Eric Worrell
| Eric Worrell | |
|---|---|
| Born |
27 October 1924 Granville, New South Wales |
| Died | 13 July 1987 (aged 62) Wyoming, New South Wales |
| Cause of death | myocardial infarction |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Known for | Eric Worrell's Australian Reptile Park |
| Awards | MBE |
Eric Arthur Frederic Worrell (MBE), (27 October 1924 – 13 July 1987) was an Australian naturalist, herpetologist and writer whose collection of snake venom was essential in the production of snake anti-venom in Australia.
Eric was born at Granville, New South Wales the son of salesman and taxidriver (Charles) Percy Frederic Worrell and his wife Rita Mary Ann Worrell (née Rochester). Eric was educated at Glenmore Road Public School in Paddington then Sydney Boys High School. By the age of 10 he was keenly interested in wildlife, keeping reptiles and other animals at home (first at Paddington then around 1938, to Cecily Street, Lilyfield). He was encouraged in his hobby by his parents and by George Cann, the "Snake Man of La Perouse", and latterly Keeper of Reptiles at Taronga Park Zoo.
He left school at 13 and spent several years in work gangs in regional New South Wales and Queensland, studying drawing and photography in his spare time. During the Second World War he worked as a civilian blacksmith on the installation of shore artillery in Darwin and other work at Katherine, where he had many opportunities to study the local wildlife. After the war he and his friend, the poet Roland Robinson returned to the Northern Territory in 1946, collecting specimens for zoos and museums, and writing articles on Territory wildlife for magazines such as Walkabout.
In 1949, Worrell opened the Ocean Beach Aquarium at Umina Beach on the New South Wales Central Coast. It was here in 1951 that he first started supplying tiger snake venom to the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories (CSL) in Melbourne. Taipan venom followed in 1952. He later expanded his repertoire to include spiders such as the Sydney funnel-web spider and exotic snakes.
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