[1] Established by Australian naturalist David Fleay in 1952, the Park today is home to many native animals, which are displayed in surroundings similar to their natural habitats.

After investigating areas around Brisbane and South East Queensland, Fleay selected the Tallebudgera Estuary as a suitable site for a fauna reserve in late 1951.

Animals such as southern cassowaries, dingoes, platypuses, owls, crocodiles and pythons lived at the sanctuary in "benevolent captivity", whilst bandicoots, flying foxes, the endangered eastern bristlebirds, white-breasted sea eagles, wallabies and koalas were free to come and go as they pleased.

[2] In order to ensure the future survival of the sanctuary, David and Sigrid Fleay sold a large portion of the reserve (37 acres (15 ha)) to the Queensland Government in 1982, which became a Conservation Park.

Bird species include: Australasian darter; Australian pelican; Australian white ibis; Barking owl; Black swan; Black-necked stork; Brolga; Bush stone-curlew; Dusky moorhen; Eastern barn owl; Eastern bristlebird; Eclectus parrot; Emu; Great egret; Little black cormorant; Magpie goose; Nankeen night heron; Plumed whistling duck; Rufous night-heron; Scrub turkey; Southern cassowary; Tawny frogmouth; Wedge-tailed eagle and White-bellied sea eagle.

At Melbourne University he met fellow science student, Mary Sigrid Collie, and they married in 1931, the year in which David Fleay graduated in Zoology, Botany and Education.

Reflecting his naturalist's viewpoint rather than traditional zoologists' thinking, he insisted that native birds and animals should be fed what they would eat in the wild.

[1] By chance, the wildlife sanctuary at Healesville, about 90 kilometres (56 mi) north-east of Melbourne, needed to replace Robert Eadie, who had been the honorary Curator since the early 1930s.

[1] David Fleay returned to Healesville on 13 October 1947 to discover that the Board had fired him during his absence, for the alleged unauthorised donation of other sanctuary animals to the Americans.

[1] In late 1951 David Fleay, after investigating around Brisbane and south-east Queensland, selected the Tallebudgera Estate as a suitable site for a fauna reserve.

[1] The original layout of the sanctuary was designed by Fleay, who used a compass to ensure that each cage received breezes and the morning sun.

A new, superior platypussary was built in 1958 with money provided by the United States in return for three platypuses taken by David Fleay to New York's Bronx Zoo.

[1] The sanctuary survived principally through the hard work of David Fleay and his family, and at times, with the assistance of the local community.

[1] In 1970, Fleay continued his attempts to breed platypuses in a platypussary which, although slightly modernised, was largely similar to the one he built at Healesville, 28 years previously.

The accolades continued in 1984 when he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science by the University of Queensland and appointed a Rotary Paul Harris Fellow.

[1] Internally, the walls and ceilings are predominantly lined with vertically joined tongue and groove boards with door openings incorporating decorative timber arches and fanlight panels with Federation era motifs.

It is a 3.5 metres (11 ft) high timber-framed structure with birdwire to the north, east and south walls and eastern half of the roof.

[1] The enclosure is a 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in) high, timber-framed structure sheeted with asbestos cement to much of the perimeter and birdwire to the remaining area.

The timber-framed structure is approximately 3 metres (9.8 ft) high with walls to the east, south and west sides sheeted with flat asbestos cement.

The enclosure is a 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in) high, timber-framed structure sheeted with flat asbestos cement to the east, south and west sides.

The enclosure is a 4-metre (13 ft) high unpainted concrete blockwork structure with a timber-framed, red, concrete-tiled gable roof and aluminium windows.

It is a 2.5-metre (8 ft 2 in) high timber-framed structure enclosed on the east, south and west sides with super-6 corrugated asbestos cement sheeting.

It is an approximately 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in) high timber-framed structure with timber boarding to the lower walls and angled metal mesh above the north side.

It is an approximately 2.5-metre (8 ft 2 in) high structure with concrete blockwork base walls and tubular steel posts supporting upper level metal mesh and a super-6 corrugated asbestos cement skillion roof.

The structure has fine metal mesh to the west wall and full height super-6 corrugated asbestos cement sheeting to the south-east corner.

It is an approximately 3-metre (9.8 ft) high timber-framed structure enclosed on the east, south and west sides with flat asbestos cement sheeting and vertical timber boarding.

It is an approximately 2-metre (6 ft 7 in) high timber-framed structure with walls enclosed on the east, south and west sides with flat asbestos cement sheeting.

It is an approximately 2.5-metre (8 ft 2 in) high timber-framed structure with flat asbestos cement sheeting to the south-east corner and chickenwire to the remaining walls.

Established in 1951 by world-renowned naturalist Dr David Fleay, forming part of the initial stage of development, the David Fleay Wildlife Park is significant for its contribution to Queensland's history, having a long tradition as a place for breeding and displaying native Australian animals, to draw community attention to Australian wildlife and the need to conserve Australia's native animals.

The David Fleay Wildlife Park is significant as it provides examples of various types of timber-framed, steel-framed, blockwork structures and enclosures used in the fauna reserves.