Bookable
An Apollonaut travel guide
Moments in a longer story.
Selected milestones in the history of the Australian Reptile Park.
On this page
Aquarium, reptile park and venom programme
These dates describe the place you can learn about here. They are not a company timeline for Apollonaut.
-
1950
Ocean Beach Aquarium
Eric Worrell opens his aquarium at Umina Beach and begins milking snakes for venom.
-
1959
The reptile park opens
Eric Worrell’s Australian Reptile Park opens at Wyoming, near Gosford, on 3 October.
-
1963
Ploddy
Ploddy the dinosaur is put up, often called the first of Australia’s “big things”.
-
1996
A move to Somersby
The park reopens at Somersby on 7 September, and Ploddy moves with it.
-
2000
Fire and recovery
A fire on 17 July destroys most of the main building; the park reopens on 9 September.
-
2007
Elvis arrives
Elvis the saltwater crocodile comes to the park after the death of Eric, its famous crocodile.
-
2022
Komodo hatchlings
The first Komodo dragons hatched in Australia are born at the park.
Follow the stories behind the dates
A timeline is a beginning. The longer history introduces the people and the place; the sources below provide further context.
Read at the source
Sources & further reading
Links lead to the original publishers.
