Atlantis Marine Park, Two Rocks, then and now. - Abandoned Park

Modern footage taken with the DJI Osmo and the Mavic Pro drone in 4K
Thanks to the following for the old footage
• Atlantis Show
• Atlantis Marine Park D...
Its great people post this old footage for us all to enjoy.
en.wikipedia.o...
Atlantis Marine Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Atlantis Marine Park
Atlantis dolphins 1980s
Feeding the dolphins, c. 1985
Slogan Atlantis marine park for the enrichment of mankind [1]
Location Two Rocks, Western Australia, Australia
Coordinates 31.496348°S 115.586320°ECoordinates: 31.496348°S 115.586320°E
Opened 1981
Closed August 1990
Status Abandoned
Atlantis Marine Park is an abandoned theme park built in 1981 in Two Rocks, a small fishing community 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. The park was a major feature of Alan Bond's Yanchep Sun City plan. It closed in August 1990 due to financial difficulty.
Contents
1 History
2 Dolphins
3 Current situation
4 References
5 External links
History
In the 1970s Bond purchased 20,000 acres of land in Yanchep with a plan to build a large resort and residential area.[2] The Park was constructed in 1981 with the hope that Perth's rapid expansion would be accompanied by an equal growth in tourism. Six months before the park was opened, seven bottlenose dolphins were caught locally and trained as performance animals for the next ten years. The park was opened by the Premier of Western Australia the Hon. Ray O'Connor and the chairman and president of the Tokyu Corporation Mr Noburu Gotoh. In his opening speech Mr Gotoh explained that Atlantis was the first element in an expansion plan to make the Yanchep Sun City a premier leisure recreation region.
In 1988, three female dolphin calves were born, which as a result of changes in regulations for holding marine mammals meant Atlantis would have to construct a larger dolphin enclosure. This, coupled with the park gradually losing money, was the reason for the owners closing Atlantis in August 1990.[3]
Dolphins
Prior to the park's opening, seven bottlenose dolphins were caught from the local coastal population and were used as performance animals for the next ten years. At the time Atlantis closed in 1990, the park had nine dolphins, six wild born, and three captive born juveniles.
With the closure of the park, the owners Tokyu Corporation of Japan agreed to a proposal by Dr. Nick Gales, a marine park veterinarian and research scientist to fully fund the release of the animals to the wild, provided it would end their financial commitment to the dolphins. The project to release the animals into the wild began in March 1991; the rehabilitation program began in the park pools and eventually moved to a sea pen at the Two Rocks Marina in October 1991. The dolphins were fully released into the wild in January 1992.[3]
The initial release encountered problems, with some of the dolphins losing a lot of weight; three of them were recaptured and returned to the sea pen. The three recaptured dolphins were not re-released to the wild, but were relocated to Underwater World (now the Aquarium of Western Australia).[3]
Current situation
King Neptune in 2012.
Since its closure in 1990 the park has been abandoned and vandalised,[4] though the site was featured in the CBBC programme All Over the Place - Australia in March 2014. The site is currently owned by property developers, the Fini Group. A plan has been put forward to the City of Wanneroo to develop the area into a mix of retail, commercial and entertainment land uses. In the plan, key features of the Marine Park such as King Neptune would be retained.
After a several months long restoration, the King Neptune sculpture and surrounding area was reopened to the public in May 2015.[5] The sculpture was previously heritage listed by the Western Australian Heritage Council in 2006.

[@derrickmurphy9988]

sad in a way to think of the family holidays spent here and fun times and now its gone.a lot of people in these old shots are long gone too.times moves on pretty fast and things change.but we have some vivid memories and thanks to people like you some get to relive those wee memories.

[@AuzBYWrestling]

Yeah fuck mate, absolutely

[@margaret2509]

I remover going there in 1984 and it was fun place to visit.Thanks for a update.👍😎

[@flatcapman]

I have photos of my older brother staying outside the park in 1983. He was so lucky to see it open then. Pictures were taken of the whole park by a parent

[@kirbymeehan633]

My mum lives in two rocks now, so we are there whenever we visit from the UK. The statues are still dotted around the shopping area and car park. I recall Neptune used to be in a quite a state but some volunteers spent time cleaning him up a couple of years ago. One of those volunteers went to Swanleigh with us, but he would have been a few years behind you JJ. I started the year you finished.

[@chalronbjork4766]

This makes me feel sad; lots of good memories

[@jackel2236]

The effort and research you put into this video is amazing. Thanks mate. What an impact Bond had on our state. I should look into his story and fortune a bit more.

