The facade of the RS Exton and Co premises at 333 Ann Street.
Brisbane’s Shrine of Remembrance, dedicated on Armistice Day in 1930.
The Story Bridge, spanning Brisbane River, was built between 1935 and 1940.
The Masonic temple at Barcaldine was constructed in 1901.
My heritage place
In the late 1990s, land subdivision at Yeronga changed the surroundings of heritage-listed Rhyndarra, a two-storey mansion that had variously served as a grand house.
Media releases
Heritage register becomes haven for world favourite sanctuary
It’s a pioneer of Gold Coast tourism; considered a world leader in caring for Australian wildlife. Now Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary is heritage-listed.
The Queensland Heritage Council has entered the 62-year-old nature-based park in the Queensland heritage register.
Its entry allows the sanctuary to continue to operate and grow, although future development will need to protect the cultural values as well as the wildlife.
“Long before the heart-stopping theme park rides, Currumbin Sanctuary’s afternoon bird feeding spectacle created a thrill; the memory of which has remained with participants all their lives,” said QHC chair David Eades.
The heritage listing only affects the land and facilities associated with founder, beekeeper and floriculturalist Alex Griffiths and not additional land acquired since March 1978. The facilities include the former Rock Shop, the miniature train line, the rainforest pool aviary, the site of the lorikeet-feeding arena, and the reserve west of the Gold Coast Highway.
The listing also includes an 18ha parcel of land in the Currumbin Valley, known as Coolamon. Alex Griffiths used this land as a release area for rehabilitated fauna.
“There’ll be no impact to day-to-day operations,” Mr Eades said.
“Indeed this is due recognition of the special place Currumbin Sanctuary holds in Queensland’s history; something that can be traded on.”
Other popular tourist places that appear on the Queensland heritage register include nearby David Fleay Wildlife Park, Paronella Park near Innisfail, Toowoomba’s Picnic Point, the Kuranda Scenic Rail, Blackall Wool Scour and the Big Pineapple plantation on the Sunshine Coast.
Griffiths gifted the bird sanctuary to the National Trust of Queensland in 1976.
Its name changed in 1995 to reflect its broader wildlife activities.
The National Trust nominated their park for state heritage listing.
Fast facts
- Alex Griffiths started feeding birds a mixture of bread, water and honey as an added attraction at his parents’ Currumbin Tea Gardens in 1947.
- By 1953, he had established the Currumbin Bird Sanctuary.
- He gifted the land to the National Trust of Queensland in 1976.
- Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the Q150 15 Iconic Queensland locations.
Issued on behalf of the Queensland Heritage Council by Susan Flynn, ph: 0419 748 937.