Martin Copley is an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n conservationist

Conservation biology

Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...

 and philanthropist

Philanthropy

Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...

 who established the Australian Wildlife Conservancy

Australian Wildlife Conservancy

The Australian Wildlife Conservancy is an Australian independent, non-profit organisation, working to conserve threatened wildlife and ecosystems in Australia, principally through the acquisition of extensive areas of land on which to establish conservation reserves . These sanctuaries are...

 (AWC), an organisation which purchases and manages large areas of land, mainly former pastoral properties

Pastoral lease

A pastoral lease is Crown land that government allows to be leased, generally for the purposes of farming.-Australia:Pastoral leases exist in both Australian commonwealth law and state jurisdictions....

, as sanctuaries for the conservation of biodiversity

Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...

.

Copley was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 financier

Financier

Financier is a term for a person who handles typically large sums of money, usually involving money lending, financing projects, large-scale investing, or large-scale money management. The term is French, and derives from finance or payment...

 and insurance underwriter. He first visited Australia in 1966. In 1991 he purchased a property containing a large area of natural bushland at Chidlow, Western Australia

Chidlow, Western Australia

Chidlow is a small community in the Shire of Mundaring approximately 45 kilometres east of Perth, Western Australia.-History:The Chidlow townsite was originally named Chidlow's Well after a small waterhole near the old Northam road. The watering place had been known to travellers for many years and...

, now the Karakamia Sanctuary

Karakamia Sanctuary

Karakamia Sanctuary is a 2.75 km² nature reserve in south-west Western Australia, 4 km from Chidlow and 50 km north-east of Perth. It is located within the Jarrah forest of the Darling Scarp and is owned and managed by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy ....

, for conservation purposes, effectively founding what was to become the AWC. In 1994 he moved to Australia permanently. In 2001 the AWC became a public charitable organisation.