Animal sanctuary founder recognised for conservation work

‘I was travelling and working around Australia in remote locations,’ he said. ‘I’d been in the British Army, and wasn’t sure what I wanted to do next. Wally was my first rescue, and made me realise that I wanted to help animals on a bigger scale, and share that passion with others.’

The outcome was Eventide Animal Sanctuary, a 40 hectare property at Carlton River that currently houses almost 250 non-native animals and birds, including donkeys, geese, goats, cows, alpacas, ducks and Highland cattle. And Wally, of course.

Ian has been running the sanctuary for nearly three years, with his partner Diana joining him on his journey, and it is becoming increasingly popular for private guided sanctuary tours, corporate work events, children’s birthday parties and primary school visits.

But there’s another side to Eventide. Ian was once fired from his job on an outback station for deactivating all the home-made wombat traps, and that same care and respect for native animals has carried over into the sanctuary.

‘It’s important to me that my work with the rescues doesn’t displace the animals that have always been here,’ he said. ‘So there’s a lot of conservation work in conjunction with the other activities.’

When Ian bought the property, it was neglected grazing and bushland. ‘The easiest thing to do, to get more pasture, would have been to just clearfell the bush,’ he said. ‘But that wasn’t what I wanted.’

‘If I do need to clear an area, I do most of it by hand, because I want to leave plenty of shelter and shade for the rescues, as well as keeping the native vegetation for the wild animals.’

It takes a lot of work, but it has paid off. ‘There are wedge-tailed eagle nests up in the top corner of the property. There are falcons, there are wombats and wallabies in the valley, there are Tassie devils in the forest. It’s magic here in the evenings.’

Ian’s overall goal is ‘to give a home to the animals that need it, to share the benefits of being around those animals with the general public, and to inspire people to look at things differently.’

He’s currently running a tour a day, so visitors can meet the rescued animals. And sometimes there’s a bonus. ‘On this morning’s tour,’ he said, ‘we saw the wedge-tailed eagle coming down.’

Ian has been chosen by Clarence Climate Action as this month’s Climate Champion, for his conservation work at Eventide.

Eastern Shore Sun, March 2026, page 23