David Fleay Wildlife Park facts for kids

Quick facts for kids David Fleay Wildlife Park
Lumholtz's tree kangaroo at David Fleay Wildlife Park
Location	Fleays Wildlife Park Conservation Park, Tallebudgera Creek Road, Tallebudgera, Queensland, Australia
Design period	1940s - 1960s (post-World War II)
Built	1952 - 1983
Website	https://www.qld.gov.au/davidfleay
Queensland Heritage Register
Official name: David Fleay Wildlife Park, Fleays Wildlife Park
Type	state heritage (built)
Designated	23 February 2001
Reference no.	601389
Significant period	1950s-1983 (fabric)
Significant components	animal enclosure/s, steps/stairway, car park, pathway/walkway, signage - interpretative, residential accommodation - main house, kiosk
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The David Fleay Wildlife Park is a special place in Tallebudgera, Queensland, Australia. It's a wildlife park that was built between 1952 and 1983. It's also known as Fleays Wildlife Park and is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register.

This park was started by a famous Australian naturalist named David Fleay in 1952. Today, it's home to many native Australian animals. You can see them living in places that look a lot like their natural homes. The park is run by the Environmental Protection Agency. Its main goal is to teach people why we need to protect our native animals, especially those that are rare or endangered.

The park is also known for successfully breeding native animals. It even has an animal hospital to help sick, injured, or orphaned animals get better.

David Fleay looked all around Brisbane and South East Queensland for the perfect spot for his animal reserve. In late 1951, he chose the Tallebudgera Estuary. He bought land there in 1952 and added more land in 1958 and 1965. Fleay's Fauna Reserve, as it was first called, was a place for science and learning. Animals like snakes, dingoes, scrub turkeys, ospreys, and crocodiles lived safely there. Other animals, like bandicoots, flying foxes, eastern bristlebirds, wallabies, and koalas, could roam freely. The park also has a special Nocturnal House where you can see animals that are active at night, such as the platypus, yellow-bellied glider, bilby, and mahogany glider.

To make sure the park would last, David and Sigrid Fleay sold a big part of their land (about 37 acres) to the Queensland Government in 1982. This area became a Conservation Park. The main part of the reserve, where the animals lived (about 20 acres), was sold to the government the next year. The rest of the land (about 7.5 acres) was given to the government in 1985. David and Sigrid Fleay continued to live at Fleay's Wildlife Park after it was sold. David kept doing his research and looking after animals like kangaroos, emus, cassowaries, and his famous Galápagos tortoise, Harriet. The park closed in 1983 for some upgrades and reopened in 1988. David Fleay passed away on August 7, 1993. In 1997, the park was renamed David Fleay Wildlife Park to honor him.

The Park's Story

David Fleay with a brown snake in 1954.

The David Fleay Wildlife Park was started by David Fleay in 1951. He wanted it to be a place for studying animals and teaching people about them.

David Howells Fleay was born in Ballarat in 1907. He loved the Australian bush and its animals from a young age. He became a teacher and studied science at Melbourne University. There, he met Mary Sigrid Collie, and they got married in 1931.

From 1931 to 1934, Fleay taught while continuing to study native animals on his own. By 1934, he was known as a "wildlife man." So, when Melbourne Zoo wanted to create an Australian animal section, David Fleay was chosen to design and manage it. He worked there for three and a half years. During this time, he achieved many important scientific "firsts." For example, he was the first to breed emus, scrub turkeys, some birds of prey, and many marsupials, including koalas, in captivity. He also built his first "platypussary," a special home for platypuses.

However, his time at Melbourne Zoo wasn't always happy. He had different ideas from the management. He believed that native animals should eat what they would find in the wild. Because of these disagreements, he left the zoo in 1937.

