Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, Zoo in Currumbin, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary is a heritage-listed zoological garden at 28 Tomewin Street, Currumbin, Queensland, built from 1947 onwards. Its grounds hold one of the largest collections of Australian native species, a wildlife hospital, the Lost Valley precinct opened in 2017, and a miniature railway running since 1964. A tunnel under the Gold Coast Highway, built in 1974, links the original site with the 18.7-hectare Western Reserve.
Alex Griffiths, a beekeeper and flower grower, opened the Currumbin Bird Sanctuary in 1947 to draw lorikeets away from his flower crops. He took no admission fee, accepting donations, and by 1953 the site was known under that name. In 1976 he gifted it to the National Trust of Queensland, and in 1995 it was renamed Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary.
The sanctuary opened in 1947 as the Currumbin Bird Sanctuary and took its present name in 1995. Its lorikeet feeding began when founder Alex Griffiths fed the birds to keep them off his flower crops, and visitors still watch the free-flying rainbow lorikeets come in to feed. In 2009 it was named a Q150 Icon for Queensland's 150th anniversary.
The site lies at 28 Tomewin Street, Currumbin, split by the Gold Coast Highway; a tunnel built in 1974 links the original grounds with the 18.7-hectare Western Reserve. A miniature railway has run since 1964, carrying visitors across the large site. The lorikeet feeding draws the birds twice daily, so time a visit around it.
Hundreds of free-living rainbow lorikeets descend into the visitor zone twice daily when the nectar offering begins, often landing on heads, shoulders, or hands of guests. This feeding routine has existed since the founding days of the sanctuary and has developed into a fixed ritual that the place continues to this day.
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