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Rising Tides: Melody Horrill's Journey to Marine Advocacy


On this episode of The Passionistas Project, sisters Amy and Nancy Harrington interview Melody Horrill, an award-winning Australian environmental journalist and advocate for marine conservation. Melody shares her captivating journey from a troubled childhood marked by domestic violence to finding solace and purpose through her connection with animals and the ocean, particularly dolphins. She recounts her transformative relationship with Jock, a solitary dolphin that inspired her to pursue a life of activism and storytelling. Melody also discusses her efforts in raising awareness about marine conservation and her involvement with the Jane Goodall Institute. Her story is one of resilience, hope, and a deep commitment to preserving marine life.


Listen to the full interview HERE.

 

LINKS


ON THIS EPISODE

[00:31]  Meet Melody Horrill: Environmental Journalist and Dolphin Advocate

[01:19]  Melody's Passion for Marine Life

[02:45]  A Troubled Childhood and the Comfort of Animals

[07:06]  The Life-Changing Encounter with Jock the Dolphin

[16:52]  Creating the Documentary 'Dance with a Dolphin'

[21:39]  The Legacy of Jock and Dolphin Conservation Efforts

[27:02]  Challenges Facing Dolphins Today

[31:28]  Meeting Dr. Jane Goodall

[31:58]  The Journey to Jane Goodall's Endorsement

[35:48]  A Personal Connection with Jane Goodall

[39:23]  Reflections on Jane Goodall 's Impact

[46:23]  Writing Her Memoir

[54:39]  Dreams and Hopes for the Future

[59:23]  Conclusion and Contact Information

 

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Passionistas: Hi, we're sisters, Amy and Nancy Harrington, the founders of The Passionistas Project. We've created an inclusive sisterhood where passion driven women come to get support, find their purpose, and feel empowered to transform their lives and change the world.

 

On every episode, we discuss the unique ways in which each woman is following her passions, talk about how she defines success, and explore her path to breaking down the barriers that women too often face.

Today we're talking with Melody Horrill, an award winning Australian environmental journalist, freelance media manager, speaker, and author of three books. She is well known in South Australia for raising awareness about dolphins and marine conservation. She is co chair of Jane Goodall's Institute, Cetacean Committee.

 

I've been practicing that word and I knew I was going to get it wrong. An ambassador for Kangaroo Island Dolphin Watch. She lives in Melbourne with her Rescue Cat Q and her partner Grant. She's a passionate animal and nature lover.

 

So please welcome Melody Horrill. So glad to have you here today. We've really been looking forward to this interview.

 

Melody: That's lovely. It's so lovely to meet you and thanks for having me on.

 

Passionistas: Excellent. So of all of those things that we just mentioned, and probably many more, what do you think you're most passionate about?

 

Melody: Animals in the natural world, I think, and particularly, um, dolphins and whales, cetaceans. So, you know, I mean, I love all animals, really, and I've had a connection with them throughout my life, and it's important, they're important to me.

 

But I guess if I had to really whittle it down to one thing, it would be the ocean and the marine environment. I mean, I love the ocean and I have a real passion for ensuring that we try and protect the amazing array of marine life in our oceans as best we can, considering our oceans cover 70 percent of this planet and we need them.

 

And, uh, I, I do think that, you know, we, we should be looking at them in a very different way. So, um, but animals generally, as well. So, all of the books that you mentioned, um, all have animal roots. They're all based on animals, uh, in some way, shape, and form, and the natural world. So, I guess, That's what I'm, I'd like to put my stamp on, I guess.

 

Passionistas: So did this love for animals start when you were a little girl? And tell us about your childhood.

 

Melody: Sure. Um, trigger warning here, I should say. Some of this is, is a little bit difficult. Um, not so much for me, but for those who might be listening. Sorry, I grew up in a household really dominated by domestic violence and my, part of my family moved out to Australia when I was only a young girl.

 

And I'd hoped that things would get better when we moved to a different country. But things between my mother and father Really got worse. And, uh, really throughout those formative, those early years of my life, the animals that I shared my life with were my lifeline in many ways. You know, I spent time with them.

 

They gave me comfort, friendship. Companionship, Unconditional Acceptance. And that was really important to me when I was living in a household where everything was crazy most of the time. And, and, um, you know, I felt pretty powerless. So the animals became my friends and one rescued horse. That I adopted, I was working part time at an amusement park at this stage in my life, called Eddie.

 

Um, he was in a bad way when I adopted him and I spent my time really building him up and, and, um, making him healthy again. And in that process, you know, he really helped me because we spent hours and hours together out in the natural world, um, galloping through paddocks and it was just this sense of freedom and escape.

 

Uh, from what was happening at home. So, um, you know, the animals have always played at just such a pivotal part in my life and, and keeping me grounded and, and keeping me sane, I guess, in many respects and giving me that friendship. So, uh, what eventually my father, uh, my mother left my father and, and, and so did I left the family home.

 

And he, uh, didn't take that very well, uh, ended up, uh, stalking us. And, uh, then ended up attacking my mother when we were living together in a small flat. Um, and he ended up in jail. I had to testify against him because I was the only one present at the attack. It's pretty nasty. He went to jail and, uh, when he came out of jail, he took his own life.

