Queensland · Natural Wonder
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
The World's Oldest and Largest Koala Sanctuary
schedule 2 min read / Updated Apr 2026
The oldest and largest koala sanctuary in the world, established in 1927 on 18 hectares of bushland at Fig Tree Pocket on the Brisbane River. Lone Pine holds around 130 koalas in walk-through enclosures and offers the only legal koala-holding experience in south-east Queensland.
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary is the oldest and largest koala sanctuary in the world, founded in 1927 by Claude Reid when the Queensland government was actively issuing permits for commercial koala hunting for the fur trade. Reid established the sanctuary with a single koala named Jack and over the next few decades built it into a breeding and education facility that helped shift public opinion against the hunting trade. The Queensland government banned commercial koala hunting in 1927, the same year Lone Pine opened.
The sanctuary sits on 18 hectares of bushland at Fig Tree Pocket, about 12 kilometres south-west of the Brisbane CBD. It holds around 130 koalas, which makes it the largest koala population at any single sanctuary in Australia. Visitors can walk through the koala enclosures, where the animals are free-range within the fenced area and sleep in the surrounding eucalyptus trees, and in Queensland (uniquely) can still legally hold a koala for a supervised photograph. New South Wales and Victoria have banned the practice.
Beyond koalas, Lone Pine holds kangaroos (in a walk-through paddock where visitors can hand-feed and pat the animals), wombats, Tasmanian devils, dingoes, echidnas, platypus and more than 80 bird species. The sheep-dog demonstrations and the bird of prey shows run twice daily and are included in the entry ticket.
The sanctuary is reached by car (15 minutes from the CBD with free parking), by CityCat ferry to Toowong then a short bus ride, or by the Mirimar cruise which departs from the South Bank and takes 90 minutes up the Brisbane River with commentary. It is open from 9am to 5pm every day of the year except Anzac Day morning and Christmas Day.
Scenic views
Lookouts near Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.
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- Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, Fig Tree Pocket, Brisbane, Austrá... · Fry72 · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, Fig Tree Pocket, Brisbane, Austrá... · Fry72 · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, Fig Tree Pocket, Brisbane, Austrá... · Fry72 · CC BY-SA 4.0
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