History of Hartleys Crocodile Adventures and celebrate 75th Anniversary For 75 years Hartley’s Creek has been associated with one thing – crocodiles. Over that time it has reflected the shifting attitudes of people towards crocodiles and has also been a significant agent of change in the way people regard not only crocs but our responsibilities for their preservation. June 1882, a man camping near a creek north of Cairns named “a nice stream…the Hartley” after the Sub-Collector of Customs in Cairns, Robert Hartley. That man was the legendary and infamous explorer Christy Palmerston. On Sunday, 17 December 1933 the Captain Cook Highway was officially opened at Hartley’s Creek. One of the workers, Herb (Pop) Evans and his wife Mabel built a wayside teahouse which was “a delight to travellers between Cairns and Mossman”. They called it the Halfway House, but overtime it became the Hartley’s Creek Zoo, the Hartley’s Creek Crocodile Farm and, finally, after relocation, Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures. “Pop” and Mabel struggled on through the depression and WW2. Tourism increased after the war as the road became popular with visitors undertaking day trips from Cairns, but the work load was becoming increasingly difficult for them. The Halfway House was sold in 1954 to the Blaneys, who were the first of four owners over the next six years. An integral part of the history of Hartleys is intertwined with the Story of Charlie. Charlie who you ask ? Well a notice in “The Cairns Post” in 1935 advertising a live croc caught original owner, Herb Evans’ eye. We thought it would be an added attraction for the tearoom’s visitors! The croc, five foot long, cost three pounds and was delivered strapped between two pieces of wood by Jensen’s Motor Service. The Evans family called him “The Old Croc.” Herb showed him off while visitors waited for their tea and scones. Many years later when Herb visited him the croc seemed to recognize his voice. Later “Charlie” was named after a friend, Charlie Davis, a bus driver who stopped at the halfway house every day with parties of visitors. There are different stories about his origin but The Evans’ granddaughter believed that the croc was caught at the Barron River but others said it was from the Cairns Inlet or Yorkey’s Knob . During World War 2, some American officers tried to buy Charlie the crocodile from Herb Evans. He refused. His reason – “Charlie was his livelihood!” Charlie’s fame grew steadily and the celebrities of the day came flocking. Sydney Radio icon Terry Dear dangled a packet of washing powder (with the makers of which we suspect he had a commercial arrangement!) on some fishing line for a gimmick. Charlie thought it was food and promptly ate it! HRH Prince Charles met his namesake in 1966 and 1991 the Cairns Council presented Charlie with an award for his “service to the community”. Apart from one instance of bone infection in 1992, Charlie maintained robust health before finally succumbing to cancer in 2000. He had been at Hartley’s since 1935 and was in captivity longer than any other crocodile in the world. Hartley’s Creek Zoo was sold in 1961 to Gary Zillfleisch a family from Mossman. Gary learned all he could about crocs from old hunters and travelled all over the Cape catching them. He found crocodiles hard to find after years of shooting and become committed to their conservation. He decided to turn Hartley’s Creek into a “crocodile stud” and farm them. Hartley’s was the first place in Australia to breed crocs in captivity. Work on crocodile conservation and management attracted worldwide interest. Television companies and film makers produced a number of documentaries at Hartley’s that helped arouse public interest and sympathy. Calls for government intervention became too loud to ignore and in 1974 crocodiles were protected. Three floods in one month hit the zoo in 1979 and a number of crocs were washed out of their pens. Gary said “it was like losing old friends!” By now Hartley’s Creek Zoo had established a venerable pedigree as one of north Queensland’s oldest attractions. In 1986 it attracted the interest of and was acquired by the Freeman family, already involved in wildlife tourism with Wild World, later known as Cairns Tropical Zoo. Renovated and renamed in 1987, Hartley’s Creek Crocodile Farm remained at the original site until 2002, when the brand new Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures, opened 500m south of Hartley’s Creek. Its design was partly based on extensive surveys of visitor expectations and preferences undertaken at the old wildlife park, now dated and out of touch with world’s best practice. The original site is now a private residence. By the mid 1980’s commercial crocodile farming become a reality. The Freeman family acquired land nearby to expand an infant farming operation. The original property, on the banks of Hartley’s Creek was too small for any major expansion. Not in my back yard! After a long struggle against government and a few radical opponents, the necessary approvals were obtained to build a crocodile farm and future tourist attraction. Construction of the farm commenced in 1997 along with preliminary excavation of Hartley’s Lagoon. After reshaping the land, the next four years were devoted to weed eradication, replanting the site with local species and developing designs with local architect Peter Pierce. La Spina Builders moved on site November 2001 and Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures opened to the public seven months later. From humble beginnings in 1934, the Halfway House evolved over a 75 year period to become a world renowned eco-tourist attraction. From its start as a tea house for passing motorists, and the impulsive purchase of Charlie the crocodile in 1935 it changed over time into a wildlife park, famous for its daring crocodile shows. Hartley’s was the first place in Australia to conduct crocodile feeding demonstrations and today remains unchallenged as the best place to see and learn about crocodiles. Congratulations to Hartleys on this amazing achievement. We look forward to helping them celebrate their Centenary just around the corner ! I acknowledge the owner, Author and Writer with Appreciation and Thanks Fred Ps Hi Charlie
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 09:36:51 +0000
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