 

So it was, um, you know, that was in my sort of, um, later teens at this point, but when I, when that situation was over, I guess, I just really, I felt pretty lost. I wasn't sure what was going to happen with my life. I didn't know what to do. Um, I turned to partying. Uh, I drink a lot. I, I had a good time. I put on this sort of party girl mask.

 

I really threw myself into this hedonistic lifestyle. You know, I was working as a waitress at the time. I had to drop out of school because I'd left home so early. And then one day I was just sitting on the beach and this one legged seagull Actually, no, he didn't have any legs. He had no feet at all, came up and sort of landed on his stumps in front of me.

 

And it just struck me that, um, if this seagull could get by with the injuries that he had, and he was squawking at me, asking for something to eat, then. You know, I could, and the only way for me to do that would be to continue my education and go back to school. So I did, and I got into university, and that's where I met Dr.

 

Mike Bosley, who was one of my lecturers, and he, um, Got me involved in a dolphin program where I became a voluntary research assistant, and I met a lot of dolphins, but one in particular who really changed my life. And that's a whole other story. So that's sort of the snapshot in the lead up to all of these books, I guess, in my early life.

 

Happy to continue, but more than happy for you to throw a question at me.

 

Passionistas: We do want to hear that story. So is that the story of Jock the Dolphin?

 

Melody: Jock the Dolphin, yes.

 

Passionistas: So tell us about that.

 

Melody: Okay. Uh, so as I said, I was a volunteer on this research program and, uh, well, my first day out, actually, um, we were out in the research boat and there was this thin and it didn't even resemble a dolphin because it was so badly, um, malformed and almost grotesque.

 

It was just clumpy. And I, uh, and I said to Mike, what is that? And he said, well, you know, that's a dolphin. And this dolphin called Jock had become entangled in fishing line and nets growing up, um, during his life. And he'd also been, had a scar on his side from flounder spear. And, uh, he was a solitary dolphin.

 

So he, all he did. Pretty much was circle a boat in this particular part of the Port River in Adelaide, South Australia, where I grew up, and where there's a resident pot of dolphins. But Jock decided to live in a, apart from those dolphins. He didn't have anything to do with them. He decided to be solitary and live in this small, quite polluted part of the river, circling this boat.

 

And gee, just seeing him first, at the very first time, I, I was just struck by how lonely he was and how disconnected he seemed from the world around him. And that deeply resonated in me. I, in many ways, saw myself in this dolphin and felt this There's an enormous wave of compassion for his situation. And it was this instant connection that I felt.

 

I certainly can't say for the same for Jock, but that I felt towards this, this beautiful, mammal who'd been so badly scarred, um, and seemed so alone in the world. So over a period of time, over three years, I got to know Jock. And I should actually say that, um, Jock had gotten to know some members of the search team before I came onto the But Jock became instrumental in helping me view myself in a completely different way.

 

He, um, being a solitary dolphin, he had started seeking out human companionship from the research team. And I spent many hours, Uh, with Jock in the water. He was a completely wild dolphin and I really need to point that out. He wasn't enticed. He wasn't fed. Any interaction was completely on his terms. And, um, you know, it's very important for me to say that because, um, Very much against people trying to lure dolphins in and feed them and that kind of thing.

 

So he, uh, became my best friend over a period of three years and he taught me, um, so much. I guess I, firstly, I began to understand that, um, we weren't so different. Even though I was a completely different species, a land mammal, he was a marine mammal. When I was with him in the water, it didn't feel like.

 

We were different species. We were just mates. We were friends. And, um, he trusted me despite the fact that my species had inflicted such pain on him. You know, he had scars all around his mouth from discarded fishing hooks, as well as this mangled dorsal fin and this spear wound or scar on his side. And despite all that, he still accepted me and trusted me.

 

Which was remarkable. So it was a remarkable lesson in trust and forgiveness. And I thought about my family a lot because I really hadn't forgiven them, um, and I really hadn't trusted anybody. So Jock taught me that it was okay to trust and forgive. And I guess his friendship, um, like so many other relationships I'd had in my life, were just laden with baggage and conditions.

 

Even my, my family life was to a large extent. Nah, he didn't care. He just saw me as an individual and there were no strings attached with that relationship. You know, it was almost, it was pure, um, this pure unfiltered love and connection that I had never experienced before. It was, it blew my mind. It blew my mind.

 

Um, and he also helped me realize that I was, um, worthy. I was okay, you know. Um, sure, I had my issues, but, um, I was worthy to hang around. And this completely wild dolphin wanting to be, you know, interact with me. And it was just, wow, really? And so, it also allowed me to feel vulnerable and, and show my vulnerability.

 

Um, so, on so many levels, Jock had this enormous impact on my life and I think importantly he put, he showed me that joy was possible. Yeah, pure moments of joy and just existing and being in the moment. And I learned that that's all I had, that I didn't have to be a sum of my past, that I didn't have to worry too much about the future, that all I had was this moment, and that I should just really, Take the essence of joy and happiness from that moment.

