Postage Stamps Honor Dogs Who Saved Macquarie Island

Stamp Honour For Dogs Who Saved Macquarie Island
Jane Ryan

Eleven dogs, mostly springer spaniels and Labrador retrievers, worked tirelessly to hunt and eradicate rabbits and rodents from Macquarie Island.

And they have now been recognised with a series of Australia Post stamps.

Dog handler Nancye Williams said the island owed its pest-free status to the dogs.

"Macquarie Island would not have its rabbit and rodent-free status without these dogs," she said.

"To see them on the stamps I think it's a lovely and worthy tribute."

Ms Williams said the dogs worked tirelessly in horrendous conditions hunting feral animals on the island.

"There was rain, driving sleet, strong winds, rough and rugged terrain," she said.

"They had grass seeds embedded into their skin and icicles off their coat and these dogs kept working."

She says seeing their fortitude honoured is very exciting.

"Now others can see what these dogs have been through," she said.

"You can get a bit of that through these stamps.

"You can see Macquarie Island, you can see the conditions that the dogs have worked in.

"And after the project finished there's been a little lapse and now these stamps can stay here and people can look at them for a long time."

Ms Williams worked with a springer spaniel called Katie.

"The dogs were the best part of working over there," she said.

"Katie was a fantastic springer spaniel and helped find a couple of rabbits, the last remaining rabbits, and without her and the other dogs it wouldn't have been successful."

INFOGRAPHIC: The dogs worked tirelessly in horrendous conditions. (Supplied: Australia Post)

Ms Williams said the dogs did enjoy the work.

"That's what they're trained for," she said.

"That's what they want at the end of the day, to find what they are hunting for.

"And their keeness never lapsed, they were always on it and they loved it."