09 Sep 1999 AUSTRALIA:
State urged to join family's quest.
By Anne Barbeliuk.
Australian Museum and the family which is funding research into cloning a thylacine yesterday urged Tasmania to become a partner in the project. The Griffiths family, which is financially underpinning the project, has its roots in Tasmania's convict past. Randolph Griffiths said yesterday his family's donation was partly motivated by ancestral ties. He said his great-great grandfather, Abraham Rheuben, was deported to Tasmania for stealing a sovereign in 1827. "For this reason we have always been very fond of Tasmania," he said. Mr Griffiths said the cutting-edge research would require collaboration with Tasmania. "We want to talk to the Government down there as well," he said. "We hope to have a partnership in this rare scientific scheme." While not wanting to reveal the dollar value of the Rheuben Griffiths Trust, Mr Griffiths said it would allow funding for three years' research. The formation of the trust was announced on Tuesday by the NSW Government, which also contributed $20,000. The trust, set up in partnership with the Australian Museum, is dedicated to cloning the Tasmanian tiger. Mr Griffiths and his brother, Owen, a scientist based in Mauritius, decided to back the Australian Museum research after reading about it in a Sydney newspaper.