Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club and the Jabiru - What Is This?

Sanctuary Cove Golf and Country Club and the Jabiru – What Is This?

Just a minute – this is not the bird that has such a long history with Sanctuary Cove. No, it is not. In fact, the Jabiru is a South American bird which occasionally can be found in Mexico and even into the southern USA. It is not found in Australia. In northern Australia, a similar bird is traditionally called a Jabiru, but it shouldn’t be. Jabiru is not an indigenous name; it is a Brazilian name referring to this completely different species of stork which is native to South and Central America.

The beautiful bird we know as a Jabiru is a black-necked stork.

What does it look like?

The black-necked stork is a large wading bird that stands approximately 1.3 metres tall with a wingspan of 2 metres. These birds have a large black bill, glossy green-to-black head and neck and patches of black on the tail and wings. They are easily identified by their distinctive red legs and long black necks. Females have yellow eyes and males have dark-brown ones.

The black-necked stork is a carnivorous bird. Eels make up the majority of their diet, but they also eat fish, frogs, turtles, snakes and other small vertebrates and invertebrates. The storks use their long black bills to catch prey, wading in shallow water.

Where is it found?

The black-necked stork is the only native species of stork within Australia. These storks thrive in freshwater wetlands, watercourses, swamps, dams and sometimes in surrounding paddocks and woodlands. They also use shoreline habitats as feeding grounds.

There are an estimated 21,000 mature, black-necked stork individuals remaining worldwide.

The single subspecies of black-necked stork, E. a. australis, is found only in Australia and Papua New Guinea.

Here it is:

The Jabiru and Sanctuary Cove

There is nothing to be found as to why the ‘Jabiru’ became so associated with Sanctuary Cove.

Many photos have been taken and sightings of the birds reported over the years. That is not surprising given the type of swampy wetlands that the Cove has been built upon.

In January 1985, Discovery Bay Developments, the company owned by Mike Gore, applied for registration of the Trademark below as the ‘emblem’ for Sanctuary Cove. It is interesting that the register described the image description of the Trademark as a:

‘Bird, Ibis or Stork Standing in Water with Plants Each Side’.

No mention of a Jabiru. It was registered in 1988. In 1992, the image was deregistered.

When Mulpha bought Sanctuary Cove, it quickly reregistered the 1985 Trademark, but then in 2003 introduced a new Trademark of the stork (in ribbon form) simply described as a ‘bird, stork, stylized’. Both Trademarks remain registered.

The Jabiru and the Golf Club

It was not until 2005 that Mulpha registered a similar Trademark for Sanctuary Cove Golf.

The old Country Club was the Clubhouse for the Golf Club until New Year’s Eve of 2009 when the move was made to the current Clubhouse. The Country Club signage and Golf Club logo both contained the Jabiru. The Golf Club got into the act further when the new Clubhouse opened in 2010.

In 2009, the Club Board sought potential names for the new Club restaurant from Members in the form of a competition. Members were asked for three (3) names, of which the most popular would be chosen. ‘The Jabiru’ won hands down, and subsequent President Conrad Connolly won the competition.

Conclusion

Despite there being no such bird as the Jabiru in Australia, and despite no Trademark adopted at Sanctuary Cove mentions Jabiru, the name became popular in the Resort and still remains so throughout: