Australian Reptile Park Book Review: Snake-Bitten

snowleopard

snowleopard

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Snake-Bitten: Eric Worrell and the Australian Reptile Park:

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Snake-Bitten-Eric-Worrell-Australian-Reptile/dp/1742232329/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1378141961&sr=1-1&keywords=eric+worrell]Snake-Bitten: Eric Worrell and the Australian Reptile Park: Nancy Cushing, Kevin Markwell: 9781742232324: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]


I just finished reading this excellent book, and I was so enthralled with the text that I completed it within two days. Having heard of Eric Worrell, the legendary Aussie snake man, I was excited to read about his history and the park that he founded in 1959. The writing style is informative and systematic in terms of chronology, and there are 32 pages of black-and-white photos to accompany the well-written prose.

Eric Worrell is justly famous for pioneering life-saving research into various snake and spider anti-venoms, and he wrote a lot of scientific papers on cold-blooded animals in his heyday. The often forgotten fact that he actually first began with the Ocean Beach Aquarium is illuminated in the book, and what was arguably Australia's finest reptile collection blossomed throughout the 1960's and 1970's.

The dark side of Worrell is that he became addicted to alcohol, struggled with all sorts of paperwork and bureaucracy, and many of the husbandry methods of his era ended up being outdated. His beloved Australian Reptile Park came incredibly close to closing in the mid-'80's when financial hardship constrained him, and the zoo was eventually saved from being demolished by John and Robyn Weigel (formerly Worrell's second wife!). The book ably recaps over 50 years of the history of the reptile park and also sheds light on a legendary figure in the annals of Australian herpetology. I highly recommend this book to any devoted zoo enthusiast.
 
I bought this book at the Australian Reptile Park when I visited at Christmas, haven't read it yet - been working through some other books. Looks like it will be a good read.
 
A tribute to Peter Krausse the curator of the Australian Reptile Park for Eric Worrell from 1962-1972/'73. Responsible for many exciting exotic reptiles, mammals and birds coming to the park (and Australian ones like the parks first Perenties). Peter was also instrumental in the establishment of the parks Noctarium in 1968, the first in a Southern Hemisphere animal park or zoo (did not get rebuilt at the Somersby site):

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steveroberts said:
A tribute to Peter Krausse the curator of the Australian Reptile Park for Eric Worrell from 1962-1972/'73. Responsible for many exciting exotic reptiles, mammals and birds coming to the park (and Australian ones like the parks first Perenties). Peter was also instrumental in the establishment of the parks Noctarium in 1968, the first in a Southern Hemisphere animal park or zoo (did not get rebuilt at the Somersby site):

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Click to expand...

Peter was also a very gifted private keeper of reptiles in particular whereby he bred the first captive Woma and Oenpelli Pythons a number of years ago and became known for his Jungle Carpet Pythons, Scrub Pythons and QLD Womas.
 
snowleopard said:
Snake-Bitten: Eric Worrell and the Australian Reptile Park:

[ame=[URL]http://www.amazon.com/Snake-Bitten-Eric-Worrell-Australian-Reptile/dp/1742232329/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1378141961&sr=1-1&keywords=eric+worrell]Snake-Bitten[/URL]: Eric Worrell and the Australian Reptile Park: Nancy Cushing, Kevin Markwell: 9781742232324: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]


I just finished reading this excellent book, and I was so enthralled with the text that I completed it within two days. Having heard of Eric Worrell, the legendary Aussie snake man, I was excited to read about his history and the park that he founded in 1959. The writing style is informative and systematic in terms of chronology, and there are 32 pages of black-and-white photos to accompany the well-written prose.

Eric Worrell is justly famous for pioneering life-saving research into various snake and spider anti-venoms, and he wrote a lot of scientific papers on cold-blooded animals in his heyday. The often forgotten fact that he actually first began with the Ocean Beach Aquarium is illuminated in the book, and what was arguably Australia's finest reptile collection blossomed throughout the 1960's and 1970's.

