Former home of Skippy the Kangaroo to become Aboriginal cultural centre
by Tom Anstey | 13 Aug 2014
Skippy was filmed at the site in the 60s and 70s / Shutterstock.com/braedostok
The former home of Skippy the Bush Kangaroo in New South Wales, Australia, is to be turned into an Aboriginal heritage and cultural centre, ending years of speculation on the fate of the 13 hectare (32 acre) site.
Well known as the location for the TV series Skippy in the 1960s and 1970s, the Aboriginal centre will open on the famous wildlife park, while the Friends of Skippy and the Duffys Forest Residents Association will continue their involvement with the site.
Land council chief executive officer Nathan Moran, told the Australia Daily Telegraph that the use of the site as an Aboriginal cultural and heritage centre would complement the existing activities at the park and that he was keen to see the collection of props used during the making of Skippy available for on-site exhibitions.
Since the end of filming, the park has gone through many trials and tribulations to get to this point. From 1998, the park continued as a tourist destination and wildlife park, but then in 2003, the park operator had its licence revoked after being charged with animal cruelty.
Soon after, Earth Sanctuaries acquired the park licence, but failed to generate sufficient revenue. The licence was then taken over by another company in 2006 and leased for Tourist Facilities and Services, though the park was not open to the public during this period.
The land will now be handed over to the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, with assistance on the site coming from the Duffys Forest Residents Association (DFRA), which has been cleaning and revegetating the site, while Sydney Wildlife has been using the site to rehabilitate injured native animals.
What the cultural centre will comprise has not yet been revealed, as plans are still in the formulation stage. Details are expected to be released by the Aboriginal Council in the coming months.
The former home of Skippy the Bush Kangaroo in New South Wales, Australia, is to be turned into an Aboriginal heritage and cultural centre, ending years of speculation on the fate of the 13 hectare (32 acre) site. Well known as the location for the TV series Skippy in the 1960s and 1970s, the Aboriginal centre will open on the famous wildlife park, while the Friends of Skippy and the
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