It was through the McKechnie family that I found out
that the Adelaide Zoo was looking for a curator. I was
actually offered the position, and declined, but I was
happy to recommend Werner, who remained with the zoo
for many years. Sadly, he passed away in 2017.
The reptile park at Gosford was also the main supplier of
venom to CSL, and this was my first involvement with
venom extraction. Eric taught me how to prepare
beakers, etc.; I also did some display milking for the
public on Sundays.
iH: Did you go herping around Gosford? Did you keep
any animals privately?
PK: There was an area north of Gosford where I spent all
my free time catching water dragons, Land Mullets and
lots of Diamond Pythons. Word had it that Charles
Tanner had caught a couple of the elusive Angle-headed
Dragons in the area, but I never saw one.
I had a snake room, bred grasshoppers, looked after
invalid reptiles, and had some big cuscus and a few
snakes as well. I became friendly with one of the keepers
at Taronga, an Englishman named Bill Timmis, who was
sponsored by Sir Edward Hallstrom, the driving force
behind the development of Taronga Zoo. Sir Edward was
getting lots of Green Pythons sent down from his
plantation in the New Guinea highlands, and Bill said I
could have a couple of them. I gave him three pygmy
monitors in exchange, and Sir Edward said they had the
better part of the deal, as they got three animals for two!
Although it belonged to the park, I also looked after a
taipan for a while, and that was my first experience
keeping a serious elapid.
Above: the family help to get some Cane Toads from a
holding pen.
Left: my son Risto with a large female toad.