 

And that was super important because it helped me not to continually reflect on the past, but to think about the now. And that was a really important moment for me. And I guess the other thing is that When we were able to finally lure Jock, encourage him out to the other dolphins, and he became friends with those other dolphins eventually.

 

And I know that was difficult for him because he had this home range that he didn't want to leave. And You know, he'd go a little bit in and then he'd come back and he'd go, sort of, venture out and he'd just swim back. But eventually he found the courage to actually go into the big wide world, into the big wide river, if you like.

 

And I knew that I had to find that courage too. I knew that I had to be as brave as Jock and, um, enter into the big wide world as me, uh, without the mask and without, um, having this, this shield up and, and be able to trust people, trust myself.

 

Passionistas: That is one of the most beautiful stories I've ever heard.

It's historic. It's beautiful. I love it. And I thank you so much for sharing that with us. Um, what is it about dolphins in general, because people who have Uh, contact with dolphins, always just talk about what special animals they are. What is it about dolphins? Describe them for people who've never had that one on one contact.

 

Melody: I look, I think it's, when you look into a dolphin's eye, you know that they're intelligent. You just know it. And they're really, uh, you know, they're, they're very intelligent. They're very similar to us in many ways in that they form close bonds. They live in complex societies. Um, you know, they have friends, they have families, they, and there is this, this, this real intelligence, uh, that you can sense and that you know, uh, when you're even just watching them.

 

You don't have to be in the water, just watching them. But importantly, um, there is this joy that they exude. And when you're seeing a dolphin, um, jump in the, uh, the, you know, in front of a boat or behind a boat, and they're, they're jumping out of the water, they're splashing back down again. I mean, Jock used to love following the research boat.

 

Jumping high in the air behind the research boat and just sort of belly flopping back into the water. And we would laugh and watch him and he'd love it. And I think it must have been like a spa for him with all these bubbles and jumping in and out of this sort of spa situation. And it was pure joy. How often do we just stop and have that in our life?

 

And I think dolphins teach us about that, that when we look at them, they're such joyful creatures that we can't help but feel joy too. So, and I do think that dolphins are great ambassadors for the sea. Because, you know, they live along our coastlines and also in deeper waters, but the bottlenose variety live along our coastlines, so we can't see them.

 

And, you know, it's difficult, I think, for us humans sometimes that are land dwelling mammals to connect with the sea. Um, but when you see a dolphin, you stand on a shore and you're watching a dolphin swim by, you see this fin sort of cut through the water so gracefully, or jump out and splash down just for the hell of it.

It's a wondrous thing. It's wondrous. And it helps us connect with, you know, what, what makes up most of our planet and what inhabits it, I think.

 

Passionistas: So tell us about the documentary Dance with a Dolphin. How did that come about and tell us a little bit about the film?

 

Melody: Okay, that's a little old now. Um, it came out in, uh, what, 2001.

So, it's, it's getting there. Uh, I eventually, when I finished university, I took a job. Didn't like it much. Ended up leaving shortly after and starting a not for profit in South Australia to raise awareness about the dolphins, which looking back on it, you know, I was, I was young and, uh, I didn't know what I was doing.

 

But amazingly, um, uh, I managed and, and not just me, but a group of other volunteers as well, managed to raise awareness about the Port River dolphins across South Australia. And, uh, I became a spokesperson for all sorts of environmental issues as a part of that. You know, I found myself talking on radio, on TV, and I still didn't have a great deal of self belief, and I was still struggling with that self worth.

 

I still was. And being in front of the camera was terrifying, you know, for a girl that was told by her dad that she would never amount to anything, having to suddenly be. You know, the spokesperson for the, for the Dolphins and other organizations was a big deal. It was scary, but I obviously did something well because I ended up working in the media and it was not something that I planned to do, but it happened that way.

 

Um, and I was offered a job in a TV newsroom, um, just learning the ropes and becoming an environment reporter. So that's what I did and, and I fell into it really. So when the document, when I was asked later on a few years later about, um, well, would I like to do a documentary because I was covering environmental issues as my round and of course animals.

 

And I said, yeah, of course I would. And I knew immediately I wanted to do a documentary about Jock and the Port River and the Port River dolphins, because there were still issues with pollution in that river. And there were still issues regarding protection of the dolphins in that river. So I thought, I'm going to do this documentary.

 

So, thankfully, the researcher, Mike Bosley, And I managed to capture quite a lot of the interactions and, and, and jock, uh, on VHS, it's all VHS tapes. So I sat in the back room and this was, you know, several years after finishing up with my time with, um, With, with Mike, I sat in the back room and I was going through all this footage of not just Jock and I, but Jock and the other research assistants and Mike and um, the Port River and seeing the other dolphins, and I relived the whole thing over again.

 

It was a beautiful experience and although I didn't go into my personal relationship with Jock, because I really wasn't ready to talk about that publicly, uh, I ended up putting together a documentary with Tony Moto, a producer about. Jock was really the centerpiece of that documentary, and that aired across Australia.

