Flashback: Remembering Alex Griffiths as Gold Coast’s Currumbin Sanctuary turns 70 years old

IT’S one of the Gold Coast’s great tourist attractions and it is turning 70 this year. But how did Currumbin Sanctuary come to be? Here’s the story of Alex Griffiths became an icon.

Alex Griffiths, the man who built the Gold Coast’s animal paradise, Currumbin Sanctuary.

CREATURES of the Gold Coast have a lot to thank Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary for.

The park, which has nurtured, cared for, and been home to thousands of native animals great and small celebrates 70 years since its founding.

The year was 1947 and the name “Gold Coast” was still more than a decade away from being applied to the city, which was soon to be named South Coast.

Alex Griffiths at Currumbin Sanctuary Picture: Supplied

After enduring tough times during the war, the Gold Coast was growing again, welcoming new residents moving from the southern states as well as US returning to the city permanently.

Among those who came to the region during the war was New Zealand beekeeper and flower grower Dr Alex Griffiths who arrived in 1942.

He became known as a pioneer of the coastal strip’s tourist industry but the man who created the sanctuary started out just trying to have an attractive garden.

In 1946 he planted more than 12,000 gladioli bulbs on his 26ha Currumbin property, something which attracted the interest of the local birdlife, in particular the rainbow lorikeets.

Currumbin Sanctuary in its early years Picture: Supplied

Hundreds of the wild native birds would flow to his yard daily and peck at the plants, forcing Griffiths to come up with an innovative solution.

Rather than hurt the birds, he instead began feeding them himself, using bread soaked in honey and water to distract them.

The gladiolas were soon forgotten but the bread proved extremely popular, and bringing an even larger flock of birds to the area.

And they weren’t the only ones attracted, with crowds of locals and tourists turning out to watch the colourful spectacle.

Big crowds would come to see the birds Picture: Supplied

The bird boom and crowds led to the purchase of more land and gradually other local animals came to live on the land.

The Currumbin Bird Sanctuary was founded in 1947 and gained international attention as one of the regions great drawcards.

The park’s collection of animals began to grow and other attractions were added, including Dr Griffiths’ model railway in 1964.

By 1976 he handed the site to the National Trust of Queensland, which turned it into a not-for-profit business in which all the money raised goes back into the park.

Millions are now being spent to upgrade the park to mark its 70th anniversary Picture: Richard Gosling

The park was renamed Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary in 1995, the same year its founder was awarded an honorary doctorate by Griffith University as a tribute to his work and commitment to the preservation of Australia’s fauna and flora

More than 1200 birds and other creatures lived in the sanctuary by the time of its 50th anniversary in 1997. Dr Griffiths died in a Gold Coast hospital in 1998 after being admitted suffering pneumonia.

He was 86.

Alex Griffiths died in 1998.

Still one on the Gold Coast’s most popular attractions, the sanctuary and of its original features, including Dr Griffiths’ model railway, the rainforest pool aviary and the former rock shop, were all listed on the state heritage register in 2009 during Queensland’s 150th anniversary celebrations.

Dr Griffiths’ original steam train was restored in late 2011 to mark the 100th anniversary of his birth.

More than $2 million is being spent this year to revamp the aviary and other features in the sanctuary ahead of next year’s Commonwealth Games.

Despite the new features, the classic lorikeets remain one of its most popular attractions.

Alex Griffiths later in life..