Griffiths was born in New Zealand and arrived in Currumbin, Queensland in about 1944 where he lived with his parents on two and a half acres in Tomewin Street.
[1] Griffiths founded the 26 hectare Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary on his family property at Currumbin, Queensland in 1947 after he started feeding the local wild lorikeets to distract them from damaging his flowers, an initiative that grew into a major tourist attraction.
Each day, at 4.30pm crowds of people would visit to hold the plates of bread and honey for the birds to gather around.
[1] In addition to his work with native animals, Griffiths was active in trying to protect the natural habitat and local environment.
[8] In 1996 Griffiths bought the 4-hectare (10-acre) rainforested property that is now the Currumbin Valley Reserve and donated it to the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland.