

Peter Kendrick

Thank you Stephen for your guidance and support in my mining rehabilitation journey. I wish I had a chance to get into the field with you - I think I would have learnt even more!

All the best with your next challenge.

Guy

Guy Boggs

Steve

Very best wishes for the future.I much appreciated working with you on Pilbara related things and value your views and knowledge.

Regards

Andrew

Andrew Watson

Steve, you are a star. I've only had the pleasure of doing field work with you once and I'll admit to being blown away by your agility and speed over short, steep distances on unstable ground. You were quite magnificent. I'll admit to being quite happy to have been in the following 4x4 though after I saw you take off, off-road. Sweet jesus... ;) It would have been great to have gone on more trips with you - if you ever need a fieldy...?

Steve - thank you for all the opportunities you have given me and for your support. I am seriously going to miss your laugh and that wicked twinkle in your eyes. All the best!

Ryonen Butcher

Dear Stephen,

thank you for all your advice and support over the years. I consider you a legend of the department and it’s always been a pleasure working with you. Not only are you brilliant at what you do, you are one of those rare people who is always kind and considerate. I know that fulfilling pathways and professional adventures lie ahead for you with whatever you choose to do, but I hope you won’t be a stranger. See you somewhere on the road before too long I hope.

Warmest wishes for the next chapter of life, Jacinta

Jacinta Overman

Steve,

Thanks for all the leadership, collaboration and support across the Pilbara Corridors Project. Especially the Rangelands Ausplots reconnaissance support, Pilbara Bioregion Conservation Action Plan advice and sharing your knowledge of the Pilbara. Much appreciated!

Ian Cotton

Steve,

I am not sure that you realise the extent of your influence and how this has contributed to significant and positive outcomes for conservation. Your passion, knowledge and commitment to our unique natural environment, combined with your humility, humour and personal values has driven a deep respect amongst the scientific community. I deeply value the knowledge you shared and the support you provided me as a young departmental officer. These lessons, in concert with your guidance and practical approaches to the application of biological science has shaped my own career and influenced my own contribution to conserving our natural environment. As you have seen here, I am not alone in this, and can safely say, that beyond your own significant contributions to conservation, your motivation and enablement of others has enriched their careers and extended your contribution to environmental conservation in a manner that you should be immensely proud and satisfied. I look forward to touching base in the future and sharing some of your new adventures. Your new freedom and opportunities will be daunting, but I am sure you will find a new niche and will continue to enjoy the numerous relationships you have built to date through your career.

Best wishes George Watson

George Watson

Thank you so much Steve for generously sharing your knowledge and experience with me over the past 6 years. I am sure we'll work together again in one forum or another. In the meantime, good luck with your next adventure, I hope it involves much botany and the ability to make a real difference.

Helena Mills

Stephen,

It's very sad to see you going, especially under these circumstances. I have really enjoyed working with you and also appreciate all the support you have provided over many years.

I wish you all the best for the future and hope we can keep in touch.

All the best.

Mark C

Mark

Stephen,

I'm trusting this is not the last time our paths cross as that would be very sad indeed.

It has been fantastic working with you in your various roles at DBCA over the numerous years and Departmental name changes from the collaborations with you during your time in Karratha through to the years there in Woodvale and Kensington.

Trusting we can keep in touch and continue to collaborate in all things biological in this amazing State in which we live.

Good luck on your next endeavours & looking forward to keeping in touch.

Many thanks for everything Stephen. As always, I am in your debt.

Best wishes to you and Regina,

Phil Davidson

Phillip Davidson

Hey Steve, One door closes and another opens, :-) Thanks for being a mentor, tour guide, inspiration and everything else in between. The Pilbara and Virgin Springs surveys are my highlights and I am so glad to have that time in the field with you. All the best wishes for the next stage of your career. Cheers, Nadine Guthrie

Nadine Guthrie

Dear Stephen,

From all of us here in the fauna team, a great big thank you for all your support and knowledge and kindness and laughs. It's been a privilege to work with you and learn from you. Enjoy the next phase and please don't forget to stop in and say hi sometimes and tell us about all the wonderful things you're up to.

Juanita

Stephen,

It has been a pleasure to work with you over the recent . I trust that you will move on to a range of fulfilling adventures and that we will continue to hear from you regarding Aboriginal settlemt and other issues.

Best wishes,

Bob

Bob Hagan

Hey Steve, you have been such an inspiration because when you are out bush, you are totally present in the moment and the joy on your face is evisdence for all tosee! All the best and may your candle continue to burn brightly for many years to come. Hambe kahle mFowetu (go well brother). Norm.