 

And then, because I was doing some stories for CNN International, as part of my gig at work, you know, the environment stories, they sort of said, yeah, okay, we like this documentary, why don't you come over? So I ended up going over to Atlanta for close to six weeks. I met Ted Turner. And I became, did the CNN professional program, uh, that they put me through, which was one, just amazing.

 

It was an amazing experience. But, uh, I also had the opportunity to present the documentary to the world through CNN International. And that was an incredibly proud moment for me, you know, incredibly proud. And, um, when I went back, Uh, to work. Uh, there was this real push to try and make the Port River Australia's first dolphin sanctuary and eventually that happened.

 

And the documentary played a part in that because obviously governments don't like to be embarrassed internationally. And it helped put the pressure on. It wasn't the only reason. Mike Bosley and others, um, did a whole lot of work. in lobbying for that sanctuary, but the documentary certainly played a part.

It's called A Dance with a Dolphin, and I still watch it, and I still love it, and it still makes me cry.

 

Passionistas: That's amazing. What, what became of Jock?

 

Melody: Um, unfortunately, Jock passed away. Uh, we're not sure how he died. Um, The autopsy really didn't reveal a great deal, but he did have elevated PCB levels and PCBs are a pollutant that stays in the environment for a very, very, very long time.

 

And, um, we can't say whether that was a cause of his death because they can't link it, but, um, you know, I suspect that it may have played a part in it at least. So, yeah, when he died, Oh, totally broke my heart. I, it really had a huge impact on me and uh, it was just so incredibly sad. It was just like losing a close member of the family.

 

Passionistas: How long did dolphins generally live?

 

Melody: Well, they can live well into their 40s and 50s, even sometimes. So, I think, um, Jock was only a fairly young dolphin. Because of his size, he was quite small for a bottlenose dolphin. Uh, but, yeah, they can have nice, long lives. Um, it's unfortunate. And it's terribly sad, actually.

It's not just unfortunate. It's terribly sad that Jock, uh, didn't live longer.

 

Passionistas: So does the Adelaide, um, Dolphin Sanctuary, is that still in existence? And tell us about the work that's done there.

 

Melody: It is still in existence. And, uh, it actually, what was happening in the, the sanctuary became the reason why I wrote my memoir, because what has happened, obviously, is that it's really difficult to explain.

 

It's an estuary, but part of it is quite industrialized and part of it is lined with these beautiful things. Ancient mangrove trees, you know, look like old men overseeing the river with their gnarly roots and their, you know, beautiful thick leaves. Anyway, the um, it's, it's still a place where a lot of activity happens, you know, boating, commercial activity, heavy gauge fishing did and recreational fishing, all sorts of things. So it's, you know, humans use it for a lot of reasons. And, uh, about what was 2021, early 2021, uh, I went to, uh, back to South Australia for a visit because I moved to Melbourne eventually. And I caught up with Mike and he said, Mello, this is a new name for me, he said, you know, the dolphins are dying, um, and we don't know why, and only one in 13 calves is surviving.

 

And these are healthy adults also that are dying and we can't figure it out. And I said at the time, what's the media doing about it? He said, oh, you know, it's difficult to get. Media retention these days to that. And that's when I knew I had to jump back in. So I, first thing I did was that I went and wrote an article for the Weekend Australian Magazine.

 

We've got a national newspaper here, which has a magazine insert. And I talked about my relationship with Jock because I knew that people had to somehow connect with dolphins, you know, uh, and I thought the best way to do that was to finally reveal what, uh, the enormous impact that they had on me and why it was important to look after these dolphins in the Port River.

 

And I hoped it would raise awareness about those dolphins. So that article, uh, went to print and then I had such a wonderful response from that, that prompted me to go and actually So it also, during that time, there was a parliamentary inquiry into the Dolphins, and I was lobbying the then government to do something more about finding out what was killing them.

 

So then I also, and Mike and others, put submissions forward to this parliamentary inquiry to try and raise protection. For the dolphins in this, this sanctuary, because at the end of the day, a sanctuary implies something safe within it. And these dolphins were clearly not. So the result of that was that the government took it under review and there have been changes.

 

I believe there needs to be more, of course, but I also accept the fact that This is never going to be an environment where people don't use it. So there has to be some sort of great meeting between conservation and human use of this waterway. There's got to be a way that we can all benefit from it. Be there safely and, um, including the dolphins and the people.

 

Passionistas: So you said that it's gotten better, but there's still more to be done. So what's the current state of dolphins in Australia and worldwide? And what don't people know about dolphins that they should?

 

Melody: Uh, well, in regards to the Port River, uh, there are still aspects that I think can be improved. But, um, again, that's just a matter of, uh, you know, Lobbying and continuing to, to improve things down there, but also involving all the stakeholders as well.

 

You know, the fishing community, it's no point ostracizing people. It's about working together to create a better outcome, I think, and not divining people. Dolphins worldwide, gosh, that is such a big question. So many things. Um, tens of thousands of dolphins every year get caught up in, um, commercial and recreational fishing nets.

