Gordon Binns

Binns was born on 1 March 1899 in Yarraville, Victoria, and spent his boyhood years in the Victorian townships of Great Western and Victoria.[1][2] In 1914, after leaving school, he began working at the State Savings Bank of Victoria.[1] At age 17, during the First World War, he enlisted in the First Australian Imperial Force,[1] as a member of the 2nd Australian Machine Gun Company.[3] He was wounded in northern France on 10 August 1918, during the Australian attack on Lihons, and spent more than a month in hospital recovering from his injuries.[4] After the war, he remained in England for two years, before returning to Australia and his employment at the State Savings Bank.[1]

After 1938, Binns served at several bank branches in rural Victoria, including Cobram (1938–144), Ouyen (1945–47) and Terang (1948–50).[1] During this period, he began writing about natural history, publishing "Notes for Birdland" in Savings Weekly, the journal of the State Savings Bank.[1] For 20 years, he published "The Out of Doors", a weekly column in the Terang Express, using the pen name Neophema.[1][2] In 1943, he joined the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union.[1] He published several articles in the Union's flagship journal, The Emu, including "Birds of Terang, South-western Victoria".[1][5] In his final years with the State Savings Bank, Binns was manager at several suburban branches (1951–56), at Horsham (1957–1960) and Box Hill (1961–64).[1] During this period, he was also a prominent member of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union, serving as their Secretary from 1953–56 and again from 1959–63, and President from 1965–66.[1][2]

Binns died in Blackburn, Victoria on 24 September 1976, just a few months after the death of his wife, Ilma.[1] He was survived by his three daughters, Ruth, Phyllis and Meredith, and his son Greg.[1] In an obituary published in the journal The Emu, W.R. Wheeler wrote that "As one who worked with him on Council, I regarded his diligence and energy, particularly over his correspondence with members throughout Australia and overseas, as outstanding. He was truly one of the old school."[1]