Norm

​

Dear Stephen,

Thanks for being our assistant director, we have felt truly supported and valued. Your good nature and the sharing of your knowledge shines through, making working at the Remote Sensing and Spatial Analyst Program a pleasure.

We wish you all the happiness and success in your next ventures.

Much regard,

The team at Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis Programme

Katherine, Kathy, Ricky, Bart, Jane, Georgie, Janine, Paul and Graham

Graham Loewenthal

Steve,

Good Pilbara memories. I don't have a photo but scrolling down through the others I saw Judy's of the Pilbara crew in the late 80s/early 90's. Much water under the bridge since then, and I expect there is more to flow. All the best.

Hugh Chevis

Hey Steve, you have been an inspiration for many because when you are out bush, you are always present in the moment and the joy and appreciation is evident in your face! Those are the moments to hold onto and we love for it. All the best mate, Norm.

Norm Galli from AngloGold.

Dear Stephen,

Thank you so much for your leadership and support during my time with the Department, particularly with the bilby research projects. Your dedication to your work and your invaluable contributions to conservation and management are immense, so much of the work we do across our state would not have been able to be achieved without your knowledge and involvement. We will definitely miss you but enjoy your well earned holidays and wishing you all the very best for your next adventures!

Fiona Carpenter

Fiona Carpenter

Dear Stephen

Devastated I can't be there to give you a huge hug.

Thank you for everything you have done for all of us in Science over the years. You have always made everyone feel so valued. The trip to Carnarvon Range with you will forever be one of my highlights in the Department. Collecting and pressing plants alongside you was a joy, so too was just enjoying your amazingly well organised field trips.

I will miss you dearly.

Kirsty Quinlan

Stephen

We still can’t believe you are leaving! What a monumental loss to the Department…but what a huge asset you will be for your next lucky employer! You have been an outstanding representative for WA under both the NERP and NESP Hubs and your support, advice and guidance regarding Indigenous collaboration has been invaluable. It’s been fun and an absolute pleasure to work with you but we also greatly appreciate the regular “meetings” at the farmers market which was a great help for us settling into Perth. Huge thanks for everything you have done for us, others and the environment and wish you the very best in the future! Dougo and Sam

Michael Douglas & Sam Setterfield

Dear Stephen

I have always enjoyed our time together valued our conversations and discussion. You have been a great sounding board for ideas giving frank and honest advice either supporting the idea or otherwise. To camping, I heard Maureen quite recently telling a friend of a trip to the Fortescue Marsh with the Nichol Bay Nats and you and Geoff quickly producing the comforts of the campsite. This organisation and sharing has been reflected on any number of camping trips and more importantly elsewhere in life. I look forward to continuing to see you around.

Stephen White

You will be sorely missed by those inside and outside of the Dept for your complete professionalism, your hard-work and dedication, and for being such a strong advocate for the natural environment. Many thanks for all your help over the years with advice, projects, students and .... finding homes for all Foxy's reports, seeds etc. I'm sure you will enjoy your few months of down-time, and look forward to working with again in your next important role. Eddie

Eddie van Etten

It would be great to meet up with you and Regina in the Fitzgerald River National Park one day. A much cooler place than the Pilbara! Best wishes for your future.

Gil Craig

It was with great sadness I heard of you leaving the department. I wish you all the very best for the next chapter, and hope our professional paths cross in the future.

Belinda Barnett

Thanks for all the knowledge that you have openly given since I arrived and made the sunny Pilbara my home. You have been an advocate and champion for this special place and I look forward to catching up about all things Pilbara in the near future.

Alicia Whittington

Hi Stephen. On behalf of the Great Victoria Desert Biodiversity Trust, I thank you for all your efforts inputs into the operation of the Trust. Your expertise in all things Great Victoria Desert is unsurpassed and has helped guide the Trust in our governance and decision making. You will be well and truly missed but I look forward to your on-going contribution on there TAP should you choose to continue in that role. On a personal level, I have very much appreciated your advice when I have sought you out for help and guidance. See you out they Stephen! Dr Garry Middle, Chair, Great Victoria Desert Biodiversity Trust.

Garry Middle

Steve - you are leaving??

Many thanks to you for your enormous effort in the field of Pilbara conservation and deepening our understanding Pilbara of its values and threats. And your time to support me over all those years. it was greatly appreciated.

I've many fond memories...no photos handy unfortunately...

I don't know what you are up to next.... but I hope it is great and rewarding.

