David Fleay Wildlife Park

Now managed by Queensland National Parks, David Fleay’s Wildlife Park on the western side of the Tallebudgera estuary was established in 1951. Fleay was born in Ballarat in 1907, taught science in Ballarat from 1927 until 1934. His interest in Australian wildlife landed him a position with the Melbourne Zoo. Here he was the first to breed a number of native species in captivity including the; emu, scrub turkey, tawny frogmouth, birds of prey, and a variety of marsupials including the koala. He was dismissed in 1937 and moved to the Healesville Sanctuary in the Yarra Valley, where in 1943, he became the first and only person to breed the platypus in captivity. He moved to Queensland after Victoria banned the private keeping of wildlife. He purchased a small site at West Burleigh because of its flood-free forested slopes, and koala fodder gums. Koalas were in residence and the presence of fish, mammals and birds made the site ideal as a place of research and education, which is ongoing. Fleay described the park as '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’.