 

And they die, they drown, because dolphins need air to breathe. They have to consciously think about breathing. Unlike us, where we just breathe unconsciously, we just do it. They have to surface and take a breath. So, tens of thousands of dolphins every year drown in nets. Um, And that's not to mention boat strikes and other forms of plastic pollution.

 

You name it, habitat loss. There's so many pressures on dolphins, and whales, and marine life, actually, worldwide. You could talk for hours about, you know, the issues that they face. Also, of course, there's the captive dolphin industry, which is something that I'm really passionate about. I should say that I've certainly learned a lot more about dolphins since my time with Jock, and Human interaction with them isn't always good for them because there are some people that don't have their best interests at heart.

 

So, um, I've actually really, you know, changed my, my view on, um, on people interacting certainly with wild dolphins and with captive dolphins, because the, in captivity, dolphins are acoustic creatures. They're really smart animals and, um, they, research has shown that they actually stop using their sonar, uh, their echolocation in captivity because, um, they use it in the wild to navigate and to search and to hunt and to find their way around.

 

Whereas in. When you conquer a concrete tank, it bounces back at you. And, you know, there's such intelligent, complex mammals that keeping them in concrete tanks is, it's just not right. It's not right. And there's a whole industry still existing where wild dolphins are captured and plonked into tanks to perform for dead fish for crowds.

 

How is that right? So, um, I'm working with the, I was lucky enough to be involved with the Jan Goodall Institute Cetacean Committee. I'm co chair of it. And, and we would really like to see, we're working hard towards phasing out dolphinariums. The issue is of course, what happens to the dolphins. that are in these places.

 

Um, so we're working with some organizations to try and find a way to develop coastal, coastal, big coastal sanctuaries where they can go and have much more space without the concrete. Still have that level of human care because, you know, they've been fed. for decades, some of them, and lived in confined spaces for decades.

 

So you can't just so, you know, open the gate and go, there you go. Um, so that's what we're working towards. And, um, I'm pretty passionate about that. It's, it's very much in my view, like, you know, the whole using wild animals in circus debate. I don't like that. It's, it's exploitation. And how is Keeping dolphins in tanks, any different?

 

Passionistas: Yeah, absolutely. Um, you invoked the name of our personal hero, Dr. Jane Goodall, who, anybody who knows us knows that she is our North Star. Um, so what was it like to be associated with her organization? Did you meet her? What are your thoughts on Dr. Jane Goodall?

 

Melody: Wow. Okay. Well, I look, I mean, I agree. Dr. Jane has been my hero since I can recall, actually.

And what happened was after my memoir was published in Australia, a Canadian publisher picked it up and they renamed it The Dolphin Who Saved Me. It was called A Dolphin Called Job. And they said to me, Listen, we need someone to write a blurb for the front of your book, uh, but we need someone people know around the world.

 

And I said, I live in Melbourne, Australia. I don't know anyone. Um, and they said, well, who would you really like? And, you know, I'd really like Jane Goodall, of course. So I recalled that during my media years, I'd worked with someone at a zoo in South Australia. I was reporting on. Berriez, you know, conservation, um, programs from this zoo.

 

And he had had been involved with Jane Goodall's organization here in Australia. So, randomly, after 20 years or more, I contacted this guy and I said, hey, I know, how have you been, but I'm wondering, are you still in contact with Jane's people? And he said, oh, you know, loosely, uh, I might be able to forward an email on maybe.

 

And I thought, I'm just going to give it a shot. I never expected any response. Let me, let me say that off the bat. It was one of those things that you put out into the universe and you go, you know, I'm really not expecting much here. But lo and behold, uh, I don't know, several weeks later, I get this email from Jane's office saying that, uh, you know, yes, she would read.

 

And then of course I went, oh no, oh my gosh, what if she doesn't like it? What if it's just, you know, what if I get, so you know, all of this is going through my head. So off I went, off the manuscript went. And again. Yeah, I tried not to think about it. I felt like, you know, it will be if I don't hear from her, then that's okay.

I'll find another option. And, uh, then her people got back to me again and said, great news. Yes, she, she loved it. And she's writing you a, you know, a little blurb for it. And, um, I almost felt like, Almost fell off my chair. It was one of those moments in my life I will never forget. It was, it's like having your hero go, actually, you know, you're doing some good stuff.

 

I have no words. It was just unbelievable. So I read what she'd written and I just burst into tears because she'd written this beautiful blurb about how she felt that she was in the water um with us and uh how uh it was all about connection. Connection with the natural world, connection with other animals.

 

And the book was really represented love in its purest form. And, um, yeah, there were tears, all sorts of things, and I couldn't wait to get ahold of my publishers. And I had no expectations either. And so that was great. And then I would have been a week later, it was about Christmas time, or just after Christmas, and on my phone pops up this email address.

 

And I thought, that's gotta be spam, you know, because I hadn't actually been dealing with Jane directly, it had all been through her office. And I thought, I'm going to open the email anyway, even though I think this could be a spam email. So I opened it. And it was a email from Jane directly to me. And she said, I hope you don't mind, but I've got your email address in my office.