Come visit the blue mountains NSW sometime

Cath Rummery xxx

Cath Rummery

Hi Steve, sad to see you leave but leaving us with a great legacy to continue. Here's a nice satellite imagery over Millstream :) Look forward to seeing you in your next place. Cheers Katherine

Katherine

Steve, your support and continuing influence has played a significant role in my career, and for that I am eternally grateful. Your knowledge of and passion for the Pilbara is unmatched, a huge loss for the dept but I’m sure your contribution to the state will continue.

Brad Durrant

G'day Stephen,

Thanks for the support, for me personally and the work we have been doing with indigenous rangers over the last few years. Your presence in the department will be missed! Hopefully we will see you in the desert some time soon.

Gareth

Gareth Catt

Hi Steve

I am so sorry to see you leaving the Department. You have been a really inspirational leader in the Division on so many fronts. You will be very much missed here. Enjoy the time away and I hope the future holds lots of good things in store for you. No doubt we will cross paths again in the conservation world or the Floreat Forum.

xx Kelly

Kelly

Dear Stephen this is a truly sad day for us all, they say no-one is irreplaceable - you have proven this to be untrue, you are irreplaceable. From milestones and targets to motivation and progress; you have stood by us and supported us through all aspects of our jobs. Your guidance and leadership has given us wings. You are the only person who has ever written your appreciation and thanks each and every year for our work and assistance . You are a great inspiration and friend, your wealth of knowledge is amazing and you always have time for anyone at anytime regardless of how busy you are. You are going to be messed terribly. May your life ahead be full of happiness and wherever you go and whatever you do they are very lucky indeed. Best wishes Sandy

Sandy Grose

Dear Stephen,
You humour, mentorship and hard work for biogeography and to just to get so many projects going in our vast state will be really missed. I honestly don't know how we will manage, or where we're going, or how we're going to deal with all the interesting characters we have for the job, and how we're going to keep finding all those plants and putting in more plots ...

... but here's to seeing you out there having quality adventures and holidays, moving onto some exciting projects and places, and still showing us the way.

Adrienne Markey

What a milestone Stephen! Thanks for all your support and advocacy for Indigenous land management issues over the years. Rest assured that there is a life after the public service and that there will be people knocking on your door to catch up or do work.

All the very best and please keep in touch.

Peter See on behalf of the 10 Deserts Project.

Peter See

Thanks for all your help and support over the years with getting me and the Museum involved in the Pilbara threatened species workshops and sourcing tissue samples from consultants for my PhD. Wishing you all the best for the future and hope that you continue to contribute to the conservation of WA's iconic species!

Linette Umbrello

Hi Steve,

Thanks for all your support over the years, I would have been like a bunny in the headlights if it weren't for your help. All the best for your next chapter, make sure you stay in touch.

Steve Dillon

Dear Stephen:

Since I made WA my home many years ago there's been only a few people who I thank for giving me key insights into land and people of this special Country that have guided my professional work for WA land managers and landscapes; and you have been one of them. Thanks Mate! I know that your inspiration will continue.

Cheers

Chris C

Chris Curnow

I feel very fortunate to have explored the Pilbara with your incredible knowledge, humour and tyre-changing expertise!! Reading the messages below though, it seems I missed out on your cullinary skills! Very sorry to see you go Steve, but no doubt you'll continue to do great things.. and hopefully our paths will cross again! Rachel Binks

​

best wishes, Bull.

you're the business

Stephen Scourfield

Hi Stephen, thanks for all your support over the years, very sad to see you leaving the department. Wish you all the best in your next endeavour. All the best, Shaun

Shaun Wilson

Thank you for your enormous contribution in trying to balance the books for our Nation and it is sad and a surprise but good luck on your new journey.

Wardong

David Collard

Stephen, Thank you for the incalculable contribution you have made to the department, its people and most of all to the the amazing biodiversity we are all privileged to care for. Your knowledge, wisdom and kindness will be greatly missed here, but I'm sure you'll find a way to channel it into the next chapter of your life. All the best for the future.

Tanya Llorens

Dear Stephen, Thank you SO MUCH for your dedication and service, not only to the Department but to the whole State of WA, your knowledge and presence will be DEEPLY missed. Best wishes on your future endeavours, the world is your oyster and I can’t wait to see where your new working life will lead you.

Best wishes, Kim Eckert and Mac Jensen.

Kim Eckert OAM GAICD | CEO Kalgoorlie-Boulder Urban Landcare Group

Hi Steve

Remember the good times we used to have in the old days in Karratha. You were great at pretending to be shot by Jack when he was about 3. You would fall down on the ground. He thought it was hilarious. We have had some good times along the way and shared a ton of laughs.

Going to miss you heaps. Who is going to id my Pilbara plants now?

