Tributes paid to renowned Australian natural history filmmaker
WildBear Entertainment exec and filmmaker Bettina (Tina) Dalton has died, following a short illness.
Emmy nominated and Sundance-selected Dalton was known throughout the natural history industry for shows ranging from Every Little Thing, Playing with Sharks and Rachel’s Farm.
Her TV credits included Boss Croc, King Kangaroo and Dolphin Dynasty for National Geographic, Australia’s Hidden Islands for Love Nature and Bushfire Animal Rescue for ADF/Arte, ZDFE, PBS Nature and SBS Australia.
Michael Tear, chief exec of WildBear Entertainment, said: “The world of natural history filmmaking has lost one of its brightest stars and strongest advocates.
“Everything that Tina did shone an important light on a different aspect of the world around us, with her passion for social and environmental issues in particular helping to promote greater understanding. Our collective knowledge base about the planet is so much richer because of her work.”
Tear described Dalton as “clever, creative, visionary and great fun,” while producer/director Sally Aitken said she was “a woman of extraordinary passion, grace, integrity, and curiosity with an unshakeable belief that things would always work out…”
Aitken added: “For Tina, life was in motion. She was a fierce booster of women, a champion of the natural world, and a dynamic producer who could turn conviction and gut instinct into action.”
Fred Kaufman, executive producer of PBS Nature, added: “This is such a loss. Bettina was one of my favourite people. She was smart, sharp and talented and her films represented the very best of PBS Nature. I will miss her grace.”
Dalton initially appeared in Mark Lewis’ film Cane Toads: An Unnatural History, before gaining credits as a producer and presenter on children’s environmental series Bushbeat.
She went on to work with Sir David Attenborough on The Trials of Life series in 1990 and in 1992, joined Nine Network’s travel series Getaway.
She set up production company Wild Fury with fellow filmmaker Veronica Fury in 2010, with the company merged with Michael Tear and Serge Ou’s Bearcage Productions to become WildBear Entertainment in 2014.
Dalton shared her life with art collector and philanthropist John Schaeffer, who died in 2020. She is survived by her daughters, Pnina and Chana, as well as her mother, sister and brother.
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