A poultry farm in Doonside
In 1953 Charles and Marjorie Wigg bought a 7-acre plot in Doonside, in Sydney’s west, and ran it as a poultry farm. Their son-in-law, Bruce Kubbere, had studied fauna, and in 1972 he opened the site as a wildlife park.
A close call in 1975
Three years after it opened, the park was threatened by plans to rezone the area for public housing. The decision was reversed by the Premier of New South Wales, Sir Robert Askin, and Featherdale stayed where it was.
Today
Featherdale changed hands in 1996 and again in 2013 and is now part of the Australian Wildlife Parks group. The park still remembers Bruce Kubbere and his late wife, Margaret, as the couple who founded it more than 50 years ago.