I'll have to do it myself, bugger

Take care and enjoy the next chapter.

Judy Napier

Bridget Hyder

Dear Steve

It's been great working with you over the years. You're a real gem, your knowledge is amazing, you're a brilliant communicator and so willing to share your knowledge. You've helped me immensley over the years. Take care and I look forward to working with you in future. Enjoy your holiday down south.

Bridget Hyder

Kaya Stephen! I am very sorry to see you go but must remind myself that it has been such a privilege to work with you. You have been an excellent mentor to me in the Dept, it is always a pleasure to watch you chuckle at a mining company's new hare-brained idea and see them quiver in their boots. I greatly appreciate all the shared Pilbara knowledge and hope to put it to good use. I wish you good luck but am very confident you'll be fabulous with any endeavour you choose!

Judy

Judy

Thanks Steve for all your support over the years, especially during the BIF/greenstone surveys!

Wendy

Stephen,

Terribly sorry that you are leaving the department. You have been an extraordinary advocate for the work that the department does and for the staff who deliver it. I regret I never had the opportunity to work closely with you but I am grateful for the faith you have shown in me as a younger scientist. You will be sorely missed both in the department and outside it but I wish you all the very best with what life brings you next.

Saul Cowen

Hi Stephen, I feel like I've only known you a very short time after reading through other's messages! Thank you for sharing your vast and deep knowledge of the Pilbara, particularly for your help and support around our Pilbara ARC grant and ghost bat projects, and more broadly what you have achieved for the department over the years. You will be greatly missed, but wishing you all the best for the next adventure and hopefully I will see you around!

​

Steve,

I’m sure you will always remember the Pilbara pluckers. Many happy hours stuck in the car crisscrossing the Pilbara landscapes searching for those many plant species. Certainly, a highlight for me. Your knowledge, wisdom and endless stories will be very much missed. Best of luck with your future endeavours and keep enjoying your many travels.

Ps: always available for chocolate tasting when required.

Shelley McArthur

Hi Stephen, While I haven't had the pleasure of working with you in the field, I know from those who have that I've missed out! A big loss for the department for sure, but all the best for whatever the next stage of life brings.

Carl Gosper

Thanks for the support over the years Stephen. I'm glad I was able to join you on a couple of field trips, they were some of the more enjoyable ones.

Mark Blythman

G'day Steve

I think we first met in September of 1991, when Ross Rowe and I were in Karratha to meet up with Andrew Mitchell, who had been sending us specimens of Indigofera species. Of course, the most time I spent with you in the field was during the June 2006 Pillbara trip. This was a very memorable trip and well organised. You gave us VBs plenty of freedom to collect specimens in our research groups and facilitated visits to particular sites that enabled me to see some species I would otherwise have missed (Indigofera petraea in the Barlee Range). Really appreciated you connecting me with Emil Thoma, who was co-collector of the type of Indigofera cuspidata and also took me in to see Aluta quadrata.

It was also good to catch up with you briefly in Perth when I was visiting the herbarium in April 2015. All the best for your future adventures.

Peter Wilson

Hi Stephen, thanks for your support whilst I have been in Broome and with the Bilby projects. You have been a great advocate in building relationships and capacity with indigenous Ranger groups and I hope the Department continues to carry this on with your departure. With my consultants hat on you brought a lot of collaboration between private industry consultants and Parks and Wildlife which ultimately provides conservation benefits. All the best and hope to see you round the traps some time.

Bruce Greatwich

Don't worry, it's bound to be raised to species level at some point…

Juliet Wege

Hi Steve, I'm sorry to here you are leaving, a true loss to the Pilbara for sure! Thankyou for all your support over the years I worked at Fortescue Marsh your guidance and insight into the local environment (physical and industrial!) was much appreciated :) All the best for the future, come say hi sometime - Im in Exmouth these days...clearly over-wintering in the pilbara form Albany wasn't enough!

Lucy Clausen

So grateful for all that you’ve done, including your long-standing support of the taxonomy team. Your knowledge, kindness and resonant belly laugh will be sorely missed but I've no doubt your future holds great things.

Juliet Wege

Dear Stephen,

Thank you for inspiring many spiky Triodia thoughts throughout my research career. I wish you all the best and hope our paths cross again in the near future.

Best wishes, Wolf

Wolfgang Lewandrowski

G'day, Steve. Sorry to learn that you're leaving the Dept of ... [whatever it's called today]. I have very good memories of the survey trip I took part in to the Pilbara in 2006 - a fascinating part of Australia and a trip very ably run by you. Best wishes for whatever you are planning to do next. Karen W.

