WESSA - 90 Years of People Caring for the Earth

a brief HISTORY an account of Vincent Carruthers’ time as Executive Director in the 80’s

Ex-CEO of WESSA Vincent Carruthers reflects on the history of the organisation. The most pleasant memories I have of my time as Executive Director of the Wildlife Society (now WESSA) are of the dozens of people I met who were important contributors in the conservation field. I learned a great deal from them and many of them have remained close friends ever since. In 1983 the three big NGOs in conservation were the EWT, the SA Nature Foundation (the South African arm of the WWF) and the Wildlife Society. The Society was a significant player in this trio with over 20 000 members, seven very active branches throughout South Africa and another in London, a permanent seat on the National Parks Board (now SANParks) and a powerful public voice through the prestigious African Wildlife magazine. It had recently played a major role in preventing coal mining in Kruger Park and in the proclamation of the Magaliesberg as a protected area. So it was a wonderful platform from which I could meet and get to know the big names in conservation. Clive Walker, founder of the EWT and Lapalala Wilderness Trust, Dale Parker, the owner of Lapalala, and I worked closely together. Dale and I had been in the army together and he was already a good friend. The three of us held earnest talks about integrating the efforts of our respective organisations. It came to naught because others in the Wildlife Society viewed the idea with suspicion, but I joined the Lapalala Trust immediately after I resigned from the Wildlife Society. Sadly, Dale died not long afterwards but Clive and I have remained close friends. John Ledger, who took over from Clive at the EWT was another person who became a good friend. He combines a profound scientific knowledge with a great sense of humour. Other great personalities whom I met and worked with were John Skinner, Director of the Mammal Research Institute, Willie Labuschagne, Director of the National Zoo, Ian Player, Ken Newman, the author TV Bulpin, Paul Urlich of Population Prediction fame, Tol Pienaar, head of National Parks, Roy Siegfried, Brian Huntley and many others. It was a wonderful learning experience and their wisdom and knowledge helped me to formulate a less naïve understanding and approach to environmental issues. The SANF was managed by Frans Stroebel, a smart Stellenbosch lawyer who was appointed by Anton Rupert. The relationship between the SANF and the Wildlife Society was an interesting one. In 1964 Prince Bernard, President of the WWF, had expressed concern that South Africa’s homeland policy in South West Africa threatened wildlife in Etosha. Hendrik Verwoerd was infuriated by the Prince’s interference and prohibited the establishment of the WWF in South Africa, stating that the Wildlife Society was an adequate conservation entity. After Verwoerd’s death, Anton Rupert started the SANF in 1968 with a strict undertaking that it would not compete with the Wildlife Society for public

of 1982 and joined the following year. The post had been newly created by the Society to centralise the management of the organisation, and put it on a business-like footing. The chance to combine my love of wildlife and my business experience was immensely appealing. However, in the series of appointment interviews it soon became apparent that the Society was facing serious problems. It was in deep financial trouble, it was riven with internal politics and petty intrigue, and the all-important magazine was nine months behind its publication date. Advertisers were withdrawing support while members were cancelling. As soon as I settled in the job I set a series of objectives to correct these problems. The

membership; instead it raised prodigious sums of money from sponsorship based on Rupert’s high standing in the corporate world. When I came into the Society, fifteen years later, one of the first things I did was mount a drive for corporate members. My encounters with Stroebel were therefore focussed on whether the SANF’s 1968 undertaking not to recruit private members automatically implied that the Society could not recruit corporate members. One of his trump cards was that the SANF funded some of the Society’s projects so my fight

of KZN.The visits were successful in renewing strong bonds between branches and Head Office, and between the branches themselves. To sustain communication and suppress rumour mongering I introduced monthly reports to all branch chairmen in which we reported everything – successes and failures – and nipped rumours in the bud. The last remaining hurdle was the African Wildlife magazine. The editor John Comrie Greig, a fiery red-headed Scot, combined a highly qualified zoologist with his remarkable writing talent. But he was also a perfectionist and wrote almost thewholemagazine himself, then had it peer-reviewed and refused to send it to the printers until he was certain

