Roo Gully: George W of the Bush

GEORGE'S TALE

Roo Gully is a wildlife sanctuary that offers volunteers holidays to many people from all over the world.
We are non political, and non sectarian, welcoming people into our home from all countries and all religions,
because the purpose of staying at Roo Gully is to experience life in a small Australian bush town,
and to leave with a greater love and understanding of Australian wildlife.

On September 11th 2001 we watched the horrors unfold in the USA
and, as the hours went by and reality sunk in we realised that innocent people
of many races and religions had been killed in the terrorist attacks.
And so we shared the grief felt by millions around the world.

Two days later, on September 13th, we were asked to go to Collie Veterinary Hospital
to pick up a little kangaroo that had been found lying on the side of a road for two days,
without his mother, dead or alive.
We named him George.
By coincidence one man was on TV more than any other at that time.
And so within a few days our little George was jokingly renamed George W,
and then everyone began referring to him as George W of the Bush.

Right from day one George was a cocky little joey,
and oh so very, very confident.

He was often in trouble but he was always forgiven
because he had a cheeky little face that everyone loved.

In the beginning George was raised inside the house with Yanni, Randy and Maisy,
but they were older and soon joined the big roos outside at night.
However George was not an only joey for long,
because another young orphan, named Splodge,
came to Roo Gully and he and George became mates.

At night George and Splodge shared a pouch.

And during the day they shared many adventures too.

George was the leader
and he led an often timid Splodge into all kinds of mischief.

The following January the singer/songwriter Eddie Youngblood stayed at Roo Gully,
and met our young George.

George and Eddy

Always the showman George strutted his stuff
and chased Eddie around the garden.
Like everyone before him Eddie fell in love
with our mischievous little roo
and wrote the song 'George W of the Bush'.

As you can see, George reckons a legend was born!

As you read this page a sample of Eddie's song, 'George W of the Bush' should begin playing.
We apologise if you are asked to download a plug in, and we have found it plays much better the second time
After you have read George's Tale you will see further details about the song and the video.

The day came when it was time for George to join the mob, but he found this more difficult than his good mate Splodge who being better behaved merged in with the mob very easily.
There are rules within kangaroo mobs, and mob members do not tolerate unacceptable behaviour. George is very boisterous and when he did not show the due respect to his elders he often got his butt kicked.

More than once George ran home and slept in his pouch
while Splodge enjoyed life down in the bush with the big kids.

Fortunately George might have been cheeky young roo, but he is also quite smart,
and he soon worked out who he could be naughty with
and which roos he had to behave with.
Once he obeyed a few of the rules it was not long before some of the older boys took George under their wing,
and he began bush school, learning the skills needed to become a successful mob member.

George's favourite lesson was, of course, boxing!

Every day and all day George loved to box.

Sonny was very patient with young George, allowing him to practice his kicking,
but Hoppy wasn't always quite so tolerant
with this young upstart and more than once
George had to run for cover.

As the boys got older we quite expected George to assume the role of sentry or maybe even teacher,
helping the new boys join the mob.
George did neither!

In fact it was Splodge who became the sentry,
and George was quite happy to continue grazing
while his mate kept watch.

As for showing some of the young boys the tricks of the trade?
Well our George preferred to play rather than teach.

He was still a kid at heart.

George always was a comical little guy.
And he often gave the volunteers a run for their money!

But George met his match when he met Lyn Hancock the photographer and writer,
who was visiting from Canada.

He wasn't quite sure what to do when Lyn challenged him.

And what can a guy do when beaten by a woman?
Relax in the sun perhaps and deny it ever happened!

George is one of the most mischievous joeys we have ever raised,
and if there is ever a camera around then he puts on a show.
And all the more fun for George if it is a student filming for their study!

George has also been very 'involved' in our filming at Roo Gully.

As a youngster he was always the first to turn up for 'auditions'.

Especially if he wanted to 'discuss' his ideas for a script.

Or be the director!

Yes, George has been the biggest pest any film maker could ever have!

But we still love him dearly.
And he loves us.

Sadly for George there are times when the other roos are not so kind
with regard to his continuous mischievous behaviour.

Many times we see they think he is just annoying.

And the older roos quickly let him know when enough is enough!

Which often disappoints George.

Thankfully he still has the love of the one roo he really loves too.
Splodge.
And theirs has been a remarkable friendship,
a friendship that is becoming even more remarkable!

When they were young joeys we knew they were forming an amazing bond with each other.

But no one expected them
to become quite as 'close' as they have!

Which is a little more than just 'good mates.'

However there is a very serious side to their behaviour.

For many years we have been observing and documenting the behaviour of the young males,
as part of our study into mob behaviour, and our findings are fascinating.

Because only one male in the mob will rise through the ranking to become dominant male,
it has been amazing to see which roles the others undertake,
and how vital these roles are to the other members of a kangaroo mob.
Some become teachers, others assume the role of sentry,
while a few will become scouts passing on information to the mob.

For some time it looked as if young George thought he was destined for the top job,
because there is no doubt he is an impressive boxer.
However not all of George's tactics are covered by the rules!
But it soon became obvious that he preferred fun and games to the responsibilities of high rank.
Then as the young boys began to mature we saw that Splodge was a sentry,
but George was nothing. Or so we thought!
It was only when we began the pilot study for our work into kangaroo communication
that we realised that George did in fact have a role within the mob.
He is a scout!
A roo that conveys information to the other mob members.
And so he is very important - even if he does not appear to be.

Of course George's relationship with Splodge is of vital importance to our studies.
Never before have seen such a close friendship grow to what theirs has become,
and we know it will further the understanding and the love of these unique creatures.

As for us?

Well of course it goes without saying we love our George.
He is entertaining, cheeky and adorable.

By 'adopting' you will assist in all our studies.
Film tapes are expensive, and volunteers will need to spend many hours, over several years,
watching, documenting and filming George, and all of the other young males at Roo Gully,
to obtain the information needed to carry out our entire study into mob behaviour.

And of course your 'adoption' will help us to provide a home for George and Splodge
for many years to come.

On behalf of George and his mates we thank you for caring

The sample of the song you are listening to is a demo recording Eddie, and his animal loving mates, made for us.
We have since made a video of the song using footage from George's first year at Roo Gully.
At the moment neither the song or the video have been mass produced,
but we are interested in your feedback because we are hoping to put George on Super Video CD.
Thanks.