Karen Wilson

Stephen, Thanks heaps for all your support and advice over the years, as well as your extensive contributions to nature conservation in WA - greatly appreciated.

Your capacity for authentic leadership across different sections of the department and beyond will be missed.

Best wishes for the future, and I hope we'll continue to cross paths.

Allan Burbidge

Allan Burbidge

Onya Steve, from Robyn and me. We've many great memories around the great assistance and hospitality you have given us over the years. May you have a great retirement. Here's a link to Brendan's all too serious article on behalf of the Pilbara ferals in 2006 - a mob of malingera from over the border. http://www.asbs.org.au/newsletter/pdf/06-sept-128.pdf#page=11.

Bill & Robyn Barker

Hi Stephen

I have known you longer than most in the Department (as can be seen in the accompanying photo with you fourth from the right – see how many of the others you recognize) and in writing this I am reminiscing about some of those early orchid trips we did to some pretty amazing places. I can recall a December south coast trip where we saw many of the summer flowering orchids, another one to the Menzies-Diemals area where we nearly ran out of fuel and had to detour to Southern Cross resulting in us running very late and meeting up with Steve Hopper late in the evening at Chiddarcooping Hill. Also trips to granite outcrops the Yalgoo area and lots of other places including the Caladenia cristata trips. Great memories mate.

Look after yourself. I am sure with your talents the future is bright. Please keep in touch through Facebook etc.

Cheers

Andrew Brown

Andrew Brown

G'day Steve

When I was based in Alice Springs I always felt a connection with the famous Steve van Leeuwen from the Pilbara because we shared the rather unique experience of running small herbaria for a decent length of time in the arid zone. So it was a great thrill for me to meet you in 2004 and spend a fabulous couple of weeks in the field together. I have very fond memories of that trip - botanising on Mt Meharry was something else. Thanks again for creating the opportunity for me.

We've both moved on since those days but the desert country is still a big draw for me as no doubt it is for you. Good luck with whatever you get up to. Best wishes, Dave Albrecht (I'm currently based at CANB).

Dave Albrecht

Dear Stephen, thanks so much for sharing your support and incredible knowledge and working so hard on behalf of our biodiversity. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with on you all things Pilbara and beyond and hope to do so into the future too! Very best wishes

Blair Parsons

Dear Steve,

I wish to echo the same sentiments already voiced by my colleagues. Further, I thank you for your support, guidance and mentoring over the past 10 or so years. Unfortunately, I never got to experience a Bob Brom + SVL field trip in the Pilbara but hopefully you will now get the chance to put that flash 4wd Drive to use and visit many of your favourite places.

Russell Palmer

Hey Steve, thanks to you and Reg for your friendship, sage advice and guidance over the past 27 years. Would love to be at the pub sharing a beer with you and hope we can sometime in the future. I still remember our time in the Pilbara and in particular you and Bob Bromilow scaring the shit out of Fritzy and me by blowing up a tree late one evening while on a biological survey/camping in the Barlee Range NR. I can still see Fritzy jumping over the fire in fright and you laughing so hard you broke your chair.

Your leadership and contribution to flora science and conservation outcomes in Western Australia is I think un-paralleled, simply outstanding. Please stay in touch and perhaps one day we can get back to the red hole on Delambrae reef.

Cheers

Brad

Brad Barton

Adios Steve

I haven't had the pleasure of sharing field trips or your legendary cooking, however, I appreciate your contribution to caring for the environment.

Best wishes for your future endeavours.

Joe Kinal

Dwellingup

Joe Kinal

Dear Stephen, Thank you SO MUCH for your dedication and service, not only to the Department but to the whole State of WA, your knowledge and presence will be DEEPLY missed. Best wishes on your future endeavours, the world is your oyster and I can’t wait to see where your new working life will lead you.

Best wishes.

Kim Eckert and Mac Jensen

Your warmth, honesty, and fine humor are constants and we deeply appreciate the time you have shared here. Thanks for your guidance. Salute. Tony Tucker

Tony Tucker

Thank you for sharing your knowldege and good humour over many years - two biodiversity audits and many other projects.

Jelena

Hi Steve,

Your knowledge, support, personality and ability to get things done will be sorely missed. Its been a pleasure and a privilege to work with you and I hope that you leave with an understanding of the difference you have made to conservation, science and your colleague. Hopefully we will cross paths again. Enjoy the next chapter and the adventures yet to begin!

Tracy Sonneman

Sorry to hear you are leaving. You will be greatly missed but your contributions to science and conservation (including the thousands of specimens in the herbarium collections) will be a lasting legacy. Good luck with your future endeavours.

