Kara Moana Healey

Kara Moana Healey (23 June 1904 – 10 June 2006) was a field collector, conservationist, preservationist and naturalist and the first female National Park Ranger in Victoria, Australia.
Born Kara Moana Elizabeth Vernon in Kawhia, New Zealand. The name Karamoana is said to be Maori, meaning "Rippling waters" and Kara was given this name in honour of her Maori nurse.
Kara's family (William John Vernon and Mary Vernon née Dunstone) were Australian and had moved to New Zealand for a few years for work. Her father was a blacksmith, however was in New Zealand working for the Timber industry installing boilers to power saw mills. Two years after Kara's birth the family returned to Australia (1906) and settled in Mysia, north west of Bendigo.
Early life.
Kara was awarded a scholarship to attend Bendigo High School. After finishing school Kara became a teacher's assistant at Stuart Mill State School near St Arnaud, Victoria until she met and married William Stanley McGreevy (known as Stan) in 1925. Stan joined the army at the outbreak of World War 2. Stan served four years in the army and saw action in the Middle East. Stan was affected by his war experiences and declining health, Stan returned to Melbourne and the couple divorced in 1946.
Kara sought work at the Yarram Hospital as a cook. After some time Kara met Jim Healey, the caretaker at Tarra Valley National Park. Kara and Jim Healey married in 1948. Jim Healey died in 1952
Tarra-Bulga National Park.
Kara applied and was successfully appointed the Park Ranger at Tarra-Bulga National Park. Kara responded to a call from the CSIRO to collect specimens for identification for the National Herbarium.
Over ten years Kara collected specimens. Exploring, alone, deep into the Tarra Valley vegetation and frequently into dangerous areas where the best-unspoilt specimens were and the egg laying nests of the lyrebird could be found. Kara became one with the natural environment around her. By 1961 Kara had collected over 160 specimens which included types of toadstool and fungi. Significantly, two new types of fungi were named after her – "Poria healeyi" and "Lambertella healeyi". "Poria healeyi", which was a previously unidentified fungus causing yellow straw rot in Mountain Ash, and the second, "Lambertella healeyi" was a fungus growing on another fungus. Further, Kara collected animal and insect specimens using dead animals that she found and forwarded those as well. In total over 500 specimens were collected which also included 80 species of moss. Subsequently Tarra Valley is the most thoroughly studied and recorded area in Australia at the time.
Scientific contribution.
Neville Walters, a scientist at the CSIRO, described Kara's contribution as "easily the best" of the 150 or more collectors Australia wide, and further commented "She knew every lyrebird in the park as well as many of the pilot birds, Crimson Rosellas and yellow robins. She wasn't afraid of the snakes, insects and numerous mammals - nor were they frightened of her." Kara also contributed specimens to the National Museum of Victoria, the University of Melbourne and the National Herbarium. Kara became quite a celebrity through newspaper articles about her and her work, and she was acquainted with many of the leading naturalists of the day.
Walters and a colleague visited Mrs Healey, as she was known, had vivid memories of her little cottage. The scientists and Kara had endless conversations regarding the natural flora and fauna of the area and Kara showed the scientists examples of where specimens were collected.
Kara observed and noted the activities of the birds and animals within the park. Particularly the mating habits of the Lyrebird where the male lyre bird constructs mounds by scratching the earth, sticks and other debris into areas where he then performs his dance with his magnificent tail feathers on display to attract a female.
Kara sketched all the specimens, animals and birds within the park. Photography was also used in latter years to record the specimens in their natural state. Kara had the films made into "slides" which was state of the art at the time. All of Kara's specimens and photographic libraries were handed over to Parks Victoria who have since restored, converted to digital and archived all salvageable items.
At times Kara's house was an animal hospital as she rescued orphaned wombats, possums, birds and other animals, which were returned to the wild when they recovered or grew old enough to fend for themselves.
Her duties at the Park included sweeping the tracks daily as the animals and birds plus the natural fall a debris covered the tracks. Visitors were greeted and the parking fee collected.
As word spread in the naturalist world car loads and bus loads of people came to the park. Kara delivered a nature talk describing the plants and animals within the park. Occasionally she would summon a wild bird from high up in the tree to fly to her hand to collect a reward.
Retirement and life final stages.
In 1963, Kara married Tom McKean, a widower. They made residence Yarram. Kara continued her contact with an active role with the Red Cross, the Yarram Hospital and the Save the Children's fund. Tom McKean died in 1986.
In 1995 Kara became a resident of the Heytesbury Lodge nursing home at Cobden which was close to other members of the family.
Kara was awarded a certificate of merit for outstanding support by the Save the Children Australia. Her daughters attended with her in a special ceremony held in Melbourne 30/11/1995. Kara was always keen to raise money for and support charities that helped the less fortunate such as Save the Children Fund, the Red Cross and The Yarram Hospital .
Milestone birthdays were celebrated with her family, including her 100th birthday, at Timboon, which was attended by over 100 friends and family.
Kara died 13 days short of her 102nd birthday. A service was held in Yarram attended by hundreds of people including members from Parks Victoria including Craig Campbell, the current Ranger at Tarra Valley, who spoke to the congregation.
Commemoration at the centenary of Tarra-Bulga National Park.
In 2007 a special ceremony was held at Tarra Valley Park, now part of Tarra-Bulga National Park, as part of the centennial celebrations, to unveil a special tribute to the first woman park ranger and the contribution she made to the understanding of the ecology of the valley known as Tarra Valley.