Helen’s unequalled experience (gained from over 50 years of wildlife care) and science-based knowledge as well as her generosity of spirit and willingness to nurture and teach others all she knew, resulted in her presenting hundreds of training courses in animal rescue and care to thousands of WIRES members.


Helen and I shared the distinction of being Life Members of WIRES and being the recipients of an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for services to conservation in NSW. I am so grateful to have known such an amazing person and the world is surely a poorer place for her passing.


Judy MacMaster (early WIRES member):


Helen George was involved with general conservation and in particular, the conservation of injured and orphaned native Australian wildlife since she was a young girl, helping her mother care for animals when they lived in western NSW. 


Helen was part of the founding team that set up WIRES in NSW in 1985. She undertook, on a voluntary basis, over many years, hundreds of training days and presentations for WIRES and other wildlife groups throughout eastern Australia. 


Helen trained as a nurse soon after leaving school, so that her compassionate nature could help humans, as well as animals and birds. Her quest for knowledge was unending; her capacity for retaining that knowledge was remarkable and her ability to pass that knowledge on in a firm but gentle manner has been acclaimed by all those who attended one or more of her lectures. She was an inspiration to all those who knew her.


During her long career of wildlife care, Helen has had the constant support of her children and her husband John, without whom she could not have done much of what she accomplished. Often, their home was filled with small joey kangaroos/possums/koalas/wombats and tiny echidnas and bandicoots, numerous birds and of course, flying foxes, and the occasional reptile. This menagerie was usually augmented by adult animals needing nursing and time to recover before being released back into the bush. During these hectic times Helen was available always to chat to people all over Australia, giving advice and help without any hint of the busy life she led. Her patience was unsurpassed – I remember (in the very early days) asking her a most basic question on housing a joey kangaroo when I should have read the notes she prepared for her lectures – there was no reproach from her at all, when really there should have been. I received just warm encouragement and advice.


Helen and John lived for many years in Kangaroo Valley, in a beautiful old home, on several acres. Together with John, they built a wonderful macropod/wombat yard which housed hundreds of animals over the years. Their garden is to be much admired and the vegetables grown by them supplied many friends and neighbours. John is still there, and will carry on as Helen would have wished.


Helen will be missed by so many. She has my everlasting admiration and love.


Gaylene Parker (early WIRES member)


When I was first asked to write a couple of paragraphs about my time with Helen I thought, how I will do that! How will it will be possible to fit even HALF of my time spent in her company in those few lines….? Well the answer is you can’t, so I decided to share a couple of the humorous snippets & VERY special moments with Helen that still make me smile & I hope they will for you too.


The 1st time I was given a koala joey to care for by Helen, I was so nervous it soon was VERY clear to Helen that I had ‘lost the plot’ a bit. So Helen, (in her matter of fact way), made it quite clear I had to get over my nerves if I expected the animal to survive!! I also think she would have given me a cuff around the ears if I hadn’t gotten over my nerves right away! But her words of encouragement, tinged with a touch of impatience, were enough. ‘For goodness sake Gaylene, it’s just another animal that needs your help! You know how to look after wombats competently this is just one that just happens to climb trees, so get on with it! And I did, and the koala & I both survived.


Helen, John & I were travelling by car to a Wires training course in a small country town in NSW. I think we had been talking about songs from our youth & the song ‘Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell’ came to mind. As we pulled up at traffic lights we started singing the song in maybe slightly elevated voices and as the song came to the end, I looked around & noticed some people were looking at us with bemused faces!? As we pulled away I wondered what they may have been thinking……..older hippies enjoying reminiscing, or 3 friends enjoying their day out together? Both I hope.


Thanks Helen.


Garry Small (current WIRES member)


Helen was special person who loved nothing more than her family, caring for wildlife and passing that knowledge on. I look back on times spent with her at her home whilst doing training courses with mist eyes.


Ross Jeffery (current WIRES member)


I knew Helen in the mid 80's when I was part of the Gordon Bat committee. I went to her house many times, partly for advice about my baby bats but also to see all the kangaroo joeys and baby wombats in their bags in  the kitchen or hopping or galumphing  down the hall.  When I was there once there was a thumping sound and the house started shaking. "That's just the wombat. It has dug a hole and is scratching against the foundations" Helen said.


Helen was always patient and kind. A wonderful example of how all carers should be.


David McKinnon (current WIRES member)


Helen George was my major influence in my early days! Attending her workshops we all left chastened for our over handling of our wildlife. At one workshop she refused to allow a large leg paralysed roo, raised from a small Joey, to leave the Workshop alive. The tears the tears!


Visiting her at Kangaroo Valley we learnt the benefits of pairing species as Helen had bagged joeys out in light frost and young bats could be seen hanging about the her living room.


Helen taught loving Wildlife alone will not give them what is needed in the savage Wild.