Warrawong Sanctuary
Encyclopedia
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
. Warrawong was established by Dr John Wamsley
John Wamsley
Dr John Wamsley is an Australian environmentalist. He was the Prime Minister's Environmentalist of the Year for 2003. Wamsley is known for his attempt to set up a network of wildlife sanctuaries across Australia....
to conserve endangered Australian wildlife. He purchased the first 35 acres (14 ha), a degraded dairy farm, in 1969, with 50 acre (20 ha) later added
Wamsley eradicated all feral plants and animals from the sanctuary and erected a surrounding fence to preserve the sanctuary's feral free state. Warrawong was opened to the general public in 1985 with a view to generating enough money to set up more sanctuaries. A company, Earth Sanctuaries Limited, was started in 1988 with a forty year strategy to create a network of eighty sanctuaries, spanning all of Australia's habitats. The company was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange
Australian Stock Exchange
The Australian Securities Exchange was created by the merger of the Australian Stock Exchange and the Sydney Futures Exchange in July 2006. It is the primary stock exchange group in Australia....
on 8 April 2000. The float was under-subscribed leaving the company A$10 million short of funds and unable to complete its network of sanctuaries in the eastern states of Australia. During the mid-2000s Earth Sanctuaries Limited was delisted from the Australian stock exchange. Due to the company's poor commercial performance, Warrawong was closed for five months of 2005. In 2006 the sanctuary was bought by Anthony Miller, owner of the Gumeracha
Gumeracha, South Australia
Gumeracha is a town near Adelaide, South Australia, located on the Adelaide-Mannum Road. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area. At the 2006 census, Gumeracha had a population of 731.-History:...
Toy Factory and Big Rocking Horse
Big Rocking horse
The Big Rocking Horse is a tourist attraction located in the town of Gumeracha, South Australia. Designed by David McIntosh, the structure weighs 25 tonnes and stands at over 18 metres tall, and is one of a number of Big Things in Australia designed to attract the attention of passing motorists...
, with a commitment to continue operations. In May 2010 Warrawong Sanctuary was bought by Zoos South Australia and the Ngarrindjeri
Ngarrindjeri
The Ngarrindjeri are a nation of eighteen "tribes" consisting of numerous family clans who speak similar dialects of the Ngarrindjeri language and are the traditional Aboriginal people of the lower Murray River, western Fleurieu Peninsula, and the Coorong of southern, central...
People.