World Wildlife Fund (now known as WWF) was conceived on 29 April 1961 in the small Swiss town of Morges and soon received the royal seal of approval.

It was a unique partnership of scientists, business and government leaders, with the support and guidance of HRH Prince Bernhard of The Netherlands and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.

The group called for urgent global action to stop vast numbers of wild animals being hunted out of existence and habitats from being destroyed.

Over the past 50 years, WWF has grown into the largest and most influential independent conservation organisation in the world. They have over five million supporters globally and they operate in more than 100 countries. On 29 June 1978, WWF was established in Australia, with just three staff working out of an old factory in Sydney.

The conservation budget for their first year of operation was around $80,000. Today, they have the nation's largest conservation organisation, with more than 500,000 supporters and projects underway throughout Australia and the Oceania region.