Business
18 November, 2024
Smile at a crocodile
HARTLEY’S Crocodile Adventures are marking 90 years with a cutting edge multi-media technology to tell the story of crocodiles.
Marketing director Angela Freeman said their journey began with a story about a road, a teahouse and a crocodile called “Charlie,” and how it evolved over 90 years into a world-renowned eco-adventure attraction.
“The year 2024 is a significant one for us, celebrating 90 years since Herb and Mable Evans built and opened their first tea house on the banks of Hartley’s Creek,” she said.
“The words Hartley’s and crocodile are synonymous. Since 1935, Hartley’s has conducted public crocodile shows and has educated captivated audiences on how to live safely in crocodile country.
“During the early 1970s, pioneering research conducted at Hartley’s gave Australia a better understanding of crocodile biology and highlighted the urgent need to preserve crocodiles in the wild where they were, suffering significant human impact.
“The new and innovative ‘Hartley’s Croc Centre’ uses leading multi-media technology to convey the history of Hartley’s Creek via a journey through ‘Crocodile Time’ in Queensland.
“Visitors are greeted with a life size model of ‘Quinkana Fortirostrum’ which inhabited an ancient landscape in the Chillagoe area over 40 million years ago. It is speculated that this long-legged predator hunted mega-fauna on land when Australia was a dryer continent.
“Following on from ancient times, the story touches on pre-settlement times, then followed by the era of croc hunters, before documenting the contemporary history of Hartley’s.
“The visitor journey concludes with an educational display prepared in partnership with the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation. This section details how science and proven conservation strategies have secured the future of wild crocodile populations in Queensland. The philosophy behind the Crocwise program is to educate and inform the public and thereby reduce unwanted interactions between people and crocodiles.”
Ms Freeman said the history of North Queensland had many tales detailing the adventures of crocodile hunters.
“The Pawlowski family were kind enough to share their story, which is one of great personal hardship and endurance in a harsh and often hostile environment,” she said. They later established the first crocodile farm in Australia in 1966.
