Healesville Sanctuary gets a new director

Ross Williamson

Healesville Sanctuary’s new director has been appointed and comes from within the Zoos Victoria family.

Ross Williamson took up the role of Healesville Sanctuary Director on Monday, 9 January 2017 and has a strong focus on conservation.

“I see Healesville Sanctuary as a great way of telling the world about Australian wildlife conservation,” Ross said.

“We can show people both practical conservation through our breeding programs, and community conservation through our wonderful ambassador animals.”

Ross has a long background in conservation that spans over three decades with a big focus on wildlife management specifically threatened species. He has worked across Victoria for Parks Victoria and the Department of Sustainability and Environment.

“My biggest and most rewarding challenge was at Parks Victoria managing the statewide recovery after the 2009 Black Saturday Bushfires. A large part of the role involved looking at ways to help wildlife populations recover, and investigate how different species coped with fire.”

Ross studied Science at Melbourne with a major in botany and ecology and refers to himself as an ecologist. He started with Zoos Victoria in September 2015 as the General Manager Threatened Species and did not think any job could top that.

“Healesville Sanctuary is an exceptional place, it’s the best zoo in Australia and I’m very privileged to be working in a beautiful place.”

Ross will replace former Healesville Sanctuary Director, Glen Holland, who is now the director at Werribee Open Range Zoo. Glen has gone back to his native African roots.

Healesville Sanctuary | Badger Creek Road Healesville VIC 3777