staff supported an incredible work regime and weekends and holidays were forgotten and membership recruitment and fundraising campaigns were vigorously pursued. We placed mail order catalogues in the magazine, we sold calendars and diaries and members sold raffle tickets. (Yes, we sent books of tickets worth R25 to 20 000 members. Almost everyone sent back the money or the unsold tickets – very few pinched the money.) Jo Tanner (now Meintjes) joined as marketing manager and opened a retail store in Rosebank and a Wildlife Travel Agency. We computerised the membership records and introduced basic management systems, staff policies and

of its perfection. This meant that every edition was late. He and I had enormous arguments trying to get a perfect but punctual publication and at one stage he resigned only to return in a huff a week later. We employed an assistant editor to help him but the two did not get on. We had a bumper edition – two magazines combined into one – to help recover the backlog. We asked the past editor, Creina Bond to produce an independent edition to fill the gap but tragically her husband was murdered in the middle of this and she was unable to continue. Then we put out a ‘Best of African Wildlife’ that simply combined a selection of old articles and required no

The job of Executive Director was exhilarating but very stressful. I decided that, once we had met all of the objectives we had set in 1983 and the Society was back on its financial and managerial feet, I would move on. Vincent Carruthers

for the right to corporate membership had to be approached with circumspection. I admired Stroebel, but his legal skills tested me severely and I learned a lot about negotiation brinkmanship. In the end we remained respectful adversaries rather than friends. The society carried on building its corporate membership and SANF didn’t stop funding our projects. On a lighter note, I remember one incident when Dian Fossey was to give a Wildlife Society public lecture at a large hall. I introduced her and sat down to enjoy her leaping about the stage whilst imitating gorillas. She was explaining the importance of grooming behaviour when she suddenly pounced on me and started nit-picking my head, purporting to find a range of micro-fauna tasty to a gorilla. I prefer to remember her for that incident rather than for her tragic death a year later. Spike Milligan was another one who took the mickey out of me in a television publicity interview when I met with him at the Wildlife offices at Delta Park. Early in the interview I pointed out that Delta was a rehabilitated sewage works at which he burst into uncontrollable giggles and refused to let the topic go. I tried, subtly at first and then more desperately, to get him to tell the would be audience about the importance of wildlife conservation and the need for environmental education, but he just collapsed into gales of laughter. In the end, we scrapped the interview and just sat sharing lavatorial humour for the rest of the morning. I had applied for the position of Executive Director at the end

This photo was taken with WESSA during Joanna Lumley’s visit to South Africa in the 1980’s Flashback

budgets. By the end of the first financial year, revenue had increased by 70%. We were out of debt and membership had risen to over 22 000. To combat the internal politicking, I visited all the branches as often as I could. These were fantastic experiences and I met some wonderful people doing amazing work. I tracked aardwolf outside Kimberley, I watched rock-jumpers in the Cape and blue swallows in Barberton. Everyone I met was incredibly hospitable and enthusiastic and the Natal Branch was especially active and successful having initiated the critically important environmental education programme. Soon after I joined Head Office, they appointed Malcolm Powell to head up the education programme. He was an exceptionally good director and, together with the Umgeni team, he created one of the leading environmental schools in the country. Keith Cooper, Director of Conservation, was also based in Natal and was doing excellent work for which he was later awarded an honorary doctorate from the University

editing. Then, at last, came Sandy Anderson. She worked miracles in getting John to publish on time and, for the first time in ages, members received the magazine on the date of publication. The job of Executive Director was exhilarating but very stressful. I decided that, once we had met all of the objectives we had set in 1983 and the Society was back on its financial and managerial feet, I would move on. That point arrived in 1985 and I left to find other ways of contributing to the critically important necessity of conserving natural ecosystems. For many years after that I lost touch with WESSA but I have never forgotten the important lessons I learned and the wonderful people I met during my two and a half years in the organisation. Vincent Carruthers EX WESSA CEO

14 | 90 years of people caring for the earth

15 | 90 years of people caring for the earth