During a recent trip to Australia, I had the opportunity to visit and photograph some of the over 1200 animals who make the Australia Zoo their home.
Located in Beerwah, on Australia’s Sunshine Coast in Queensland, about an hour’s drive from Brisbane, the Australia Zoo was made famous by Steve Irwin, the “Crocodile Hunter”.
Established by Steve Irwin’s family in 1970 it began as a 2-acre wildlife park, mostly targeting the rehabilitation of injured kangaroos and nursing injured animals back to health before releasing them back into the wild.
By the 1980s, the area was expanded to 4 acres and re-branded as the Queensland Reptile & Fauna Park.
During the 1990s, Steve Irwin took over the management, with his wife Terri, and the Australia Zoo was born. The zoo became a world class facility encompassing 700 acres that rescues, rehabilitates and releases over 7000 native Australian animals each year.
In September, 2006, the world lost Steve Irwin. His family continues his legacy of conservation, research and education of wildlife and their habitat. The Zoo has been nominated and awarded many national and international awards for its work.
Please enjoy a few of my photos. Click here to visit my photo web site for more of my memories.
The Traveling Gal 