Dodd's Longfellow Poem

When Frederick Parkhurst Dodd was 21 he moved from Victoria to the remote Queensland frontier town of Townsville in 1884. He developed a fascination with the wonderful tropical insects of North Queensland and devoted his life to their study.

Settling in Kuranda, he developed a spectacular show collection of insects for public viewing. The collection toured nationally in 1918 and 1923. As a result of the successful tour Dodd became a national figure, known as 'The Butterfly Man of Kuranda'.

F.P. Dodd painstakingly spelled out this verse from Longfellow in tiny moths prior to his first tour in 1918. “SHE” is Mother Nature, and by this quotation Dodd indicated the personal strength and inspiration he continually derived from his insect studies.
And whenever the way seemed too long
Or his heart began to fail
SHE would sing a more wonderful song
Or tell a more marvellous tale.