Rosemarie Rees

All the best for your next adventure!

Sabrina Fossette

Dear Stephen.

It seems like an eternity since we first met and collaborated on Fisheries and Wildlife's threatened flora research program. Great times in the bush, doing worthwhile work, and copublishing material that was foundational.

Enjoy the next phase. Come down to Albany again so we can walk together on boodja.

Cheers

Steve

Steve Hopper

Thanks for the enormous amount of help you've given me and your wise, frank and honest advice. I could not have done Pilbara Fund without you! But this is not the end!

​

Kai Stephen and farewell,

We hope your journey is full of wonder and excitement.

Thankyou for all you did for us in guiding us forward in a confusing time.

We wish you well.

Kerry Trayler and the crew in Rivers and Estuaries Science

Stephen, you have been a tremendous support over the years I have been with the department, starting from a very daunted survey zoologist in the stunning Pilbara! I have always been impressed by your ability to organise and lead logistically challenging but really enjoyable field trips and more recently the wealth of knowledge stored inside your head! I will miss your good humour and friendship.

I am sure that whatever path you take next will lead to even better things.

Lesley

Lesley Gibson

Hi Steve....thanks of course for all our intermittent chats and meetings; and for being there. We still have the BBQ set you guys gave us for our wedding. Remember well trying to start that damn tractor at Mooliabeenee and the broken gear stick in your old holden. Unfortunately I don't seem to have photographic evidence of either of these events!

Really hope our paths continue to cross.

Best wishes....Mike and Mandy

Mike and Mandy Bamford

Hi Steve,

Sorry that you are leaving. You will be greatly missed but your contributions to science and conservation (including the thousands of specimens in the herbarium collections) will be a lasting legacy for years to come. Good luck with your future endeavours.

​

Hi Steve. Thank you very much for all your support and help over the last couple of years, I really appreciate it. All of the best for your new adventure and may you be very happy in your new role. All of the best for the future!

Tjokkie Pieterse

Hi Steve,

Remember the fire when Bob Brom and Phil dropped the fusee they used to light the fuse and the many other adventures? I'll always appreciate the dinners you cooked over a mulga fire and your companionship over so many years. Thank you and all the best

Tony Start

Mark Harvey

Hi Stephen, Thanks so much for your guidance, friendliness, good humour and empathy over the years. I only wish I could have experienced your culinary skills! Maybe one day. Best wishes for the future. John

John Huisman

Hey Stephen

I've enjoyed working with you so much. Good luck with the new phase of your life.

Kind regards, Mark

Mark Harvey

Hi Steve,

I have many fond memories from various meetings and workshops that I attended and you were there also. Your warm and inclusive approach and willingness to provide encouragement or simply to have fun brought joy and appreciation that I will always remember. I look forward to hearing more stories of your adventures and meeting up again where we happen to be in the same place at the same time!

Best wishes and keep having fun.

with the warmest regards, Kristen

Kristen Williams

Steve

You and your wisdom will be surely missed by all. I know you will succeed and excel in whatever endeavours you choose to chase! I hope our paths rcoss again and that you enjoy many more (fun-filled) free rides around the Sun!

All the Best, Kevin.

Kevin Bancroft

Hi Stephen, Best wishes and good luck for your next endeavours and adventures from myself and the turtle team. Your have been a valuable part of the success of the NWS flatback program and your advice has always been appreciated. Hopefully we can still benefit from your wisdonm in the future.

Scott Whiting

Dear Stephen,

It has been an absolute pleasure working with you over the years. It is very sad to see you moving on but I am sure that you have some inspiring and exciting adventure ahead of you and that your spirit and dedication to biodiversity conservation will continue to make an impact on the future. Thank you for all your support and all the best for you and Regina.

Regards,

Deon and the South Coast Conservation Team

Deon Utber

Hi Steve, I have to say its been a pleasure working with you over the years. The Pilbara survey would be the highlight of my field career thanks to your awesome efforts. Got me through those years of PBS ID's and vouchering! I know you will go on to do more things you will enjoy and hope you get time to be out of the office in the places you love. Best wishes, Marg Langley.

Marg Langley

Steve

all the best for the future.

i have always appreciated your honesty, humour and personality.

As a recently arrived migrant in2007 I found myself on the annual nature conservation trip and have fond memories of yourself and the friendship and support you showed. it made a signifigant difference

Wayne Elliott

Well what can I say Steve, it’s a sad sorry business to see you’re leaving us. But what we can assured of is, that you have made an indelible mark on Western Australian science and the conservation of the state’s biology.

