Tag:werribee mansion
Werribee Open Range Zoo is an African-themed open-range zoo in Werribee, 32 kms southwest of Melbourne. It is part of Zoos Victoria, which also includes Melbourne Zoo, Healesville Sanctuary, and Kyabram Fauna Park. Werribee open range zoo is situated on approximately 225 hectares (560 acres), located on the Werribee River escarpment in Werribee Park, adjacent to the Werribee Mansion on land that was initially part of the Chirnside estate.
History
The land was originally part of the Chirnside family estate (Werribee mansion) before being sold to the Catholic church. In 1975 the Victorian Government purchased the land and broke it into four parcels – Werribee Zoo, Werribee Park Golf Club, Werribee Mansion and the National Equestrian Centre.
At first, Werribee zoo was used as extra pasture land for Melbourne zoo’s surplus animals. Then in 1977, the Board of Zoos Victoria decided to create an open-range zoo based on the African Savannah species of animals. Most of the animals came to Werribee from Melbourne Zoo. However, the zebras came from Rotterdam zoo, and the hippos were supplied by Whipsnade animal park in the UK. Werribee zoo officially opened to the public in 1983.
Early Days
When Werribee Open Range Zoo opened, work was still ongoing. Visitors would board a bus at Werribee Park Mansion, pay their entry fee on board the bus, and were then driven to the zoo adjacent to Werribee mansion.
In 1996 the bistro, gift shop, and walking trail were added. Next, in 1997, the Volcanic Plains trail. Finally, 1999 saw the arrival of four rhinos from South Africa. Before long, the breeding program commenced, and a rhino calf was born in 2002. In the subsequent years, the zoo continued to grow. Lions on the Edge habitat opened in 2004, producing three cubs in 2015 and two more litters since. Kubu River Hippos in 2006 and African Wildlife habitat in 2008.
In 2011, the gorilla exhibit opened with the arrival of an adult silverback and his two sons from Melbourne Zoo. The koala habitat opened in 2014, along with a bandicoot hideaway for the critically endangered eastern barred bandicoots. Squirrel gliders, dunnarts, tawny frogmouths, and striped legless lizards also live here.
Sheru, a five-year-old male lion, arrived from Sydney zoo in March 2022, joining the two lionesses, Nilo and Asali. He is considered the ideal age to assume the role of pride male and lead his own pride.
Main Attractions
Safari Tour: the forty-minute bus tour travels through the 45-hectare open savannah section. It runs on the hour daily and is included in your admission cost. The safari bus passes roaming bison, camels, elands, waterbuck, ostrich, scimitar oryx and Przewalski’s horse before going through Australia’s only drive-through hippo exhibit – the Kubu River Hippo enclosure. The bus then heads past southern white rhinos, giraffes and zebras (with the elephants from Melbourne zoo joining them in 2024).
Australian Journey – this trail will take you past kangaroos, emus, brolgas, tammar wallabies and orange-bellied parrots.
Pula Reserve Walking Trail takes you past the lions, vervet monkeys, cheetahs, African wild dogs, and western lowland gorillas.
Meerkat Bistro and Gift Shop
The bistro and gift are inside the front entrance, and the meerkat’s glass enclosure is beside the bistro. Visitors can watch them play while dining. There is also a kids menu for the little ones and seasonal food, wines and beer for the adults.
In April 2008, it was announced Warner Village Theme Parks proposed that a theme park, known as African Safari World, was to be built within the grounds of the zoo. However, on July 1, 2008, the proposed theme park plans were indefinitely postponed, with the Government citing the potential $100 million cost to the taxpayer. It was also a concern that it would negatively impact the animals as well as conservation and research programs.
The Future of the Zoo
In 2020 the Victorian Government announced an $84 million upgrade to Werribee zoo. Much of the massive 225 hectares (560 acres) that make up Werribee zoo is unused. As part of the upgrade, 22 hectares of that unused space is being prepared for the elephant enclosure, a significant upgrade from the 2 hectares they currently have at Melbourne Zoo. (Coincidentally, the entire footprint of Melbourne zoo is 22 hectares! Construction commenced in 2021 and is due for completion in 2024.
Also planned is an expanded rhino retreat, a prairie landscape for the bison, an expansion of the lion exhibit and a new hyena clan. Additionally, a tree-top gondola, the sky safari, will carry visitors from one side of the zoo to the other.
Special Experiences
Slumber Safari – 2 days of access and one night in a luxury lodge at the zoo. Includes an animal encounter, a unique early fully hosted safari and meet the keeper. Plus dinner and breakfast. $380pp
Deluxe Safari Adventure – Travel across the savannah with a personal guide in a smaller safari vehicle. Unlike the big bus, this one gets closer and stops so you can capture photographs. I did the tour once and loved it. $56 (plus zoo entry)
Where is it?
Werribee Zoo is located on K Road Werribee. They are open from 9 am to 5 pm each day.
