Bookable
An Apollonaut travel guide
Moments in a longer story.
Selected milestones in the history of Ballarat Wildlife Park.
On this page
Collector, park and residents
These dates describe the place you can learn about here. They are not a company timeline for Apollonaut.
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Late 1970s
Healesville
Greg Parker, a reptile collector since childhood, works at Healesville Sanctuary.
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February 1985
The park opens
After a year of planning, Ballarat Wildlife Park opens on ten hectares in Ballarat East.
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1989
Patrick arrives
An orphaned wombat named Patrick is rescued and comes to live at the park.
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December 2013
Crunch arrives
Crunch, a five-metre saltwater crocodile, comes to the park with a female named Bella.
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April 2017
Farewell to Patrick
Patrick, by then more than 30 years old, dies 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.
