lyell deer sanctuary

I was looking for something a little bit different to do for Sharon’s birthday and decided a trip to the Lyell Deer Sanctuary would be something she would enjoy, being the type of person who loves anything “cute”.

How did I come to know of this place, you may ask?

It’s only a small sanctuary after all with no grand TV or radio advertising. Well, to tell the truth, the road to the Sanctuary was quite an interesting journey.

To start at the beginning, I originally went to the tiny town of Toogoolawah to learn about its history and in search of information on a bush-ranger known as the Wild Scotchman. During my travels through Esk and Toogoolawah, I noticed a deer in the logo of local businesses, which I though was a little odd, considering that they're not native to Australia.

So, what was the significance of these creatures in this part of Queensland?

I wondered and down the rabbit hole I went……..

What I found was that in 1873 Queen Victoria gifted 6 red deer (2 stag and 4 hind) to Queensland after it was named in her honour. The deer were released at Cressbrook Station in Toogoolawah (where the Wild Scotchman worked – are you keeping up?) and descendants of these deer still roam in the area.

There's even a statue at Toogoolawah to commemorate this occasion!

So, why do we have a sanctuary for an introduced species? If I was to hazard a guess, I’d say it has a bit to do with this particular part of our heritage.

So here we are at the Lyell Deer Sanctuary.

I must admit it is a beautiful part of the south east at Mt Samford. The vista from the deck at the sanctuary is certainly something I’d be happy to wake up to everyday. The sanctuary itself is a haven for injured animals and deer – from peacocks to a lizard. It is only a small sanctuary and is privately owned, and relies on admission costs (a nominal $5 for adults and $3 for a child) and donations to keep it going.

You buy yourself a bag of food ($1) and head down to feed the deer who very eagerly await your visit. First stop for us however, was the calf, conveniently standing in the way of the stairs (no way was Sharon passing those big brown eyes without stopping for a cuddle).

There are a variety of deer at the sanctuary, though the majority of the males were not in the viewing paddock at the time, as they were in the process of losing their antlers which tends to make them a little less sociable. We did have the opportunity to feel the antlers of one youngster who was just at the stage of antler growth where they were still velvety –that was a treat.

I imagine that the average stay at the sanctuary for a visit would only be between 30 and 90 minutes, but it is well worth the trip and a great spot to take the little ones, or the big softies.

We headed back from there through Samford and stopped in for a bite for lunch and found a couple of other interesting things that need further investigation, so we will be heading back again soon. Maybe we’ll see you there!