Later in 1937, Fleay became the first paid Director of the wildlife sanctuary at Healesville, near Melbourne. He brought 95 large tiger snakes to the sanctuary to collect their venom for anti-venom. At Healesville, Fleay continued his important breeding and conservation work, becoming famous worldwide. His biggest success there was breeding the first platypus in captivity in 1943. He designed a new platypussary, and in November 1943, a baby platypus named "Corrie" was born. Even today, Fleay is the only person to have successfully bred and raised a platypus in captivity.

In 1947, David and Sigrid Fleay traveled to New York with three platypuses for the Bronx Zoo. Fleay designed a new platypussary for them at the zoo. While in the United States, Fleay visited other zoos to see how they housed and fed animals.

When David Fleay returned to Healesville in October 1947, he found out he had been fired. The zoo claimed he had given away other sanctuary animals without permission, which was not true. After many people protested, Fleay continued to work at Healesville as a consultant. He kept his private animal collection until 1951. At that time, the Victorian Government made it illegal for private individuals to charge people to see their animal collections. This made Fleay look for a new place where he could continue his research. So, he and Sigrid Fleay moved to Queensland.

In late 1951, David Fleay chose the Tallebudgera area for his new animal reserve. He liked it because it had forested hills, good water flow, and koalas already lived there. The area also had fish, mammals, and birds. At first, the land he wanted was not for sale, and he didn't have enough money to buy it.

But Fleay was persistent. He slowly bought the land in 1952, and then more in 1958 and 1965. Fleay wanted his West Burleigh sanctuary to be a place for research and education, not just a zoo. He said, "It's a place where the animals are kept in conditions as close as possible to the natural environment - where they can breed freely and be studied."

A platypus at David Fleay's park in 2000.

Many of Fleay's animals came from Victoria, so he quickly built enclosures. By October 1952, he had an early platypussary. It was a large concrete tank with artificial burrows, similar to his design at Healesville. He also built big aviaries for sea eagles, wedge-tailed eagles, and peregrine falcons. Cages for barking owls were built close to the house so Fleay could hear them.

Fleay designed the sanctuary's layout himself. He made sure each cage got good breezes and morning sun. He also designed the cages and decided their size and what "furniture" they should have inside. The cages were always painted "Lawn Green" with "Mail Red" roofs. The sanctuary opened to its first visitors on Easter Sunday in 1952. David Fleay and his helpers steadily built new cages.

In 1955, a new outdoor platypussary was built. Later, in 1958, an even better platypussary was constructed with money from the United States. This was a thank-you for the three platypuses David Fleay had taken to the Bronx Zoo in New York.

The sanctuary survived mostly because of the hard work of David Fleay and his family. The family cared for the animals, and Sigrid Fleay served tea to visitors on the house verandah. Sick and injured animals were brought to Fleay's at all hours. At its busiest, the sanctuary cared for 450 animals. Volunteers and donations were very important for the park to keep going.

The Fleay house was the original farmhouse on the property, built around 1910. Fleay bought it in 1952. It was both the family home and the main office for the wildlife park. The upstairs was for the family, and the downstairs was used for park activities. Sick animals were treated there, and food for the animals was prepared. After the park was handed over to the Queensland Government in 1983, Fleay continued to live in the house until his wife passed away in 1987.

David Fleay achieved many great things at the sanctuary. In 1955, he was the first to breed the mulgara in captivity. In 1958, he bred the planigale (a tiny marsupial). He also successfully delivered three more platypuses to the Bronx Zoo in 1958. In 1959, he was the first to breed the taipan, a venomous snake, in captivity. Some of his most famous successes were with owls and other birds of prey. He was the first to breed the powerful owl (1968), sooty owl (1969), grey goshawk (1971), and the wedge-tailed eagle (1977) in captivity.

Fleay received many awards for his research and breeding programs. He was awarded an MBE in 1960 and an AM in 1980. He also became an Associate of the Queensland Museum in 1978 and a Fellow of the Explorers' Club in New York in 1979. In 1984, he received an honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of Queensland.

