We are sad to report the passing of John on Sunday 3rd February 2019. John was a pioneering conservationist who inspired many during his lifetime. He formed the Fraser Island Defenders Organisation (FIDO) in 1971 and doggedly lobbied the Joh Bjelke-Petersen Queensland Government to stop sand mining and logging on Fraser Island. John won and eventually had Fraser Island listed as a World Heritage Site in 1992.
That win ended a 21- year legal battle with the Bjelke-Petersen government that took John to bankruptcy and back. He famously described his battle with sand miners as protecting an environment as beautiful as the Mona Lisa. “The sand miners used to say, ‘We are only going to touch one per cent of the island’,” Dr Sinclair said. “I used to say, ‘If you are going to scratch one per cent of the Mona Lisa, which one per cent are you going to scratch?’ ” “I love Lake Allum, which is up north and we go there when we can,” he said.
“But my mortal remains will be placed with my parents overlooking Lake Wabby because I think Lake Wabby epitomises everything that makes Fraser Island great. “The lake, the sand blow, the sea, the encroaching vegetation. My spirit can have something to contemplate there daily.”