Introducing Terry Longhurst…
Following the AGM the West Pittwater Committee Association’s May meeting welcomed Terry Longhurst as the newly elected member representing Elvina Bay South. While a relatively recent arrival to our shores Terry brings a wealth of experience in a number of areas.
Early Years
Terry grew up at Putney in a house on the Parramatta River playing in and out of the water/weed/mud of Morrison Bay from an early age. After he was taught to actually swim he was then regarded as safe and let loose. Terry has confided in BaysNews that in some ways, now he has retired, he is reliving his childhood in Elvina Bay.
Education
Terry’s view on his education is that he went to the local school and didn’t do very well. But obviously well enough to spend too much time studying biology at Macquarie University, and graduate with a PhD in 1992. Through his university years and working life he has delved into biochemistry/ physiology/ genetics/ genomics/ evolutionary biology/developmental biology. So a sort of biologist generalist…
Less formally, Terry says he is still studying/learning biology and is having fun relating the zoology/botany/ecology he learned all those years ago to the environment around West Pittwater. And then incorporating geology and human behaviour to extend his understanding. But he suggested that all the above makes him sound pretty nerdy, so you maybe we should just say he studied biology at university.
Family
Terry’s succinct family summary says it all.Louise and 2 adult children. All wonderful people. Nothing more needs be said.
Work
This is Terry’s list:
Was a biological researcher; then managed the research funding for the cattle and sheep industries; then worked for a couple of years on evolutionary biology with Queensland lungfish – managing field trips to capture/wrangle/wrestle adults (30kgs), manage breeding dams and collect eggs for developmental biology studies on embryos. Also worked as an academic for year; worked as a professional SCUBA diver for a couple of years in the 1980’s in the Solomon Islands, then a SCUBA instructor; worked for a ship salvage company pulling stranded ships off reefs; but then he went back to studying biology. As he says – ‘but actually I never stopped studying biology’.
Hobbies
Sailing, bush walking, fishing.
Terry is also a skipper and the Boat Officer of Westpittwater RFS
Don’t know about you but he sounds like a very useful kind of guy.