Our History

David, who owns and manages Caversham with his Wife Pat, Son David and Daughter Debbie, arrived in Australia in 1982, and bought the park six years later. At that stage it covered 2ha. (five acres), of which little more than half was populated by a modest collection of animals and a few native birds. It has since doubled in size and the population has boomed. The park now features about 200 species and more than 2000 head, all housed in a walk-through or walk-in environment. The expansion took place in 1994, when the Thornes bought the adjoining property. In April 2003 the park was relocated to Whiteman Park and, once again, more than doubled in size.

The park is now the premier development of its kind in W.A. It attracts about 180,000 visitors each year, and such is its status that the breeding programme is officially recognised by Australian Zoos. David regularly exchanges animals or birds with other parks and zoos to add to Caversham’s population, and for breeding. The park has bred its own wombats, Tasmanian devils and koalas, to name but a few. It has also entered into a grass owl breeding programme with Perth Zoo, and is the only park in W.A. to have bred cassowaries. This is a significant achievement for a privately owned park.

Although most of the park’s animals are Australian, the park does have some exotics such as monkeys and llamas. Ironically, some introduced species, such as buffalo, donkeys and camels, are now considered to be Australian. It is believed that camels introduced from the Middle East, would have become extinct if not allowed to breed here. Australia has been selling camel stock back to its country of origin for many years.