Constituency Statement: John Creighton

Monday 29 June 2026

Speaker, I rise today to recognise a much-loved figure in our community, John Creighton, who is also known as Wombat Man, in the Southern Highlands region in my electorate of Whitlam.

John was born in New Orleans and served in the US Army but moved to Australia three decades ago.

John found his calling to work with wombats after volunteering to bottle feed a couple of the young marsupials in 2014 – and he established Wombat Care Bundanoon a year later.

John’s pioneering work in treating mange, a devastating disease for wombats, is recognised nationally.

Dressed in his signature oilskin jacket and weather-worn fedora hat, John has responded to thousands of calls to help wombats in distress for more than a decade - often in the middle of the night and in the pouring rain.

During the 2019 drought, John energised the local community to get as much food and water to starving and dehydrated native animals as possible, and he worked tirelessly to rescue native animals affected by the subsequent devastating bushfire season.

John also spends many hours educating others about wombats and other native animals, habitat conservation and our environment.

In 2020, John received the Australian Wildlife Society’s prestigious Wildlife Rehabilitation Award and in 2023 he was named Wingecarribee Council’s Citizen of the Year.

I thank John Creighton – Wombat Man – for his selfless, extraordinary and ongoing work with wombats and protecting our beautiful local environment.

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