Steve Hopper

And that was my first sort of positive interaction, I guess, with observing wild nature in detail.

No, I guess one aspect of my ambition was two careers.

One was as a marine biologist, the other as a nuclear physicist.

Yes.

Well, it was just for a young fellow in those days, you know, was regarded as the top of the range in terms of science.

But marine biology, I was also hooked on a little bit and Dad encouraged me to go in that direction.

Yeah.

Anyway, I sorted out the physics very quickly and it failed it first year.

And so I had to pick up that unit and a couple of others.

I was actually increasingly more interested in playing in a band at that stage.

Guitar, mandolin, a little bit of banjo.

We had a jug band called Mud, M-U-D.

And then, you know, as we got a little bit more sophisticated, we broadened into a bit of jazz and country blues and that sort of thing, so...

It took me four years to get a three-year degree.

In order to make up units, I decided to do a bit of botany as well and ended up doing a double major in zoology and botany.

And then there was an inspiring lecturer in plant evolution.

Sid James was his name.

He was just spot on, you know, just didn't pull any punches, just told the genetics and evolutionary story as it was and how exciting being in the field was and making discoveries all the time.

So he really got me hooked on the big question which every person who grows up in Western Australia has,

has to ask, and that is, why is such a flat landscape so full of so many species found nowhere else?