 

And, uh, I loved your book. She said, I really do hope. It becomes a bestseller. Well, it hasn't, but that's okay. She said, I'm, I'm thinking about forming a citation committee. Would you like to be involved? I think you'd be a great fit. And if you are, could you please contact Kuhn Margot, who was tasked with bringing this committee together?

 

Well, again, tears. Couldn't believe it. Amazing turn of events in my life, you know, totally unexpected and what an honour, what a privilege. I, words cannot express how, uh, just humbled actually I, I felt. So I immediately emailed her back and I said of course, oh my gosh, you know, of course I'll, I'll do it. Do this.

Um, and from that point on, um, I, I became a, obviously a committee member and have since become co chair with, with Kuhn. And, uh, I got to catch up with Jane when she came to Australia this year in June, and I spent the afternoon with her, had lunch with her, and I gave her a hug. Um, and It was just amazing.

 

I had so many questions for her, but I knew that I didn't want to inundate her with questions. But what struck me, there are a few things that struck me about Jane in person, was how softly spoken she is and how thoughtful she is before she actually responds to anything. And she lets people speak, and that in itself is a real skill, and she listens, and she's so unassuming, but she's got this ferocity.

 

You know, you can feel the ferocity and the passion from her, even though she's quite diminutive and, and softly spoken, there's this deep inner strength. And, um, I, you know, I said to her at 90, how do you spend most of your, Yeah, traveling around the world. Where do you, how do you do that? I can't, I couldn't, I couldn't do it.

 

And you know, I'm not, not 90 yet. Where do you get the energy? And she, she said to me, I ask for it. She said, uh, she's quite spiritual. She said, uh, I feel that I have a mission. And when I need that energy, I ask for it and I get it. And I never realized that, that Jane, I mean, I knew that. She had a spiritual side to her, but I, that really surprised me and I was delighted because I too am quite a spiritual person, not religious, but I'm quite a spiritual person.

 

And, um, I, we talked, I said, you know, what's next for you? And she said, well, you know, it's been great. Death is probably going to be the next big adventure. And, uh, I said, right. Um, so, and she said, no, there's something after this, I'm sure. Which again, surprised me. Uh, and she talked to me about the importance of working hard and, um, the importance of following your passion and what it is that ignites you and staying true to that and listening to people And being compassionate always.

 

It was a remarkable afternoon. And, um, you know, I've had a little bit to do with Jane, obviously, through the committee for the last couple of years. And she, her strength is astonishing. Astonishing woman, irreplaceable. I, I think what worries me is who's coming up behind Jane. You know, we, we, we, when Jane, Who's going to be the next great advocate for animals and the environment?

 

I don't know. Maybe it's you. I, I'm not sure. I don't think I could ever reach That leak, I don't think I could ever be in that leak, but the world needs somebody and, uh, it's important. Being able to, Jane did pick me up on something. She said, uh, said, it's great that you're giving the animals a voice. And she said, Melody, they already have a voice.

 

She said, just because we don't understand what they're saying, doesn't mean they don't have a voice. Jeez. Spot on.

 

Passionistas: We saw her speak um, a couple months ago. It was her, it was her 90th birthday and they had a celebration here in San Pedro, California. And we happened to go see a screening of a documentary a couple weeks earlier and they said there's a celebration for Jane Goodall's birthday. And, and we're like, we read it like 10 times.

 

We're like, Are they saying she's going to be here outside at this event for free and that we can come? Like it just could, we could not register it in our minds. And the one thing that you said about her that I thought was so, it was my favorite part of seeing her in person was there's a, um, a biting humor.

 

That is so charming. And that gets edited out of every documentary or piece you ever see about her. But it's so compelling. And it's like, oh, that's the feistiness of Dr. Jane Goodall that has allowed her to start the work she started when she was so young and carry it forward. And I wish more people got to see that.

And I'd love that. You experienced that one on one with her. I think that's amazing.

 

Melody: Yeah, it's feisty. Yeah, absolutely. Um, and you know, she, she, you can feel this inner strength emanate from her. It's an energy. Um, and you know, I wouldn't want to cross Jane. And good on her. She's had, she's had to be strong though.

 

You know, look at what she was up against in her younger years and trying to convince the world that animals feel. And, you know, in that sort of, um, very much a male dominated, uh, scientific area. But she did it. She did it. And good on her. And look at how far we've come, but we have so, so much further to go.

So much further to go.

 

Passionistas: Yeah, we also had the pleasure of interviewing her once.

 

Melody: Oh, wow!

 

Passionistas: Yes. We, um, we gave her, we give out, uh, Passionistas Persist Awards every year, and we gave her the Passionistas Persist Icon Award one year, and, um, it was during COVID, so we were able to arrange to do a, uh, Zoom interview with her.

 

We spoke to her for half an hour. It was the best. The most fabulous half an hour in our lives. So it was amazing. It was really great. And we had a very similar experience where we, she's been our hero, like Amy said, since we were little girls. And, um, we've always wanted to interview her whenever we've done 1600 interviews.

