Remember a time when monkeys played and orchids bloomed right here at Aqua Flora Park? From 1931 to 1956, this park was a private zoo. Albert Royce, a confectioner, created Aqua Flora Park. He filled it with monkeys, kangaroos, birds and goldfish. The park also had plants and flowers, including orchids.
Today, houses stand where parts of the zoo once stood. But the name Aqua Flora Park remains. Rockdale Council kept the name for this parkland. Look closely. You might spot relics of the old zoo. Near a tree, a piece of water pipe sticks out. It’s from the former fish tanks. Some houses nearby even have remnants of the monkey enclosure fence.
Local historians Lew Bond and Garry Darby tell the park’s story. They wrote “Memories of Aqua Flora Park.” The book began as a bicentenary project in 1988. Royce was a confectioner. His cafe in the park was famous. People loved its milkshakes and scones.
In 1935, Aqua Flora Park gained fame. A group of American tourists visited. They came from the Cunard-White Star liner, Franconia. Playwright Moss Hart and songwriter Cole Porter were among them. Yvonne Hawkins from Sans Souci shared a memory in the book. She got a one-eyed black goldfish from Aqua Flora Park. She named it Lord Nelson. It lived for years in a bathtub in her yard. That tub is now restored and still holds fish.
After Royce died, his widow closed the park two years later. So next time you stroll through Aqua Flora Park, imagine its past. Picture the monkeys, the orchids and the bustling cafe. Think of Lord Nelson, the one-eyed goldfish. Aqua Flora Park’s history lives on. It is more than just a park, it is a memory.