The dark side of Worrell is that he became addicted to alcohol, struggled with all sorts of paperwork and bureaucracy, and many of the husbandry methods of his era ended up being outdated. His beloved Australian Reptile Park came incredibly close to closing in the mid-'80's when financial hardship constrained him, and the zoo was eventually saved from being demolished by John and Robyn Weigel (formerly Worrell's second wife!). The book ably recaps over 50 years of the history of the reptile park and also sheds light on a legendary figure in the annals of Australian herpetology. I highly recommend this book to any devoted zoo enthusiast.
Click to expand...

I'm very hapy that you enjoyed Snake-Bitten, snowleopard! I've onlu just discovered your review. You will most likely be interested in the website I've now created
The Eric Worrell Archive
which features Worrell's published articles.

All the best,
Kevin
 
steveroberts said:
Highly recommend it as a book to read. Does anyone else notice similar life parallels that Eric Worrell and Gerald Durrell shared.
Click to expand...
Hi Steve,

Yes I agree with you, think there are quite a few similarities/paralells between Worrell and Durrell.

You might be interested in a website I have now created
The Eric Worrell Archive

which features nearly all of Worrell's published articles (I've discovered a few more that I haven't yet asked my web-creator, Kate, to put up).

All the best,

Kevin
 
steveroberts said:
A tribute to Peter Krausse the curator of the Australian Reptile Park for Eric Worrell from 1962-1972/'73. Responsible for many exciting exotic reptiles, mammals and birds coming to the park (and Australian ones like the parks first Perenties). Peter was also instrumental in the establishment of the parks Noctarium in 1968, the first in a Southern Hemisphere animal park or zoo (did not get rebuilt at the Somersby site):

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Click to expand...
Yes, Peter was extremely important in creating the foundations of the Park and contributing more sophistcated approach to animal husbandry and exhibit design. I often wondered as I was working on the book what the Park might have achieved if Peter had stayed on for another decade.
 
@Kevin Markwell

Thanks so much Kevin,

Peter and Raija Krauss were who brought Athol the Raven back to the park at Wyoming from the outback too yeah.

Peter sounded like the best curator one could wish for with his innovations to the park's animal collection and facilities, but importantly too he sounded like a really good person to look out for keepers and other staff who worked with him alongside his management. As you write in your book too he helped Eric see his boyhood dream become a reality, of building up the park to be the most (native) zoologically comprehensive and conservationally + scientifically (both antivenom supplies & research) advanced privately owned wildlife park in the country. Would understand if Eric missed him a lot in his later years at the park.

 
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steveroberts said:
@Kevin Markwell

Thanks so much Kevin,

Peter and Raija Krauss were who brought Athol the Raven back to the park at Wyoming from the outback too yeah.

Peter sounded like the best curator one could wish for with his innovations to the park's animal collection and facilities, but importantly too he sounded like a really good person to look out for keepers and other staff who worked with him alongside his management. As you write in your book too he helped Eric see his boyhood dream become a reality, of building up the park to be the most (native) zoologically comprehensive and conservationally + scientifically (both antivenom supplies & research) advanced privately owned wildlife park in the country. Would understand if Eric missed him a lot in his later years at the park.

Click to expand...

Hi again, Steve. Yes, Peter brought to the Park his European training in animal husbandry, particularly with regards to reptiles, that was far beyond where Australian standards were. Peter played a major role in the establishment of the noctarium and also the extensive collection of macropods that the ARP had in the 1960s and into the 70s. Unfortunately, Eric was not interested in many of Peter's excellent suggestions, and I think the situation became difficult to the extent that Peter decided to leave at the end of the 60s/early70s. I visited Peter several times during the course of writing the book, and he had an excellent collection of reptiles at his home, including his giant outfoor enclosures for his perenties and Bell's variant lace monitors. He gave me a stunning hatchlng woma, which I still have 17 years later.
 
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@Kevin Markwell

Thats so awesome too that Peter gave your a hatchling Woma who is still with you 17+ years later, so cool.

