Born in
Armadale, Western Australia, the youngest of eight children of migrant
Croatian parents, Vincent Serventy graduated from the
University of Western Australia in geology and psychology. He was a
CSIRO researcher and teacher before beginning a career as a writer, lecturer and film-maker. He joined the
Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU) in 1942 and served as either its Branch Secretary or State Representative for
Western Australia 1943–1959. In 1946 he became a life member of the
Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia and was for many years its president. In 1956 he bought a movie camera and began making
documentary films which later led to Australia's first television environment program,
Nature Walkabout (1967). In 1974 he was awarded the
Australian Natural History Medallion. In 1976 he was appointed a Member of the
Order of Australia. In 1985 Vincent Serventy assisted the Conservation Council of Western Australia in its unsuccessful campaign to stop a major road being built through the Trigg Regional Open Space. This public land had been identified by the System 6 Study Report to the Environmental Protection Authority as having important conservation value with the bushland extending from the sea to tuart and banksia woodland, a rarity in the metropolitan area. Vincent spoke publicly of the importance of this land for its vegetation, landforms and habitat for local fauna and migratory birds. Vincent Serventy was a younger brother of the Australian ornithologist
Dom Serventy. Serventy was interviewed in 1972 by
Hazel de Berg about his life and career. He was again interviewed in 1996 by Gregg Borschmann about environmental awareness. Both recordings can be found at the
National Library of Australia. == Publications ==