QUEENSLAND

• Alma Park
• Fleays Fauna Sanctuary
• Currumbin Bird Sanctuary
• The Australian Zoo
• Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

• Auckland
• Hamilton
• Orana
• Wellington

There are plenty of smaller zoos, Alma Park, Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, Currumbin Bird Sanctuary, Fleays Fauna Park and Theme Parks with animals, Dream and Sea Worlds. Unfortunately Queensland lacks a world class state zoo such as Melbourne or Taronga.

I cannot see this being remidied in the future. Such a zoo would have to be in Brisbane (population and tourism numbers), fairly large in area and with excellent public transport access. There are two areas that come to mind, the Mt Cootha Botanical Gardens and the former Roma Street Goods Yard.

Mount Cootha Zoological and Botanic Gardens has an excellent ring about it. Owned by the Brisbane City Council it is close to the city and has excellent existing a menities.The gardens are beautiful and animal exhibits could be easily incorporated. But this is not going to happen.

We missed out on an excellent opportunity with the Roma St Goods Yards. It has just been opened as the Roma Street Gardens, a $78 million renewal of waste land. I think the gardens are nice with some excellent and innovative designs, but to me it is a rehash of what already exists at Mt Cootha and South Bank. Whilst not very large, 16 hectares, it would have made an excellent site.

The smaller size would have meant that decent displays of the charasmatic mega fauna (elephants, rhino, lions) would not have been possible, but what an opportunity for innovative exhibits of the smaller, and more numerous, species of animals. Multi species exhibits would have enabled better use of the space.

This won't be happening now though and to me Brisbane will no longer be able to have a world class, first rate zoo.