One thing of note, you’re the only person in upper management who’s actually taken the time to say thank you on job completed. It’s a small thing but small things matter.

All the best,

Rob Davis

Rob Davis

Hi Steve: i have followed your career with interest since supervising your PhD on the gazetted rare Banksia tricuspis (i was hoping to add one of your photos with a honey possum that i have used in lectures, my book on the SW flora with Phil Groom, and other reviews that highlights your great interest in plant-animal relations that has bolstered my own; but the program only accepts jpgs, so here is one of my own on the same theme). I am certainly proud to have been associated with you at least in your formative years at Curtin. I will never forget our field trip in my red subaru in the 80s with Neal Enright and Paul Zedler when I rolled the car on a muddy back road, and you quickly ordered us to push the vehicle back onto its wheels to stop oil leaking out of the engine - ever the practical field worker among your many other talents. Conservation science in WA has benefitted greatly from your energy, knowledge and dedication. I wish you well in your new endeavours.

Byron Lamont

Dear Stephen, It has been a great privilege to have known you and worked with you over many decades. Your willing support of the LANDSCOPE Expeditions program and the good humour you displayed was greatly appreciated by my team. Your support and involvement with Herbarium volunteers Daphne Edinger and Gilbert Marsh was legendary - as Daphne always reminded me! You enthusiasm and dedication to nature conservation will be greatly missed by your colleagues, friends and those you have mentored throughout your career. I am sure your talents will be put to good use. I wish you every success for whatever path the future takes you on. Enjoy!

Kevin Kenneally

All the best for the next adventures in your career Stephen. Your passion and commitment to bringing us together to deliver conservation outcomes across the state, mentoring regional staff , wisdom, friendship, and commitment to our continued learning will be missed enormously. It's been a pleasure and a privilege to have worked with you.

Sarah Comer

Thanks for being a great mentor and workmate Stephen, and for a while, a great manager. The professional, and occasional personal, support you have provided has been much appreciated. Who you work with is at least as important as what you do and when I look back on a career Stephen will be at the top of my list of people that have made my working life a joy.

My photo represents Stephen's deep knowledge of WA environments. My first trip to the Pilbara for the biological survey started with a trip to Karratha to seek Stephen's and PK's deep knowledge of the area. Despite my then supervisor asking why we had to go to Karratha before embarking on our reconnaissance work, Stephen pointed us towards many amazing wetland areas that we might not otherwise have known about. The picture is of a stunning lake in 'Paradise Valley' near the old town of Goldsworthy that Stephen and PK told us about. I'm assuming they just forgot to tell us how difficult the access was!

Adrian Pinder

Thanks Stephen, it was great spending time with you learning the flora of Katjarra, and thanks for everything you did for the Goldfields: Credo Bushblitz, blackspot surveys, GVDBT, TERN SWATT transects, getting the Threatened Species Commissioner to Matuwa -twice I think! All the best and I hope you enjoy many more adventures!

Jennifer Jackson

Thanks Stephen for all the support and friendship over all those years, particularly the bushtime selecting sites in the Pilbara. Norm

Norman McKenzie

Steve, you've made a world of difference through your continued support and encouragement for research of both big and small, especially in the Pilbara. You've shared your knowledge, passion and humour generously over the years - including being game enough to help collect small bitey things to put the isotope analyser. :). Thank goodness we have T. vanleeuwenii to "spike" a few reminders of you at regular intervals! But I hope you'll continue to shar your wisdom for years to come.

Pauline Grierson

Stephen,

It been a real pleasure and a lot of fun to have collaborated with you over the last 30 years. Your rare talents of bring disparate sections of the department together in productive endeavors will be sorely missed. Good luck with the next chapter.

Neil & Kate

Neil Gibson & Kate Brown

Many many thanks Stephen for your guidance, wisdom, practicality, knowledge and enthusiasm in provision of expert advice for a long and often tortous athway in enabling us to obatin a more achievalbe Offset ocndition, and in teh development of vaioous research prjects that will greatly benefit bilbies and northern quolls. Personally, I have appreciated the frank discussions and learnt a hell of a lot about teh Pilbara. You will be sorely missed adn I hope our pathws will cross again.

Harriet Davie

Best wishes Steve. I've really appreciated your guidance and assistance over many years, especially in relation to all things Pilbara. Most notably, your 'connections', organisational abilities and good humour were a vital part of the success of the long-running radio-telemetry study of the Pilbara Olive Python by the Nickol Bay Nats, other volunteers and CALM staff. In more recent years, I've valued your insights into working with traditional owners and regions. I look forward to hearing about the adventures that lay ahead of you. Cheers David

David Pearson

I’ll always remember you driving me to a super-dense patch of trap-door spiders in the Pilbara when I was chair of the Cons Comm. as an arachnophobe that was very challenging indeed. Nevertheless all the very very best.

