Densey Cline and Jim Frazier worked together on David Attenborough series

Jim's creative and business partner, and close friend, author and naturalist Densey Clyne passed away in Wauchope aged 96 years in May, 2019. Jim spent the last two weeks of Densey's life holding her hand and talking to her while she was in palliative care.

"I knew she was going to go. And she knew it," he says softly.

Now, as executor of her estate, Jim and his partner Helen have a big job ahead of him.

But it's a job he does not begrudge. He feels enormous gratitude for the impact Densey had on his life, steering him in directions he had not dreamed of.

They met in the 1960s when she was looking for a particular frog and was referred to Jim by a 'frog expert', beginning a lifelong friendship, and kicking off a career in cinematography and invention for Jim.

Densey was asked by naturalist Vince Serventi to help with a series of documentaries on Sydney's wildlife. Densey, although having won a Hasselblad Masters award for stills photography, did not know how to use a movie camera.

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"I piped up and said, 'I'll do it!'," Jim says, although he had no experience either. "The very first thing I shot for Densey was when was interested in spiders, and it was absolutely fantastic."

The BBC saw the duo's film Aliens Among Us and so started a long association for the pair with David Attenborough, who they worked together with for the Life on Earth and The Living Planet series. Densey and Jim then established Mantis Wildlife Films.

Jim went on to be awarded with an Emmy, an Oscar, and an honorary doctorate for his camera work, all of which he credits Densey with.

"Without Densey I never would have embarked on all of this, because she had the scientific and the biological knowledge that put us in all these different situations. It was an absolute partnership," he says.

When Densey moved to Wauchope 18 years ago, the business partnership was dissolved and Jim took over Mantis Wildlife Films. But that did not mean retirement for Densey.

"She never retired. She went on to write books and the total at the end of her life was 32 books. She was a brilliant writer, she just had extraordinary knowledge about wildlife," Jim says.

Densey Clyne was an intensely private person, and, Jim says, she barely knew her neighbours.

"She was a quiet person. She couldn't stand common banter. She developed relationships with high level people and that's the way she was," Jim says. "She couldn't stand conversation about trivial things; gossip and all that sort of thing wasn't part of her at all.

"She was actively involved in the community, but with high level things. She hardly knew her neighbours and yet they all came to that event, and they said she was a little bit closed and introverted with them, but they all loved her," Jim says.

'That event' was what Jim calls a 'special service' he and Helen put on after Densey's death.

"We put on a very special occasion for her. I didn't want a memorial service - it's too negative. So we had a celebration. It was attended by about 40 of her friends," Jim says.