Adult entry is $42; Seniors are $38 and Concession $31.50. Children under16 are free on weekends, public holidays and school holidays. At all other times, children are $21. Entry is free for zoo members.
What’s Nearby?
Nearby Werribee Open Range zoo, you will find Werribee Mansion and the State Rose Garden. Both are worth a visit, especially during spring when the roses are flowering. Also nearby is Shadowfax Winery. The Werribee Gorge State Park is just down the road – another gorgeous spot for a walk or picnic.
Werribee Park Mansion is one of Victoria’s largest and most opulent properties. The 60-room mansion, flowing across several wings, was built between 1874 and 1877 in the Renaissance Revival style by the pioneering pastoralists Thomas Chirnside (1815-1887) and his brother Andrew Chirnside (1818-1890), who emigrated to Australia from Scotland and founded the “Chirnside Pastoral Empire“.
The lush interior contains original furniture, an entry hall with a Minton encaustic tiled floor, niches, Corinthian pilasters, and free-standing columns leading to a grand staircase. Off the main entrance are the main reception rooms, a library and dining room.
Thomas Chirnside
Thomas Chirnside was born in Berwickshire, Scotland, the elder son of Robert Chirnside and Mary Fairs. In January 1839, at age twenty-three, Thomas Chirnside arrived in Adelaide from Liverpool on the ship Bardaster. He then made his way to Sydney in March. Returning to Melbourne, after drought in NSW affected his fortunes, the Chirnside brothers bought the land at Werribee.
As a member of the Victorian Acclimatisation Society, Thomas began importing animals from the old country, such as red deer, foxes, hares, pheasants, and partridges. It wasn’t long before “fine old English gentlemen” were hunting the new arrivals around the vast expanse of Werribee Park.
Western District Families
Thomas returned to Scotland for a holiday in 1845, where he fell in love with his first cousin Mary Begbie. He asked her parents for her hand in marriage, but she refused to move to Australia. His brother Andrew then travelled back to Scotland for a visit with a request from his brother. Bring back Mary any way he could. So in 1852, Andrew returned with Mary. However, he brought her back as his wife. Not quite the outcome Thomas wanted. Regardless, the brothers remained close, though Thomas remained a bachelor for the rest of his life.
The grand staircase
Thomas, and his brother Andrew, built the mansion at their Werribee park property over three years. In today’s money, the mansion cost nine million dollars. Notably, the impressive grand staircase is almost identical to the Barwon Park staircase. In fact, it’s a case of the Chirnsides emulating the Austins, as Barwon Park was completed six years before the Werribee mansion.
In 1877, when complete, Andrew, Mary and their three children moved in. Thomas continued to live nearby at the Point Cook homestead; however, he later moved in with Andrew and Mary. The mansion’s extensive workforce worked across ten acres of farmland and the house staff. The Chirnsides also entertained the shire ratepayers and their families. It was not unusual for the Chirnsides to hold picnics with games, bands and dancing for a thousand people, with Thomas appearing on his horse to resounding cheers. Thomas was a strict Sabbatarian and did not allow any work to take place on Sundays.
In 1887, in ill health, suffering depression, and believing himself bankrupt, Thomas shot himself in the laundry with his shotgun. Andrew then inherited the property and Thomas’s estate.
Sadly, Andrew passed away from heart disease just three years later, leaving his personal estate to Mary and his real estate holdings to his two youngest sons. However, as per his will, Mary was permitted to continue at Werribee park, along with a generous allowance until her death. She died, aged eighty-one, in 1908 at a private hospital in Colac due to burns after her hair had caught alight from a bedside candle.
Werribee, after the Chirnside’s
Unfortunately, George couldn’t mirror the success of his father and uncle, and with dwindling fortunes, he sold the mansion to Phillip Lock, a wealthy grazier from Warnambool, in 1922. Lock, in turn, sold it to the Catholic church in 1923. Under the church’s ownership, it became a seminary, Corpus Christi College. Several wings were added by the monks residing there. These wings have been converted to the 5-star Lancemore Hotel.
Finally, in 1973 the Victorian government bought the property from the Catholic church and restored the mansion and grounds to their former glory, renaming it Werribee Park Mansion. Three years later, the mansion was featured in the film The Devil’s Playground. In 1982, it was one of the sets used in the musical comedy, The Pirate Movie. The mansion was then depicted as an English manor in the children’s comedy series, The Genie From Down Under in 1996 and episodes of Miss Fishers Murder Mysteries. Werribee Park Mansion was added to the Victorian Heritage Register in April 1987.
Visiting Werribee Mansion
Open Daily entry is $11.10 for Adults, and children 4-15 years are $8.00. Adult concession is $8.00, and a family of 2 adults and two children is $34.80. Audio tours are available for an extra $3.80. Entry to the mansion also gives you free access to the gardens and State Rose Garden.