John Bailey

Hi Steve,

The East Pilbara survey in 2006 still lives in my memory as one of the (if not the) Best Fieldtrips Ever. You got us into places I never dreamed I would ever see, let alone collect plants from. Shredded tyres, wayward Visiting Botanists from The Eastern States who didn't know when too much was enough, driving conditions worthy of Evel Knievel, you took it all in your stride and remained a top bloke the whole time. I don't know that I could have done the same with such good humour!

Very sorry to see you leave the Department, but in the words of the late, lamented Motörhead, don't let 'em grind ya down!~

Brendan Lepschi

Hey Stephen,

You have been an important pillar of logic and common sense amongst the many ivory scientists. Don't let go of your conservation wisdom, practicality, directness, and importantly... your humanity. It has been my pleasure to work with you, for you, and to reflect on why the world doesn't function like it bloody-well should !

I am certain our paths will cross again. Best of the best for your next endevours, mate.

Dorian Moro

Dorian Moro

Steve, we haven't worked together very much over the years, but when we have, it has always been a pleasure. Best of luck for the future!

Ben

Thanks Stephen for your help with sticky problems and other conundrums. Not sure about thanks though for the multitudinous boxes, LOL. All the very best in the next chapter of your life, enjoy it, and don't get lost in the wilds somewhere, lol. Lisa :-)

Lisa Wright

Dear Steve, I wish you well for your next venture/adventure, no doubt you will excel in what ever you choose. I will miss your advice, encouragement, happy demena and humanity. These are difficult times in the department and i feel more vulnerable with out your support and understanding. Go well Steve. Best wishes, Alan

Alan Clarke

Dear Stephen,

Thanks for all your support over the years, particularly of my samphire work. The Little Sandy Desert trip was a career highlight, as was our shared 5 minutes of fame when we won the prestigious International Institute for Species Exploration Top 10 species 2008 for the ‘Michelin Man plant’ as they called it. Can’t top that! Your passion and knowledge will be missed. I know you will continue to make amazing contributions to conservation, and I look forward to working with you in the future.

You know you’re my hero!

Kelly.

Kelly Shepherd

You will be a great loss to the department. I hope you have a great holiday and find bigger better things to do. It has been good working for and with you, you will be missed by many of your colleagues. PS Thanks for all the work you have given me.

Margaret Collins

Dear Stephen,

thanks for being an incredible leader who brought compassion and empathy to our DBCA family. Wish you all the best for your future path, and hope that our paths will cross again.

Florian

Florian

Hey Steve - us oldies but goodies have known each other for a long time and its not going to be the same without you around here, but with that said, get outer here and have a great time in the great outdoors.

Karina and Cheryl

Steve, It has been an utter pleasure having known and worked with you over the past 30 years or so. Your awesome knowledge and your ability to translate that knowledge into practical outcomes are legendary. Your ability to effectively liaise and interact with an extremely wide range of people has been amazing (a real testament to your personality). The Department is loosing a gem, and you will be sorely missed. At a personal level I benefitted tremendously from your assistance in securing funding for, and participation in, for a couple of my largest Acacia projects, i.e. the Mulga revision and the Wattles of the Pilbara project. I really enjoyed time spent with you in the field (although I think you could give some thought to your driving!!).

Will keep this short and sweet, so just let me finish off by saying that it has been a pleasure knowing you all these years and I wish you all the very best for the future.

Bruce Maslin

Hey Steve,

Sorry to hear you'll be leaving DBCA - a great loss for WA, but hoping we'll see all the more of you in the future as a consequence! Thanks for your support on the Great Western Woodlands TERN projects over the last 10 years - and looking forward to getting going on the Mulga rangelands - will keep you posted.

All the very best, Suzanne

Suzanne Prober

Steve, you have been a great colleague and friend for over 30 years. Your support for me and, I am sure, for so many others is so much appreciated. We have had many outstanding field trips over the years in the Pilbara with your botanical expertise always on display. I know you will continue to contribute to biodiversity conservation with the enthusiasm and passion you have shown since we first met.

David Coates

Steve, it's been great working with you, and you're the best boss I've had - always there to help. I'm sure you'll succeed at whatever you do next, best wishes, Matt.

Matt Williams

Steve you're a bloody marvel. You've done so much, contributed so much, enriched so many people's lives - and will continue to do so. Good on you.

Kevin Thiele