As the new year gets set to roll in, the Independent felt it fit to look back at those who have put Port Macquarie on the map. And one just can’t go past the man who has nurtured our nature for decades past. Resident Bob Boffa takes us for a walk back in time and earmarks the future of the Billabong Koala and Aussie Wildlife Park …
Story: Darrell Nash
When Bob and Shirley Boffa sold the Budrem Motel they owned in Queensland in 1980 they decided to pack up and move to Sydney to look for a new challenge.
By chance a stopover in Port Macquarie to visit Bob’s niece changed everything for the pair.
Bob was so impressed with what he saw in Port Macquarie he organised a tour with one of the local real estate agents and by the end of the day had decided that the second half of their journey “down to Sydney’ would not be necessary.
“We bought the River Motel from the agent who said it was the easiest sale he had ever made,” Bob said.
“We also decided to purchase “Bird World’ which was a couple of tin sheds on a terrible piece of land.”
Bob and Shirley held a school competition in order to find a name for their new adventure and with the winning entry being “Billabong’, the Billabong Koala and Aussie Wildlife Park was born.
With a D7 bulldozer, their sons Mark and John, daughters Louise and Ann-Maree and the help of a “magician” in Steve Hurrel behind the controls of a bobcat, they transformed what was a wet wasteland into a nature sanctuary.
Being located on the crossroads of the Pacific and Oxley Highways the Park soon became a haven for tourist coaches and was known affectionately as the gateway to Port Macquarie, with the “Old Swagman” standing tall for all to see as they travelled either north or south.
With the opening of the new highway in 1990 the Park found itself close to ruin. However, this was not going to end what had been Bob and his family’s life for the past 10 years.
Bob and Shirley persisted and continued to develop the park until selling to the current owners Mark and Danina Stone.
“Mark is the best thing to happen to the Billabong Park,” Bob said.
“He has an amazing passion foranimals which is backed up by the expertise necessary to ensure that the Park will not only carry on but also grow in popularity and get to its full potential.
“I can sleep easy at night knowing it is in great hands.”
Since retiring in 2003 Bob has taken his hands to a different passion – pursuing his love of the arts.
He has been busy painting and creating sculptures and is currently remodelling The Pinnacle Man sculpture he made – yet another popular attraction on his front doorstep.
“I love passing on my knowledge to younger people – it’s so important to me,” he said.
“A creative lifestyle is so important for this generation and the next.”
