The move to Fleay's
Photograph from the David Fleay Natural History Collection. Photo: David Fleay Trustees.
Fleay's circa 1950's. Photograph from the David Fleay Natural History Collection. Photo: David Fleay Trustees.
In late 1951, after investigating around Brisbane and South East Queensland, David Fleay selected the Tallebudgera estuary as a suitable site for a fauna reserve. The attraction of the site was, according to Fleay, the flood-free forested slopes and gullies, a splendid run off, koala fodder gums with koalas in residence, and the presence of fish, mammals and birds.
Well-preserved Aboriginal relics, which indicated a historical background were another attraction. The area at the time was used by small crops farmers who supplied the Victorian market in winter. The site preferred by Fleay comprised three properties owned by three separate individuals. Moreover, the land was not for sale and Fleay did not have sufficient capital to purchase it.
Determination and persistence paid off and Fleay steadily acquired the land in the names of D H and M S Fleay. He acquired Portions 20A in May 1952.
In July 1952 he purchased Portion 23A in Mary Sigrid Fleay's name. Portion 18A was bought in October 1952. Further land acquisitions occurred in June 1958 with the purchase of Portion 19A. The last portion bought in 1965 became an additional car park.
Fleay's West Burleigh sanctuary was to be a place of research and education and David Fleay vehemently objected to descriptions of his sanctuary as a zoo.
'It's a place where the animals are kept in conditions as close as possible to the natural environment, where they can breed freely and can be studied. We've never had great numbers of birds in aviaries. That's wrong. We're not in the job of sacrificing animals for the sake of showing them and I don't have a lot of time for many modern zoos'.
Platypuses, snakes, dingoes, plain turkeys(also known as Australian bustards), ospreys, crocodiles and alligators lived at the sanctuary in 'benevolent captivity', while others such as the bandicoots, flying foxes, white-bellied sea-eagles, wallabies and koalas were at liberty to come and go as they pleased.
People could walk among the animals, such as the macropods, which were enclosed in large paddock-like areas with swing-weighted gates—a design Fleay introduced at Healesville.
Here David Fleay could manage the sanctuary in accordance with his established naturalist's principles, following on from his work at Healesville, and not be accountable to a dissenting committee.
The establishment of a sanctuary for native animals did not reflect contemporary society's views, which largely regarded native animals as pests. In later life David Fleay told a story of meeting the local pastor when he moved to West Burleigh, who proudly indicated the spot where he had shot a sea eagle.
According to Rosemary Thomson the animal parks nearby were Bill Maughan's collection of Australian animals at Coolangatta, Jack Evans' porpoise pool at Tweed Heads (later moved to Sea World on The Spit) and Alex Griffiths' Currumbin Bird Sanctuary. These places were fundamentally different, as they were primarily tourist attractions rather than places for scientific research—a fundamental rationale behind the establishment of Fleay's Fauna Reserve.
David was also ahead of his time in his enlightened attitude towards the Gold Coast's Kombumerri Aboriginal people, respecting that 'they were here for many thousands of years before us. We've got a very strong obligation to do the right thing by them'.
As a man who acted in accordance with his principles, in the 1930's David Fleay had given his entire savings of £1000 to an impoverished Aboriginal community outside Cunnamulla in Western Queensland. At West Burleigh he preserved the midden belonging to the Kombumerri people with whom he maintained good relations.
Last updated 15 June 2011