The Wild and Ourselves: 90 years at Healesville Sanctuary

Image: Kevin and Jess, photograph, courtesy Healesville Sanctuary and Zoos Victoria.

“Is it too much to hope that after the long welter of animal tragedy there may emerge into the brightness of the future a finer and better understanding between the animals of the wild and ourselves?”
- Robert Eadie, curator in the 1930s 

The Wild and Ourselves 
Exhibition open Sat 20 Apr – Sun 11 Aug 2024 
Yarra Ranges Regional Museum 

FREE entry

To commemorate Healesville Sanctuary’s 90th year, step into their archives for behind-the-scenes insight into how this iconic Yarra Ranges establishment has protected Australia’s wildlife. The Wild and Ourselves invites audiences to explore for the first time photos, documents, zookeeper’s tools and commemorative items that tell hidden stories from Healesville Sanctuary. Kids and adults alike will delight in finding answers to questions like: How did a den of snakes secure Healesville Sanctuary’s future? What is a platypus squeegee? Why are 3D printed eggs so important? 

The Sanctuary made its fledgling start in 1921 with the goal to study and protect Australian wildlife in one of the richest natural environments the country has to offer. Since then, countless staff, volunteers and community members have lovingly cared for Australia’s native fauna, changing hearts and minds along the way. Now a global tourist attraction, Healesville Sanctuary has never lost its core mission to conserve and rehabilitate. Less a zoo, more a place of refuge for wounded, sick and orphaned animals. Learn more about how this vital work has evolved over nine decades in this exhibition presented in collaboration with Healesville Sanctuary, Zoos Victoria.

About Healesville Sanctuary

Nestled in beautiful bushland in the Yarra Ranges, Healesville Sanctuary is a part of Zoos Victoria and specialises in Australian native animals. Healesville Sanctuary plays a pivotal role in rehabilitating wildlife via its large veterinary hospital known as the Australian Wildlife Health Centre and new Raptor Rehabilitation Centre.  

Connecting community with nature, particularly platypus, koalas, wombats, kangaroos and over 200 species of birds, is just as important as Healesville Sanctuary’s preservation work.

About Yarra Ranges Regional Museum

Opened in 2011, Yarra Ranges Regional Museum promotes a greater understanding of the rich and diverse cultural heritage of the Yarra Ranges region through exhibitions, collections and programs. 

The Museum is custodian of a collection of over 13,000 cultural objects, including Indigenous belongings related to Coranderrk Aboriginal Station and a sub-collection related to opera diva Dame Nellie Melba (1861-1931).

Yarra Ranges Regional Museum is open Wed - Sun, 10am - 4pm and entry is free.