Thats cool to know too that Peter was really the big innovator with the extensive Macropod collection at the park in the '60s. From reading your book, the park really became the next level of great when **expanded also into Australian and (some) New Guinean mammals housed additionally, on top of the budding incredible reptile residents over the last 65+ years (well and birds too of course, from memory first institution in Australia to breed Southern Cassowaries ex-situ, + ***).

**besides the Bandicoots you mentioned in the book kept at the park from early days as natural tick hosts to assist the CSL lab' in needed supply for making their tick envenomation-countering/remedy-ing serum.

*** + first too to breed American Alligators successfully in Australia, thanks to Jack Green (side noted because back to reptiles again).
 
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snowleopard said:
Snake-Bitten: Eric Worrell and the Australian Reptile Park:

[ame=[URL='http://www.amazon.com/Snake-Bitten-Eric-Worrell-Australian-Reptile/dp/1742232329/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1378141961&sr=1-1&keywords=eric+worrell]Snake-Bitten']Amazon.com[/URL]: Eric Worrell and the Australian Reptile Park: Nancy Cushing, Kevin Markwell: 9781742232324: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]


I just finished reading this excellent book, and I was so enthralled with the text that I completed it within two days. Having heard of Eric Worrell, the legendary Aussie snake man, I was excited to read about his history and the park that he founded in 1959. The writing style is informative and systematic in terms of chronology, and there are 32 pages of black-and-white photos to accompany the well-written prose.

Eric Worrell is justly famous for pioneering life-saving research into various snake and spider anti-venoms, and he wrote a lot of scientific papers on cold-blooded animals in his heyday. The often forgotten fact that he actually first began with the Ocean Beach Aquarium is illuminated in the book, and what was arguably Australia's finest reptile collection blossomed throughout the 1960's and 1970's.

The dark side of Worrell is that he became addicted to alcohol, struggled with all sorts of paperwork and bureaucracy, and many of the husbandry methods of his era ended up being outdated. His beloved Australian Reptile Park came incredibly close to closing in the mid-'80's when financial hardship constrained him, and the zoo was eventually saved from being demolished by John and Robyn Weigel (formerly Worrell's second wife!). The book ably recaps over 50 years of the history of the reptile park and also sheds light on a legendary figure in the annals of Australian herpetology. I highly recommend this book to any devoted zoo enthusiast.
Click to expand...

Kevin Markwell said:
I'm very hapy that you enjoyed Snake-Bitten, snowleopard! I've onlu just discovered your review. You will most likely be interested in the website I've now created
The Eric Worrell Archive
which features Worrell's published articles.

All the best,
Kevin
Click to expand...

steveroberts said:
Australian Reptile Park Map from 1972 (at the old site)

(source: Australian Reptile Park, Wyoming map, 1972)
Click to expand...

Steve Robinson said:
Ahhh! The memories that this map evokes!!

As soon as I got my driver's licence [1963] I used to drive my old Austin A30 up to the Central Coast each weekend to volunteer alternately at the former Kangy Angy Zoo and at Eric Worrell's Reptile Park. The Dinosaur had not even been built back in my early days there.

Kangy Angy Zoo deserves a chapter in the book but my Australian Reptile Park experiences could fill a book on their own.

On this map, the box marked CURATOR is Eric's house and the box marked RES is the home of his parents. Lovely people - in those simpler days they kept an eye on me as if I was their own grandson and fed me at their own table.

Eric was the greatest mentor that I could have had. Knowledgeable, wise and well prepared to pass on his knowledge [without any ego attached] to an eager young kid from the sticks. Generous to a fault - we need more Eric Worrells.

Mind you, these were the days as he started his slow decline into what would ultimately be his losing battle with his personal demons. The stories that could be told - and won't be told out of respect for this great man.!

Thank you @steveroberts for sharing this gem.
Click to expand...

Old satellite aerial of the original park from 1976 from NSW Spatial Services (source ArcGIS Web Application), not surprisingly 'Ploddy' can be seen.

arp-1976-png.812461


steveroberts said:
Australian Reptile Park Map from 1972 (at the old site)
Australian-Reptile-Park-1972.jpg

(source: Australian Reptile Park, Wyoming map, 1972)
Click to expand...
1972 map for additional contex.
 
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