To make sure the sanctuary would continue, David and Sigrid Fleay decided to sell the land to the Queensland Government for a small amount of money. This happened in stages between 1982 and 1985. Under the agreement, the Fleays continued to live at the sanctuary.

Some of the old animal enclosures were too old to fix and were taken down. The platypussary was repaired, and small changes were made to the barking owl aviary. Fleay himself designed new platypus displays and owl cages, making sure they were built exactly as he wanted. The park closed in 1983 for redevelopment and reopened in July 1987.

David Fleay passed away on August 7, 1993. Many people were sad to hear this. The awards and honors he received during his life show how much his colleagues and the community respected him.

In October 1995, about 7.45 hectares of the site became the "David Fleay Wildlife Park" under the Nature Conservation Act 1992. Today, it is run by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. Some of the original areas are not open to the public anymore because the paths and some enclosures are old. These areas are now used for holding animals that are not on display, sick or injured animals, and for breeding programs. Many of the original enclosures are still used today.

What You Can See at the Park

The entrance sign to David Fleay Wildlife Park in 2015.

The original part of the David Fleay Wildlife Park is in the south-central area. Over the years, the park has grown and now almost completely surrounds this original section. The park is next to 37.3 hectares of conservation park, which is part of Tallebudgera Creek Conservation Park.

In the original section, there are many animal enclosures and buildings. Some enclosures were built for specific animals, like the platypussary, which was only for platypuses. Other enclosures have been used for different animals over time.

The aviary, platypussary, and the former Fleay home are all in the original section of the park.

