SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – In the late 1940s, the story of ex-champion skier Colin Wyatt took a bizarre turn. With his marriage falling apart and suspicions of his wife’s infidelity looming, Wyatt turned to an unusual coping mechanism – stealing rare butterflies. What followed was a peculiar saga that spanned museums across Australia and involved the disappearance of thousands of valuable butterfly specimens.
It all began when over 800 rare Australian butterflies vanished from the George Lyell collection at Melbourne Museum in early 1947. As other museums began checking their own collections, it was discovered that over 600 specimens were missing from Adelaide Museum and a further 1,500 butterflies were taken from Sydney Museum. The culprit seemed to have a keen eye for the “best specimens” as only the finest butterflies were targeted.
Suspicion fell on an entomologist with a history of approaching museum staff. This led Australian authorities to contact Scotland Yard and the British Museum for assistance in the investigation. Ultimately, the trail led them to a home in Farnham, Surrey, where they found Colin Wyatt, the man believed to have orchestrated the butterfly thefts.
Wyatt, a former skiing champion and Royal Australian Air Force member, had a troubled past with a fascination for butterfly collecting that dated back to his childhood. Born in 1909, he grew up being encouraged to collect butterflies, a hobby that he pursued passionately throughout his life. His lawyer described him as a “shy and delicate child” who found solace in the world of butterflies.
As authorities delved deeper into Wyatt’s life, they uncovered a complex web of personal turmoil. His marriage was on the rocks, and in a bid to cope with the stress, Wyatt returned to his old hobby of collecting butterflies. This led him to engage in a series of visits to museums, where he meticulously removed valuable butterfly specimens from their cases.
Wyatt’s activities extended beyond mere theft – he was also found guilty of altering labels on the stolen specimens, causing confusion and chaos among the entomological community. This led to a painstaking effort by entomologists to sort through the specimens and unravel the mess Wyatt had left behind.
Despite facing legal consequences for his actions, Wyatt continued collecting butterflies until his death in a plane crash in 1975. His collection, numbering over 90,000 butterflies, stood as a testament to his lifelong passion for these delicate insects. Although he was often portrayed negatively in the media, those who knew him claimed that the stories were exaggerated and untrue, painting a more complex picture of a man consumed by his love for butterflies.