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Dubbos first animal park predates Taronga Western Plains Zoo

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A long-closed zoo in the city centre of Dubbo is fondly remembered as a place of fun and curiosity, with its ultimate end brought about by stricter animal welfare laws.

Key points:
  • Dubbo's first animal park was set up by volunteers
  • Its animals included peacocks, cockatoos, snakes and rabbits
  • The park was closed by Dubbo's council following changes to animal welfare laws

    • The Rotary Park Zoo, built at the beginning of the 1960s, was in Victoria Park, opposite the current council chambers. 

    Inside was a variety of native and exotic animals, with the original idea for the park driven by volunteers, according to local studies officer Simone Taylor.

    "It was part of a bigger project where they did a number of upgrades to the park, including building the begonia house â€" which most people would recognise today â€" the wishing well, and then they built a zoo," she said.

    "They had a quite an unusual range of animals in there â€" emus, kangaroos and there was a wombat, but they also had a rabbit hutch and aviary and mice, so it was quite an odd collection of animals."

    Animal parks were not an uncommon sight in most regional towns throughout the last century, but changing animal welfare laws saw the beginning of the end for animals being kept in the city centre in 1984.

    "One of the issues was that they didn't have proper records for how the animals would come into the zoo and what had happened to the animals when they left the zoo," Ms Taylor said.

    "By 1984, zoos had to record the movement of animals coming in and out and the little zoo endeavour hadn't done that."

    Old photograph of a fountain in a pond, surrounded by trees, a walkway and some bench seatsOld photograph of a fountain in a pond, surrounded by trees, a walkway and some bench seats The entrance to the Old Dubbo Zoo at Rotary Park in 1971.(

    Supplied: Erik and Barbra Brolin

    )

    One local recalls transporting an emu to the park after raising it from a chick.

    Helen, a caller to ABC Western Plains Breakfast program, said her family raised the emu on the family farm at Warren before it inevitably got too big and was donated to the zoo.

    Transporting the bird took some ingenuity, she said.

    A woman lifts a young boy to see into an animal enclosure that has water running around its edge A woman lifts a young boy to see into an animal enclosure that has water running around its edge Water-loving animals were a popular feature at the Old Dubbo Zoo.(

    Supplied: Erik and Barbra Brolin

    )

    "We were taking a load of cattle. I put the emu in the front corner and put a shearer's fence against the corner to keep them separated," she said.

    When council decided to close the park in 1984, it is understood the animals were donated to various parks and possibly the newly built Western Plains Zoo.

    Ms Taylor said there were few pictures in the council archives of the Rotary Park Zoo, something she would would like to see change.

    "It's quite tricky to find articles, because you have to go back to the original newspapers," she said.

    "[Articles] indicated the zoo was kind of built from scratch but there's not a lot of detail about the history." 

    Black and white photo of a cockatoo gripping its claws to the front of a cageBlack and white photo of a cockatoo gripping its claws to the front of a cage Cockatoos at the old Dubbo Zoo were known to nip you on the fingers if they got too close.(

    Supplied: Erik and Barbra Brolin

    )

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