Felicity Wishart
{{Short description|Australian conservationist and activist}}
{{Use Australian English|date=June 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Felicity Wishart
|image =
|birth_date = 4 June 1965
|birth_place = Mitcham, Victoria, Australia
|death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2015|7|19|1965|6|4}}
|death_place = Mullumbimby, New South Wales, Australia
|nationality = Australian
|alma_mater = Griffith University
|occupation = Conservationist
|organization = Australian Conservation Foundation
The Wilderness Society
Queensland Conservation Council
Australian Marine Conservation Society
|partner = Todd Harborow
}}
Felicity Jane "Flic" Wishart (4 June 1965 – 19 July 2015) was an Australian conservationist and environmental activist.
Early life
Wishart was born in the Melbourne suburb of Mitcham to parents of Scottish descent from Adelaide, South Australia. At the age of 17, she was arrested in Tasmania during an occupation protest against the Franklin Dam, and imprisoned for several days.{{cite news|last=Davison|first=Phil|title=Felicity Wishart: Tenacious environmental activist who helped lead the campaign to protect the Great Barrier Reef|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/felicity-wishart-tenacious-environmental-activist-who-helped-lead-the-campaign-to-protect-the-great-10468145.html|accessdate=30 March 2018|work=The Independent|date=24 August 2015}} In Queensland, she enrolled at Griffith University where she graduated with a Bachelor of Environmental Science.{{cite news |last=Zethoven |first=Imogen |author-link=Imogen Zethoven |date=9 August 2015 |title=Obituary: Fight to save Franklin River was just the start for this campaigner |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |publisher=Fairfax Media |url=http://www.smh.com.au/comment/obituaries/fight-to-save-franklin-river-was-just-the-start-for-this-campaigner-20150809-giv6gv.html |accessdate=30 March 2018}}
Environmental activism
After graduation, Wishart joined the Australian Conservation Foundation in Melbourne, where she was involved in the campaign to have Queensland tropical rain forests listed as World Heritage Sites. In 1989, she campaigned for conservation of the Daintree Rainforest for The Wilderness Society.{{cite news|title=Australian environment 'hero' Felicity Wishart dies aged 49|last=Ford|first=Elaine|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-21/aust-conservationist-felicity-wishart-dies-at-49-amcs/6637356|accessdate=30 March 2018|publisher=ABC News|date=21 July 2015|language=en-AU}}
Wishart returned to Queensland to serve as director of the Queensland Conservation Council between 2000 and 2004, where she led campaigns against land clearing. She returned to The Wilderness Society in 2004, where she was behind the society's climate change and marine conservation campaigns.
Wishart's last campaign was Fight for the Reef on behalf of the Australian Marine Conservation Society, where she fought against environmental threats to the Great Barrier Reef, in particular coal industry development in the Galilee Basin.
Wishart died unexpectedly in her sleep in July 2015, aged 50. In June 2017, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority announced that Reef No. 18-022 about {{convert|50|km|mi}} north-east of Hinchinbrook Island had been named Felicity Wishart Reef in her honour.{{cite web|title=Living memorial for Australian conservationist|url=http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/media-room/latest-news/corporate/2017/living-memorial-for-australian-conservationist|publisher=Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority|accessdate=30 March 2018|language=English}}{{cite web|title=MEDIA RELEASE: A fitting tribute - Felicity Wishart Reef named in honour of one of its greatest defenders|url=https://www.marineconservation.org.au/news.php/917/media-release-a-fitting-tribute-felicity-wishart-reef-named-in-honour-of-one-of-its-greatest-defende|publisher=Australian Marine Conservation Society|accessdate=30 March 2018}}
References
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Category:Australian women environmentalists
Category:Australian conservationists
Category:Griffith University alumni
Category:Australian people of Scottish descent
Category:The Wilderness Society (Australia)