Page 250 - Be Reasonable – Do It My Way , Peter E. Daly AM, My Story

CHAPTER 24 - SEAL ROCKS, MELBOURNE ZOO AND AUSTRALIAN LANDSCAPE TRUST (CONSERVATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROPERTIES)
Anyway, it was perhaps years afterwards and after I had retired from NW that I was speaking at a Conference and in the audience was Pat Feilman. She came over to me and she said I want you to start a marketing program at the Zoo and we need to raise something like $30K.
My immediate reaction after being a marketing person was that the Zoological Board was responsible to the State Government and therefore the State Government would be the first to approach when it came to raising money, donating a reasonable sum of monies. After this I would then approach others who I thought could assist but first Government had to put their hands in their pocket. Cutting a long story short, the fundraising was quite successful and during that period I was then asked to go on the Board. At this time, Pat Feilman was Chairman and she chose me as her Deputy, Daphne subsequently said that I was referred as her handbag.
I had never been to so many parties and so many functions and at every one of them we used to challenge each other to touch people for money. I also took VIPs around the Zoo and you could see the faces of the Zoo employees when I spoke about the animals of which I knew precisely nothing. However, it didn’t worry me, because what I was saying sounded good and they didn’t know I didn’t know anything.
I had never been so busy in my life. Here I was at this time Director and Chief Executive of ICA and I used to go to the Zoo every morning getting there at about 6.30am to meet Committee Members. I was Chairman of the Marketing Committee, Fundraising, Remuneration and Nominations Committees and then of course on the Board. I must say when joining the Board my knowledge of Pat was rather thin, but when I got to know her better she was a control freak. Maybe this is where I got the saying “be reasonable and do it my way” because nobody did it their way.
After eight years on the Board, Pat decided to retire. I thought it was about time I did the same, so we left the Board to the new
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