Every morning, before the birds start calling and before another injured curlew, kookaburra or plover arrives at her door, Bella Curlew has a job to do. She puts herself back together. A shoulder first, sometimes a hip, maybe a wrist. Occasionally her jaw.
For Bella, waking up with dislocated joints is simply part of life with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, a genetic condition that affects connective tissue and has become increasingly debilitating over the years.
Most people on the islands know Bella as the wildlife rescuer. She’s the person locals call when a bird is injured, orphaned or in trouble. What many don’t see is that some mornings, the person doing the rescuing is battling her own challenges before the day even begins.
Not long ago, Bella was facing the reality that traditional employment was becoming impossible.
“I struggled with feeling like I couldn’t contribute due to my disability and feeling quite useless,” she says.
Instead of giving up, she found a new purpose.
After completing wildlife rescue training on the mainland, Bella began helping local wildlife, drawing on years of volunteer experience with animal rescue organisations. What started as a passion soon grew into a full time commitment.
Today, her home often resembles a wildlife hospital, with injured and orphaned native birds recovering in dedicated spaces throughout the house. At various times there have been ducklings in the bathroom, recovering curlews in spare rooms and a constant stream of patients requiring medication, feeding and care.
There are challenges, of course. Some birds remember being rescued. Others remember being captured. Bella laughs that local crows still haven’t forgiven her for handling one of their youngsters. But it is the curlews that hold a special place in her heart.
Far from being the noisy birds many people think they are, Bella describes them as devoted parents and loyal companions. She has witnessed them caring for unrelated chicks and comforting injured birds during rehabilitation.
“Animals experience far more complex emotions than people realise,” she says.
That belief was tested during Cyclone Alfred, when ferry services stopped and Bella became the island’s only bird carer during the emergency. As injured wildlife continued to arrive, rooms throughout her house became makeshift hospital wards.
Despite the difficult conditions, more than eight birds survived and were eventually released back into the wild. For Bella, however, wildlife rescue has never been a solo effort.
She speaks passionately about the community members who support the work, from volunteers and donors to local businesses, artists, gardeners and residents who provide everything from transport and fundraising to towels, cages and supplies.
When asked what she wants people to know, Bella doesn’t talk about herself first.
“This wouldn’t be possible without them, and especially not without my mum,” she says.
It would be easy to focus solely on the wildlife, but beneath it all is a story about purpose. About finding a place in the world when circumstances seem determined to tell you otherwise.
Bella still creates art whenever she finds the time, often inspired by the native birds she cares for. And every now and then she gets to witness something extraordinary.
One of those stories belongs to Slick, a kookaburra who spent eleven months in care before being released. Slick found a mate, raised chicks and eventually helped care for orphaned birds Bella had rehabilitated herself. Today, an extended family of kookaburras still visits Bella’s home every day.
For all the wildlife she has helped save, there is one project Bella can’t tackle alone. The bird rehabilitation room where countless injured and orphaned native birds begin their journey back to the wild still has old carpet beneath its protective coverings. Bella and her mum dream of replacing it with durable lino flooring that can be properly sanitised and better suited to the realities of wildlife care.
It’s not a glamorous project. There are no ribbon cuttings, no headlines and no photo opportunities. But every injured curlew, orphaned duckling and recovering kookaburra that passes through Bella’s care would benefit from it.
For a community that has rallied around wildlife time and time again, this is an opportunity to support the woman who never hesitates to answer the call when an animal is in need.
If Bella has taught us anything, it’s that healing doesn’t always happen in grand gestures. Sometimes it happens one bird, one act of kindness and one helping hand at a time.
So let’s help the woman who spends her days putting broken things back together.
Donate today: Account Name: Bella Curlew
BSB: 012983 Account Number: 231515044
To everyone who has already donated, shared, volunteered, fundraised or simply cheered Bella on, thank you. And to Bella, thank you for reminding us that compassion is a force of nature all its own.