 

Whenever anyone asks us, what's your dream interview? We always said, Dr. Jane Goodall. Do you know anyone who knows her? We, we decided we wanted to give her this award, we set our minds to it, and we called a friend who is really great at, at, at connecting anyone. You know, you can say, I need a, you know, Brazilian sheepherder who has a pizza shop, and he'll be like, I know a guy, you know, but so we called him one day and we were like, you don't know anyone who knows Jane Goodall, do you?

 

And he's like, oh, God. That's ridiculous. So, you know, I can perform miracles, but that one's too big, you know, and, uh, half an hour later, he calls us. Okay, I posted on the Young Presidents Association messaging board, and I got an email back from a guy who his father is one of the biggest donators to Roots Shoots.

 

So, here's Jane Goodall's assistant's email address and use this guy's name. And we did, we reached out. And it took it took a long time. It took about nine months, I think, to arrange the interview, but we we did get it.

 

Melody: That's amazing. Have you had a chance if If you have a chance, uh, there's a book called Jane at 90.

 

It's a book that's come out, um, that my co chair, Kuhn Margot, um, helped organize. And there are little stories in it from everybody, um, who, um, has been touched by it. In some way, their lives have been touched by Jane. And, um, I don't know if you've read that or if you're aware of it, but Jane at 90. Um, and I was asked to contribute to that book again, you know, uh, what?

 

So I did, and I talked in my little piece that I provided for the book. I talked about the fact that she'd always been my hero. And, um, she has. had such an impact on me and now the dolphins around the world. So, um, yeah, if you get a chance, pick up that book. It's, it's a lovely book. And it's got Jane, a very old picture of Jane on the cover with her, one of her dogs.

 

She's beautiful. Probably not that old. It's probably only, I'm not sure, it's not that old, but it's, it's a lovely picture of her in a pickup truck with, with the dog. And, uh, I can highly recommend it.

[00:46:19] Passionistas: Definitely going to get that. Thank you for that recommendation. I want to get back to your book for a second.

 

Um, thank you for indulging our Jane Goodall.

 

I'm going to write an article for the newspaper about your relationship, and I know when you said you were making the documentary, you weren't ready to talk about your relationship with Jock yet. So why was it the time finally for you to write an entire book about that experience, and what did you learn about yourself?

 

Melody: Okay, I felt it was time, well, when I was working in the media, um, there were people who I worked with who knew about what had happened to me, because it had been in the media in my hometown when I was quite young, but I was not encouraged to talk about it. And, and, okay, I understand that. You know, I worked for broadcast media and you keep your personal life pretty much separate to your professional life.

 

So I was in a position finally, I guess, firstly, to talk about it. And, um, I, as I said before, I think I really, The important thing for me was for people to connect with dolphins and I, and I, I thought the best way to do that would be to finally reveal my personal story, uh, in such a way that would help others to connect with jock and therefore to dolphins.

 

So that's why it seemed the right time to do that. And just another dolphin story about dolphins dying, you know, in the Port River I knew was not going to resonate with people because, you know, people have compassion overload sometimes. Like, there's only so much bad news around the world. And Jock's story and Jock and my story is one of hope actually.

 

It's, it's, it's a love story. At the end of the day, it's a love story. And so, I felt that that would, that was the right time, and I knew that I needed to help the dolphins, so I did it. And, I had never written a book before, so the prospect of writing my memoir terrified me, and I, I didn't know where to start.

 

Really, so I contacted, well, an old friend of mine that I used to work with in South Australia many years ago, read the article in the Weekend Australian magazine and then contacted me. Now, he's since become an editor and also an author himself. And he said, if you ever want to write a book about this smell, um, I'm happy to help guide you.

 

So, it was all those sort of Those factors that, that, that led to me going, all right, I'm going to write this now. And so it, I did, and it was, Oh, probably the most difficult thing I've ever done. I revisited, I had to revisit aspects of my past that I didn't want to. And, but they're important because the book had to be honest.

It had to be raw and I, it just had to be truthful. I had to tell the truth. And as much as Bits of it would hurt. Uh, I wouldn't be doing justice to my story or Jock's story if I had let, left anything out. In the end, um, my publishers did suggest I leave a couple of things out. So, um, it happened anyway.

 

But, uh, they were inconsequential, I think, to the whole story. So, I, I, I guess the whole process of, you know, Going back to those early memories of, of being in England and the, um, moments of violence which were frequent in, in my house, how I felt at the time, reliving that in my, in my mind, putting it on paper was difficult.

 

But cathartic at the same time. I think I had to get my, my father's court documents sent to me, and I managed to connect with a detective who'd helped during the trial process and certainly supported me as a young woman giving evidence against my dad. I reconnected with him after what, you know, 30 years or something like that, and eventually met him as well.

 

So I had this, I was reunited with him and he helped me source The actual court documents and, um, my father's autopsy report, which I've never read before. And that was confrontational, but again, uh, necessary because I had to, um, be accurate, uh, in what happened. So it wasn't just my memory of the events, it was actually documented.

