Dave Downunder. alias David Royal

     

Dave Downunder

Below is my original introduction page from when I first started this site. In the last yen years it has gone from being my site to the site of many crayfish lovers from around the world.

Crayfish forever!

David Royal

Dave is a crayfish enthusiast who has been interested in crayfish for over 40 years. In 1995-96 he returned to school primarily to gain futher education in commercial aquaculture and natural resource management. He is good friends of David Royal the alter ego so to speak.

 

David has had seventeen years experience in law enforcement and forensic crime scene examination and is registered with RAB/QSA as an Environment and Quality Auditor. He has performed over 2000 ISO third party audits for companies all over Australia.

1997 Original Opening Page

Ever since I was a kid I loved catching yabbies. I am now well into my forties and still at it. Over the years I found that there was a lack of information on our crayfish. Sure there's been heaps of research work but not much around for the layman like myself. I have always wanted to share my photographs of crayfish and the 'net' is the perfect vehicle.

I am very fortunate that I live in an area which has such a diversification of 'crays'. With-in a two hundred mile radius of my home in Melbourne there are probably close to a hundred different species. I believe you could call this the "cray mecca" of the world.

This site would not be possible without the contributions of my craying buddies, Joesph Broes, Matt Kearton and Paul Herbert. I also should include my son James who has only missed two "craying trips" since he was five, and lastly my wife Sandra who puts up with crayfish escaping and walking around the house.

Other people who have assisted me in a technical sense are, Joe Barbante the Computer Accounting Doctor, Tarmo Raadik, the Senior Biologist with the Freshwater Ecology Research of DNRE, Charles Barnham DNRE (retired) and Alan Henderson the Live Exhibits Officer of Melbourne Museum.

This is my kids James and Belinda with a couple of salt water crayfish I and Chris Nash ( a professional abalone diver ), caught at Port Campbell a few years ago. They insisted that I put it in although the site is dedicated to freshwater crayfish species.

   

At left, James also known as "Yabby". He was tickled pink with our number plates. This photo was taken about 1990. He's waiting for the day he is eighteen so he can have them on a car of his own.

James today at the Native Fish Australia hatchery at La Trobe University. He's caught the 'cray habit' bigtime and here he is seen with a female Murray Crayfish. After a quarantine period this particular 'cray' will be on permanent display at the Eco-Centre at the Bundoora Children's Farm in northern Melbourne.

This is Paul, he's holding another murray crayfish he caught in the Ovens River in August 1999. This cray would be about 1.25kgs.