Animal Homes and Buildings

• Aviary (Wedge-tailed Eagle Enclosure): This large bird enclosure is about 9.1 meters long, 4.8 meters wide, and 5 meters high. It's made of timber and birdwire.
• Platypussary: This special home for platypuses is built on a concrete base. It's about 9.5 meters long, 4.9 meters wide, and 3.5 meters high. It has tanks and burrowing chambers for the platypuses.
• Former Fleay Home: This house was the original farmhouse. It's made of timber with a corrugated iron roof. It was David Fleay's family home and the park's main office. Today, the downstairs is used for storage, and the upstairs is empty.
• Tree Kangaroo/Scrub Turkey Enclosure: This enclosure is about 7.9 by 5.1 meters and 3.5 meters high. It's made of timber and birdwire.
• Owls Enclosure [Spare]: This smaller owl enclosure is about 3.3 by 2.2 meters and 2.5 meters high.
• Barking Owl Enclosure: This enclosure is about 4.7 by 2.7 meters and 3 meters high.
• Saltwater Crocodile and Alligator Pool: This shallow concrete pool is surrounded by walls about 1 meter high, topped with steel posts and birdwire. There are viewing panels to see the animals.
• Flying Fox and Carpet Python Enclosure: This enclosure is about 4.2 by 3.7 meters and has half-height concrete walls with timber frames above.
• Taipanary: This enclosure for taipans is about 7.3 by 9.2 meters and 3 meters high. It's made of timber and corrugated iron.
• Goura Pigeons Enclosure (2nd Enclosure): This large enclosure is about 12.6 by 6 meters and 4 meters high. It's made of steel and chainwire, with a waterfall and creek inside.
• Goura Pigeons Enclosure (Original Enclosure): This older enclosure is about 4.6 by 3.1 meters and 3 meters high.
• Cuscus Enclosure: This enclosure is about 3.7 by 2.4 meters and 2.5 meters high.
• Fluffy Gliders Enclosure: This enclosure is about 2.5 by 2 meters and 2 meters high.
• Kiosk (2nd Kiosk): This building is about 6.7 by 6.7 meters and 4 meters high. It's made of concrete blocks with a tiled roof.
• Powerful Owl Enclosure: This enclosure is about 6.6 by 3.1 meters and 4 meters high, made of timber.
• Tasmanian Devils Enclosure: This enclosure is about 5.2 by 3.1 meters and 3 meters high.
• Crested Hawks Enclosure (2nd Enclosure): This enclosure is about 7.1 by 3.6 meters and 4 meters high, made of steel and metal mesh.
• Squirrel Gliders and Carpet Pythons Enclosure: This enclosure is about 5.5 by 2.5 meters and 2.5 meters high.
• Tortoise and Freshwater Crocodile Enclosure: This enclosure is about 5.2 by 2.5 meters with a sloping pond.
• Reptiles Enclosure: This enclosure is about 3.3 by 2.2 meters and 2.5 meters high.
• Brown Snakes Enclosure: This enclosure is about 4.6 by 2.5 meters and 2.5 meters high, with concrete walls and steel posts.
• Rattle Snakes Enclosure: This enclosure is about 3.3 by 2.4 meters and 2.4 meters high.
• Hairy-nosed Wombats Enclosure: This semi-circular enclosure is about 9.6 by 4.8 meters and 1.2 meters high, with concrete pipe tunnels.
• Flinders Island Wombats Enclosure: This enclosure is about 6.8 by 2.4 meters and 2.5 meters high.
• Potteroos Enclosure: This enclosure is about 7.5 by 3.7 meters and 1 meter high, with a wire mesh perimeter.
• Wedge-tailed Eagle Enclosure (Original): This enclosure is about 9.6 by 6.7 meters and 4 meters high, made of timber.
• Grass Owls Enclosure: This enclosure is about 6.4 by 3.9 meters and 4 meters high.
• Platypussary (Original): This older platypus enclosure is about 6.4 by 3.2 meters and 3 meters high.
• Boobook Owls Enclosure: This is an octagonal timber structure about 1.9 meters wide.
• Koalas Enclosure: This enclosure is about 8 by 3.4 meters and 4 meters high, made of steel.
• Death Adders Enclosure: This small enclosure is about 1.2 by 1.2 meters and 1.2 meters high.
• Cockatoos Enclosure: This enclosure is about 5.5 by 1.7 meters and 3 meters high, made of steel and chainwire.
• Platypuses Enclosure (Newer): This enclosure is about 10.2 by 8.8 meters and 3 meters high, with fibreglass-lined tanks.
• Platypuses Enclosure (Another): This enclosure is about 4.4 by 1.8 meters and 3 meters high.
• Kite Enclosure: This enclosure is about 4.2 by 2 meters and 2.5 meters high.
• Sooty Owls Enclosure: This enclosure is about 5.2 by 4.5 meters and 3 meters high.

Paths and stairs connect most of these enclosures to the old house and the original car park. These paths generally follow the natural shape of the land.

Why the Park is Special

The David Fleay Wildlife Park was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on February 23, 2001, because it's important for several reasons:

• A Piece of Queensland's History: The park, started in 1951 by Dr. David Fleay, shows how Queensland has worked to protect its native animals. It has a long history of breeding and showing Australian animals to teach people about conservation.
• Unique and Rare: This park is a special kind of zoo, and there are not many like it in Queensland. It still has the original enclosure where the first wedge-tailed eagle was bred in captivity, as well as the platypussary and other old breeding areas. The original layout of the park is still very much intact.
• Shows How Wildlife Parks Are Built: The park shows different types of animal enclosures and buildings used in wildlife reserves. The platypussary is especially important because its design is based on David Fleay's early, groundbreaking work.
• Important to the Community: The David Fleay Wildlife Park has been important to many people who have visited, researched, and learned there for almost 50 years. It's still a valuable place where people can see native animals and learn why we need to protect them, especially rare and endangered species. The park combines education, tourism, conservation, and research.
• Connected to a Special Person: The park is strongly linked to Dr. David Fleay, who is sometimes called the "father of conservation." It was at this sanctuary that Fleay bred the first wedge-tailed eagle in captivity. The many awards and honors he received show how much he was respected by scientists and the community.