DO you realise it has been 50 years since the popular Australian TV series, Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, aired its pilot episode?
This pilot spawned the worldwide hit TV series, which went on to air in 128 countries and was translated into 25 languages. It also began an international love affair with the kangaroo and was linked to a spike in tourism numbers.
Featherdale Wildlife Park in Sydney's west recently hosted an event to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the series and to pay tribute to Bruce and Margaret Kubbere who founded the park in 1972.
Tony Bonner, best known as flight ranger Jerry King in the series, was on hand to speak about his role on the show and was given the "keys to the park" by Featherdale's general curator Chad Staples, allowing him lifetime free entry to the park.
Bonner went on to star in many television shows and more than 40 feature films here and overseas.
Featherdale Wildlife Park helped resettle some of the animals that stayed on at the fictional Waratah Park.
It has also been home to other Australian celebrity animals including Fatso the wombat from A Country Practice, the koala that featured in the 1980s Qantas print campaign, and Archer the Koala, recently voted the cutest animal in Australia in a poll run by travel booking website Experience Oz!
For those who love trivia:
· Skippy was the first international TV star from Australia.
· Skippy was actually female and was played by more than a dozen kangaroos.
· At its height, Skippy was watched by 300 million people each week.
· Skippy's theme song was one of the catchiest in TV history.
· Skippy was the first TV series to be shot on colour film at a time when most shows were still shot in black and white.
· Skippy still airs on television today somewhere around the world.
