were drawn from Australia's scientific, public service, business and political decision makers. A 1963 memo from the Duke of Edinburgh inspired Francis Ratcliffe to consult with his CSIRO colleagues, and work with conservationists and community leaders, to establish a national conservation body. Ratcliffe saw conservation as one of the three most important issues facing humanity, along with the avoidance of an atomic war and achieving racial harmony. In August 1964, at a conference in Canberra, the organisation that was to become the Australian Conservation Foundation was born. Its first president was Sir Garfield Barwick, then Chief Justice of the High Court. The ACF came into being as a legal entity when its certificate of incorporation was issued in August 1966. Early meetings of the ACF Council identified the Mallee, rainforests, the Great Barrier Reef and central Australia as the areas most needing coordinated national attention and action. However, due to limited resources and the urgency of the threats to the Great Barrier Reef, the ACF focussed on protecting the Reef from mining and oil drilling. During the 1960s, the ACF developed most of the campaign methods it used for the following twenty-five years. They included research, policy development, education and lobbying. The ACF gave support to other conservation organisations and established local branches. Ratcliffe had a vision of building a large body of members to support ACF financially and assist with community education. As the 1960s drew to a close, the wave of public support for conservation escalated. The 1970s The 1970s was the decade when the ACF consolidated its operations, extended its vision and committed to long-term plans for the achievement of conservation goals. In 1970, the campaign to protect large areas of the Mallee in Victoria was resolved in favour of conservation. In 1972 the remote and beautiful Lake Pedder in Tasmania was flooded by a hydroelectric dam. A group of ACF members, angered by the organisation's failure to speak without fear or favour in opposition to the flooding of Lake Pedder, worked to bring about internal change. The ACF's approach to conservation campaigning became more strategic, active and independent and throughout the 1970s public awareness of conservation issues increased. In 1973, Gough Whitlam, then Prime Minister of Australia, launched the first issue of Habitat, the ACF's magazine. Prince Philip, then president of the ACF, wrote that "Habitat will provide essential news on conservation matters to the public