Meet the staff
Penny, manager
It takes a lot of organisation and steely nerves to run a zoo and Penny has both in spades. She is responsible for all the behind-the-scenes stuff including recruitment, budgeting, strategic planning and publicity and marketing. Penny came to us from Sydney where she worked in a management role at a popular wildlife park. She is enjoying quiet country life as a great counter to her busy career. In her spare time Penny loves to practice yoga, run with her dog and cook for her partner.
Sally, curator
Our curator Sally is responsible for the living collection at Gondwana Park Zoo. This is an extremely busy and varied role involving management of all the keeping, vet and horticultural staff; animal transfers, acquisitions and dispositions; plus planning and executing conservation projects. Sally began her life as a keeper in her home state Victoria before undertaking a zoological degree and working towards becoming a curator. She joined Gondwana Park Zoo as a senior keeper and became our curator in 2009. She has wonderful and varied experience and is a great and empathetic manager. In her spare time Sally likes to sail: last year she and her husband sailed to Vanuatu with their sea-loving cat Flotsam.
Victoria, senior keeper – exotic mammals
As senior keeper for exotic mammals Victoria is responsible for the daily care of 18 mammal species. In addition to overseeing animal husbandry, Victoria manages animal conditioning training and keeper presentations. Having worked in a number of keeper roles across her ten-year career, Victoria brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and empathy to her role at Gondwana Park Zoo. Victoria has been pivotal in establishing our lemur conservation program in conjunction with the Lemur Conservation Foundation in Florida. At home she is responsible for the conservation of her partner, two children, dog, two cats and three rabbits.
Chris, senior keeper – reptiles
Self-confessed reptile tragic Chris brings passion and experience to his role as senior reptile keeper. Chris is responsible for the daily husbandry duties relating to the reptiles under his care, as well as being one of our star presenters for Gondwana Park Zoo’s talks. A teacher in a previous life, Chris is great with children and hilarious to boot. In his personal life, Chris and his young family take in rescue animals and help rear them for their release back into the wild. He has documented the story of his latest foster baby, a barn owl called Delta, on the Gondwana Park Zoo blog, Feathered Tales.
Tanya, keeper – native animals
Tanya is a recent and highly valued addition to the Gondwana Park Zoo keeper team. She joins us from WA where she was working as a keeper at Perth Zoo. Having worked with native Australian animals in some capacity for the last five years, Tanya is very familiar with the different kinds of husbandry required for the different species. As a volunteer for WIRES, Tanya is also dedicated to the conservation of native Australian species outside her Gondwana Park Zoo role. When Tanya is not rescuing possums and lorikeets you can find her on the touch football field playing with her new team or hanging out with her boyfriend and dog, who have also made the move to NSW.
Andrew, trainee keeper
Our trainee keeper Andrew was a Gondwana Park Zoo volunteer when he realised he wanted to make zoo keeping his life. He has now been a trainee keeper for a year and is well on the way to finishing his captive animals certification. Andrew usually floats between the different keeping teams offering assistance depending on where he is needed the most that week. He helps out with all the general husbandry tasks and, under the guidance of the senior keepers, is learning about animal conditioning training. Before he caught the keeping bug Andrew was a veterinary assistant in his hometown of Byron Bay. When he is not studying or working, Andrew loves hanging out with his axolotl Alejandro or watching NRL with his housemates.
Chris, horticulturalist
Gondwana Park Zoo’s resident horticulturalist Chris is the man behind our gorgeous gardens, sweeping savannahs and lush lawns. Chris’s busy role includes managing all the landscaped areas in the zoo, selecting and planting any trees or shrubs required for animal enclosures, plus growing and maintaining all the browse or edible plants required for the different animal species. Chris has an extensive background in horticulture and landscape gardening. In his spare time, you may find Chris in the community garden he manages near the town centre or at home practising his green thumb. He lives with his wife and a large collection of birds that inhabit their backyard aviary.
Khia, volunteer
As one of Gondwana Park Zoo’s volunteer keepers, Khia is gaining valuable animal husbandry experience and meeting a lot of new people. Khia works alongside our staff, and helps with a variety of tasks such as cleaning, food preparation and enrichment. Khia is very passionate about animal welfare; when she is not at the zoo, Khia can be found helping out at the Glenn Innes RSPCA.
Helen, visitor volunteer
As one of Gondwana Park Zoo’s visitor volunteers, Helen has varied responsibilities including manning the information desk, responding to visitor enquiries and managing visitor tours and special groups. Helen brings fantastic skills and experience to her role as a volunteer: her background in aged care means she is particularly suited to working with some of the elderly groups that come through the zoo. Helen also speaks fluent Mandarin, which is very handy when overseas tour groups visit. Helen is also a proud grandmother of eight, which keeps her pretty busy when she’s not volunteering at the zoo.
Judy, vet
Gondwana Park Zoo’s vet Judy has a very busy schedule caring for all the sick and injured animals in the wildlife hospital, as well as working with the keepers to ensure optimal health is maintained for all the different species in the different zones of the zoo. Judy has been a vet for 20 years and she brings a wealth of zoological experience to her job, having worked on wildlife reserves in Africa and zoos in the UK. In her spare time Judy manages a zoo of her own: three horses, two goats, four chickens, two dogs, three kids and a husband.