LEIGH SALES, PRESENTER: One of Australia's best known threatened species, the bilby, is having a tough time. Its numbers are in deep decline with feral cats the chief cause.

But a seven year old boy who was moved by the plight of the cute marsupial proved he could make a difference.

Here's Peter McCutcheon with a story that's both tragic and inspirational.

FRANK MANTHEY, SAVE THE BILBY FUND: Good morning, boys and girls.

STUDENTS: Good morning.

FRANK MANTHEY: How are you?

STUDENTS: Good.

FRANK MANTHEY: I've got a surprise for you today.

PETER MCCUTCHEON, REPORTER: Former roo shooter Frank Manthey, is fighting to protect one of Australia's most threatened species.

He takes this one man show around the country in an effort to raise both awareness and donations for the bilby.

FEMALE STUDENT: When did you start car caring for bilbies?

FRANK MANTHEY: When did I first start? About 15 years ago. And I have dedicated what's left of my life into saving these animals.

PETER MCCUTCHEON: Today he's visiting a school that has thoroughly embraced the bilby cause.

FEMALE STUDENT 2: How do bilbies survive out in the desert?

FRANK MANTHEY: They live down in a burrow two metres deep and it's on a spiral burrow, they don't go straight in the ground.

PETER MCCUTCHEON: These desert marsupials need all the help they can get, with numbers dropping sharply since the 1970s leaving the only wild populations in remote parts of the Northern Territory and Western Australia and a tiny pocket in Queensland where bilby s are listed as endangered. This fence in part financed through bilby fund donations was supposed to protect the marsupials from feral cats but recent flooding caused parts of the fence to rot away.

FRANK MANTHEY: We weren't vigilant enough to pick it up quick enough but the cats did and when we discovered they were in there it was too late. We estimated we could have had around 150 new born bilbies inside that fence and they've cleaned the lot out.

Good morning everyone, I declare open this public hearing of the senate's standing...

PETER MCCUTCHEON: Although the fence has been temporarily repaired, Frank Manthey explained to a recent Senate committee that the Queensland bilby population is under siege.

FRANK MANTHEY: We have shot 3,000 cats and something like 16 days just around where the bilbies are and we're running out of money like our government, the Queensland Government I hound the doors in there. We've spent about $55-60,000, we the bilby fund are trying to do what we can.

PETER MCCUTCHEON: And that brings us back to the Eagle Junction State School in Brisbane which is doing all it can to promote the bilby cause. The reason why the school caught bilby fever is a story that is both tragic and inspirational.

JO BOTTRELL, PRINCIPAL, EAGLE JUNCTION STATE SCHOOL: We talked about how one boy could make a difference, no matter how small you are, how young you are, you can make a difference. And that little boy has certainly made a difference to our school.

PETER MCCUTCHEON: That little boy is Luke Curnow. When he was just 5, Luke went to a kite show where he bumped into Frank Manthey who was displaying his bilbies.

FRANK MANTHEY: I could see the passion in him and I don't let everyone touch bilbies but I gave him a pat, you know, and it was just like gold lotto. He was just so excited.

MERRIN CURNOW, LUKES MOTHER: He just wanted to know more about bilbies and start in school they learn a lot about native Australian animals and he just loved this bilby.

PETER MCCUTCHEON: That love of bilbies continued right up until the time Luke was diagnosed with cancer. He passed away in 2009.

STEVE CURNOW: At the funeral we said rather than buying flowers we'd like you to donate, make a donation to the Save the Bilby Fund. Frank was, you know, touched by that so eventually he made contact.

FRANK MANTHEY: I said to them I've been thinking about it and thinking about it and it would be a tragedy to lose his spirit. I mean we're never going to bring him back but he's here with you, you know, if we can make him live, a seven-year-old can show us what we should be doing.

PETER MCCUTCHEON: That conversation convinced Luke's dad Steve Curnow to take on the job as secretary of the Save the Bilby Fund. One thing the Bilby Fund needed help with was sponsorship. Much of its work was funded by the sale of chocolate bilbies in the lead up to Easter but this was lost when a major sponsor went into receivership.

Finding a replacement wasn't easy and Frank Manthey even toyed with the idea of seeking help overseas.

FRANK MANTHEY: I was all lined up to go to China to see if I could get chocolate bilbies made in China, how sad would that have been?

Back home again.

PETER MCCUTCHEON: But we won't be seeing Chinese bilbies this Easter. The fund has now secured a new sponsorship with a Melbourne based chocolate manufacturer. It's a testament to many people coming together with a shared vision.

STEVE CURNOW: Frank did most of the work. He's a pretty passionate sort of guy, you know how he is.

MERRIN CURNOW: Very persuasive.

STEVE CURNOW: It's hard to argue with him.

MERRIN CURNOW: Look at one little boy did. He loved the bilbies and he's bought all of us together.