Page 247 - Be Reasonable – Do It My Way , Peter E. Daly AM, My Story

CHAPTER 24 - SEAL ROCKS, MELBOURNE ZOO AND AUSTRALIAN LANDSCAPE TRUST (CONSERVATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROPERTIES)
Chapter 24 - Seal Rocks, Melbourne Zoo and Australian Landscape Trust (Conservation and Environmental Properties)
Seal Rocks
I have talked much about insurance and sport. Something you perhaps know less about is my involvement with animals and the natural world.
Had Seal Rocks reached its potential, there is no doubt in my mind it would have been the most outstanding attraction in Australia.
Seal Rocks idea was to build an attraction using the seal colony on Phillip Island. My involvement came about from my appointment to the Board of the Insurance Exchange of Australia. The CEO had this wonderful idea of building a restaurant right on the edge of the cliff, where visitors could enjoy themselves watching the sea which almost splashed up against the windows.
Furthermore, he included in the building a seal ride, which was a boat which travelled on man-made canals under the building much like in any major amusement park, where the public could undertake the ride and learn about seals in Australia. In the foyer of the building we had aquariums and water pools and tactile pools for children to touch some of the smaller fish and crabs etc. It was a great success.
I was appointed Chairman of the Board (as you would expect) and my colleagues on the Board comprised of a who’s who of Melbourne and Sydney society. They were dedicated to building something which would capture the imagination of families. During the construction period, the Kennett Government did everything possible to assist us, full well knowing the attraction, as I said earlier, could be a world leader.
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