 

So it was a very difficult process. There were many times when I got up and walked away and walked down to the beach, just to clean my head. And I cried a lot, but I laughed a lot too. And I relived the joy of going to Dartmoor when I was a kid and seeing the horses, which was one of my favorite memories.

 

I did have some good childhood memories and that was one of them. And then later on, of course, Reliving all of the times that I've spent with Jock and the other dolphins and actually reflecting really deeply on what they taught me and what Jock had taught me. Because it was important that the book had the light and shade.

 

It couldn't just be, and I never, the other thing was that I didn't want to come across as a victim because I certainly don't see myself that way. I see myself as a victim. As victorious, actually, I see myself as the winner in many ways. I've learnt a lot from my past and in many ways I'm grateful for it.

 

Because it's made me the person that I am today. So I don't see myself as a victim. And I really, that was important for me. So when people read the book, I didn't want them to think, oh, you know, this poor girl. I wanted them to think, wow, isn't that fantastic? And look at where she's going now. And, and, you know, Help inspire other young people who might be in that awful, dark, domestic violence situation to find light and to know, you know, you, you don't have to be at the sum total of what happened to you in the past. You don't have to be defined by that.

 

Passionistas: Well, we could talk to you forever. A million more questions, but we'll have to do a part two. How can people get in touch with you if they want to work with you and learn more about how they can help dolphins?

 

Melody: Well, I have a website and I've got social media. So my website is MelodyHorrill, H O R R I L L dot com. And you can just learn all about my work and my books through the website and hit me up through social media. It's probably the best way because I'm on the other side of the world, obviously, in Australia to most of you all. Listeners. So I have Facebook, hit me up on Facebook, it's Melody Horrill or Instagram, Melody Horrill author.

 

And always happy to connect with people, especially in other parts of the world. That's been one of the joys, really, the greatest joys from the writing, this writing journey is being able to connect with like minded people across the globe. And it gives us hope, certainly gives me hope. for the future. And I do think that if we, we act and we, we do our little thing, that little piece in the world today, that Uh, we did have a bright future, and our dolphins have a bright future, and the marine life has a bright future as well, so.

 

Passionistas: Beautiful. So we usually ask a two part question as our final question, but I'm actually going to turn it into a three part question. Okay, okay. So my question is, what's your dream for yourself, what's your dream for women, and what's your dream for the dolphins?

 

Melody: Okay, I guess the dream for myself is to, well I'd love to live by the sea one day. That would be amazing, wouldn't it? Just be a small place. By the sea, that would be terrific. Uh, I, I think that staying true to who I am and to my beliefs is, is my, is my dream for myself. I don't want to be pushed off course. And it's pretty easy because, you know, you've got to weigh up the reality of, um, earning a living with.

 

What your heart tells you to do, which are your passion, which is often involuntary, like everything I do really with the dolphins and um, and animals is on a voluntary basis. So it's weighing that up and so my dream for myself is that I maybe get that right one day. That I get that balance right because I wouldn't want to be steered off my course. That's my dream for myself. Uh, the dream for, uh, what was the next one?

 

Passionistas: For women.

 

Melody: The dream for women is that I hope we learn that our voice is important. I've come across lots of women during my years who feel that, um, they don't have anything to say or what they say, what they have to say is somehow lesser, not, not, not as important. So yeah, that's my dream for women is that we realize that We have something to say, even if you don't feel that it's a big thing, you still have something to say and to contribute to the world.

 

We, as humans, tell stories and we share experiences through stories and everybody's story matters. So my dream for women is that we share our stories with one another and we learn from one another. We all have something to say, so speak up and say it.

 

Passionistas: And what about the dolphins?

 

Melody: Ah, the dolphins. Ah, look, I'd love a world where dolphins could swim in the ocean freely, and whales could swim in the ocean freely, and not have to die at the hands or become captured at the hands of people. That would be utopia for me. I mean, I'd love to see a world without cruelty full stop.

 

If I had one wish, if a genie popped out of a bottle and said, what do you want? I'd say, A world without cruelty. So I'd say that for the dolphins as well. And, um, I, you know, I hope that one day that we realize that our ocean is incredibly important, not just to our existence, but to everything that lives on this planet.

It's existence. You know, it's the biggest carbon capturing area that we have. Mangroves and swamps take up more carbon than most forests on this planet. And there are seagrass meadows that do the same thing. There's a whole ecosystem. And yet, We exploit it so badly. We just take, take, take. Um, and we, you know, we take from, well, what do we give back?

 

So I hope our view of the oceans change, uh, changes. I hope we don't just see it as, as something to, um, to take from, to exploit and, and to, to, to pollute. Uh, it's important part of our world and everything that lives with, within it, including the dolphins and the whales and the octopuses. So, one day I hope that we find that balance again between, um, having good lives ourselves, but also, um, looking after the oceans and our planet. That's my hope.

 

Passionistas: Thanks for listening to The Passionistas Project. Be sure to visit ThePassionistasProject.com to sign up for your free membership to join our worldwide sisterhood where passion driven women come to get support, find their purpose. We'll be back next week with another Passionista who's defining success on her own terms and breaking down the barriers for herself and women everywhere. Until then, stay passionate!

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