Bill Holsworth

Holsworth earned his Bachelor of Science at the University of British Columbia in 1958.[3] During his Master of Science, completed at the University of British Columbia in April 1960, he studied the interactions between moose, elk and buffalo in Elk Island National Park.[3] For his PhD research, conducted at the University of Western Australia, Holsworth studied behaviour and population homeostasis in quokkas on Rottnest Island, off the coast of Western Australia.[1]

Bill and Carol Holsworth moved to Bendigo, Victoria in 1976.[4] In 1979, Holsworth was voted a representative of the Conservation Council of Victoria (now Environment Victoria).[5] In 2004, he was granted honorary life membership by the Australian Mammal Society for providing "long standing service to the Society and to the advancement of substantive knowledge of Australasian mammals."[6]

Holsworth and his wife Carol founded the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment in 1989.[2][7] According to Holsworth in 2014, “When I retired from university teaching I wanted to continue training the next generation of ecologists and promoting conservation."[2] In its first year, the endowment provided $15,000 to fund three wildlife research projects by Australian postgraduate students.[7] In 1991, Bill and Carol Holsworth received an inheritance from Carol's father, a substantial proportion of which went towards the endowment.[7]

By 2006, the endowment had provided over $1 million for 180 student projects.[7] By 2014, it had funded 164 students from the University of Melbourne alone, with grants totaling $1.4 million.[2] In 2014, the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment was extended to all Australian universities.[2] Holsworth's philanthropy has been recognised by both the University of Melbourne and Deakin University.[2][8]