[@jjsadv]

I wish I could have spent more time on production and research. I didnt really take the video with the intent of posting it, but once I started having a look I thought I might be able to scratch together enough to make it worthwhile. I would like to to a proper now and then and do a lot more prep work.

[@Annie1962]

I hope you did as he was a crook who swindled many people out of money, He didn't go to jail for nothing.

[@jjsadv]

I meant research the location. This isnt really about Bond.

[@jackel2236]

Yep, I understand. Great work.

[@BOSIBA]

Feel sad mate, use to go there a lot with the whole family

[@skippymaster57]

I just watched another You Tube video 3 years later and am amazed at the amount of these places that have been completely been overgrown by not only nature, but by the human degradation of those wanting their few seconds of fame by graffiti over things built more than 30 years before they were even born. Just a very sad reminder of the fleeting effect we as humans have on the natural world and our small part is in it. It was a great place to visit, however, the reasons for it's demise once again shows the greed of politicians (WA Inc) and the way people put themselves above nature. I guess nature gets to have the last laugh.

[@GaryBrubacher]

Well done, thanks for the story JJ :

[@rachelborowyckyj626]

I have lived in Two Rocks for 20 years. I was born in 1994 so its always looked like the modern pics. My friends and brother used to play in the area, and I have done assessments on it too for Uni.

[@hamelyn06]

Ecclusel fart kimp

[@craigmiddlemiss6917]

i lived in heathridge moved from new zealand in 78 i was 4 and it was blank slate no houses just bush and sanddunes as far as the eye could see i went to atlantis park a few times i found it quite boring it needed waterslides but it did have that strange feeling about it

[@jjsadv]

The maps etc you got when you walked into the park when it was open. drive.google.com/open?id=0B0QsvN7GZbMyc2s2OXhUSHNuVjA drive.google.com/open?id=0B0QsvN7GZbMyS3BtUjZYcHZrUzA

[@reezevlog]

i remembered coming here on my first trip to Perth back in the early 80s...i still have the photos of us family with the Neptune in the background.....*sigh*...😢😚😌

[@woodypecker1155]

I remember the Motorcycle ball cage act !! Awsome

[@sovietonion72]

Lived in Perth all my life and only went there once way back in 1987/88, without king Neptune you wouldn't even know that the park ever existed, I was surprised that it had to shut considering Perth doesn't have anything like it since, I've been to Ocean Park in Hong Kong and that place is amazing! Maybe seasonal theme parks dont work here.

[@56bobbybo]

Great video JJ! I was back there last week, not much has changed. I'd love to link this video to my travel blog if that's OK with you?

[@jjsadv]

No problem, go ahead.

[@feedbacktakesovermychannel3485]

Dr, Nick gales tested the poor dolphins and donated them in an aquarium.

[@raoulml1]

Memories from way back, thanks for sharing.

[@natjane4141]

thanks for the great video

[@atlantisbeach2814]

Hi JJ's Adventure, We would love to use some of your video content for a history video that we are creating for Atlantis Beach, Two Rocks. We would give you full credit in the film. Is that okay? Regards, Atlantis Beach

[@jjsadv]

No Problem, go ahead.

[@jjsadv]

BTW, the old video isnt mine, I got permission to use it from the original source. A youtube search will track them down quickly.

[@thispurplebeanYT]

Oooo! Another JJ Channel! Cool!

[@joelkickett1397]

It should of been running today

[@supersonic249]

Would be awesome to bring it back I think it would succeed.

[@Anafyral666]

Brave of you to go through that tunnel

[@jeffsinfield2085]

Good to see nature reclaiming the land. I wonder who owns it now and what it will become. It would be nice if it could remain as natural bushland.

[@jjsadv]

Developers own it now. They are getting approvals to clear it and turn it into houses.

[@jeffsinfield2085]

What a shame

[@jananovakova7665]

oh no :(

[@MrRealityCheck88]

So cool you lucky !

[@tahlacragg2025]

Hey I live local to the are and wanting to do a updated version could I use some of your footage and make sure I put links to your video also ?

[@jjsadv]

Tahla Cragg no problem. Use what you need.

[@tahlacragg2025]

JJ's Adventures legend thanks heaps I’ll make sure to drop a link to your video and channel

[@baileygreen2324]

That’s crazy

[@baileygreen2324]

I hope sometime in the future they remake this

[@jjsadv]

They wont these days.. there would be never ending protests..