Healesville Sanctuary

Healesville Sanctuary began in the 1920s as a research reserve and has been open to the public since 1934, keeping only Australian native species in bushland enclosures rather than a conventional zoo layout. It achieved the first captive breeding of a platypus in 1943, and the platypus and echidna displays remain among its strongest. The Spirits of the Sky presentation flies wedge-tailed eagles, barn owls and parrots free over an amphitheatre, and the Australian Wildlife Health Centre lets visitors watch veterinary treatment of injured wild animals through glass. Breeding programmes here work with critically endangered species including the helmeted honeyeater and orange-bellied parrot.

History

The anatomist Colin MacKenzie, an early advocate for protecting native animals, set up an Institute of Anatomical Research here in 1920 on 32 hectares once part of the Coranderrk Aboriginal reserve, and a caretaker's cottage of about 1920 survives from those years. The land passed to Healesville Council around 1927 and opened as the Sir Colin MacKenzie Sanctuary on 30 May 1934, the first platypus bred in captivity was born here in 1943 under David Fleay, the Zoological Parks and Gardens Board has run it since 1978, and in 2025 it opened the Australian Platypus Conservation Centre (Wikipedia, Healesville Sanctuary).

The main sights

• The platypus displays - the animals that were first bred in captivity here.
• Spirits of the Sky - free-flight raptor and parrot presentations.
• The wildlife health centre - live veterinary work on injured wild animals.
• The breeding programmes - critically endangered birds and mammals.

When to go

Year-round; animals are most active in the morning and in cooler weather, and many are nocturnal species that sleep through hot afternoons. School holidays are busy. The free-flight show runs to a daily schedule and is weather-dependent.

Things to know

Entry is charged and the site is large, involving considerable walking on bush paths. Many species are cryptic and hard to spot in naturalistic enclosures. In hot weather activity drops sharply. The bird show can be cancelled in wind or rain.

Nearby

The Yarra Valley wineries are close; the Dandenong Ranges lie southwest.

Key facts