Unsung Heroes

Keep Tassie Wild

Illustrator Josh Pringle’s love of Tasmania’s wilderness spawned a booming trade in stickers and patches—with profits funnelled back into the cause.

What’s behind Keep Tassie Wild [KTW]?

Essentially, it started as a little project on the side of my illustration work. The first thing I did was the patch with the Tassie Waratah. It’s still our most popular design.

When was this?

In 2016. I wanted to raise money for charities that were working to protect some beautiful places in Tassie and the idea of donating 50 per cent of the profits from the sales of an embroidered patch seemed like it could raise a bit of cash.

Was there a breakthrough moment?

It’s all happened in such an organic way that its popularity has sort of crept up on me. I do remember when our donation total reached $50,000 though. That definitely felt like a milestone.

What do you think you’ve tapped into— a sort of yearning for untouched nature?

I think the yearning for wild places just comes from the disconnect. We’re all so busy these days that sometimes going out bush, away from it all, is the only way we can slow down and get back to the things that are important. I like to think our products remind people of that.

Where does your passion come from?

There were a lot of seeds planted when I was younger, bushwalking and camping. But it probably wasn’t until I was in my twenties and started doing overnight bushwalks with my girlfriend, who’s now my wife and runs KTW with me, that those seeds began to grow into something that more resembled an appreciation of place. My parents are from South Africa, so I guess in a way it was up to me to put down roots and start to understand where I was. Once you start to realise how special the place around you is, that grows into passion.

Can you share a magic moment?

We were walking trackless on Ben Lomond and I ventured out a bit from our camp at sunset. And I remember this wallaby hopping about a hundred metres from me across this scrubby alpine area, and every time it jumped its tail flicked these droplets of water into the air that caught the dying light and sparkled like gold. I watched it cross this area for maybe 30 seconds and I had no camera and there was no-one else there, and so it just stuck in my mind: this beautiful scene I can still conjure up now.

Tassie has an issue with some off-roaders not sticking to authorised trails. Is inaccessibility important to ‘wilderness’?

It’s definitely a subject that gets pretty heated. There’s nothing wrong with four-wheel driving—it’s super fun!—as long as it’s done in a respectful way that doesn’t end up destroying the place. We went on a little adventure with my brother-in-law recently, camping on the east coast and chucked the kids in the back and drove out to a quiet beach and got a decent haul of abalone. That trip alone has inspired us to do more four-wheel driving.

It sounds perfect.

That said, in our mind, it ain’t wilderness if you can drive there. So, it’s massively important that some places are left free of mechanical access. ‘Wilderness’ is a word that shouldn’t be watered down. It should represent areas far away from modern technology and buildings. Those areas need to exist not just to protect nature but I think as a species we need to know that there’s pockets that exist that are inaccessible for the most part. There’s something very special about that, I reckon.

What do you love about illustration?

I suppose a lot of it is the process: the feeling of pen on paper and producing something that never existed before, especially when it portrays a feeling or idea that would otherwise be hard to explain.

How would you describe your style?

With difficulty! Maybe… cartoony? Simple, bold line drawings.

Okay, quick wrap: Tasmania edition. Boags or Cascade?

Cascade!

Boony or Punter?

Boony.

Hobart or Launy?

Hobart! But some of my favourite places are in the north, so I’m not too territorial.

Would you rather fight a horse-sized Tassie devil or 100 Tassie devil-sized horses?

Haha, this is an important question. The giant devil would be way cooler, but absolutely terrifying. I’ll go with the horses.

Visit: keeptassiewild.com