The Australian Reptile Park in Somersby, on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia - home to Elvis, the state's largest crocodile - has embarked on a six-month birthday celebration to recognise its 60th anniversary.

Running from 1 October until 30 April 2010, the park, which was founded by one of the country's first naturalists, Eric Worrell, will stage a progressive pictorial timeline illustrating the evolution of the attraction over the past six decades.

Since opening in 1949, initially as the Umina beach Aquarium, the park has relocated twice; introduced a 40-tonne, 30m dinosaur model called Ploddy which overlooks the entrance and in 2000, survived a fire which destroyed its main building, but subsequently saw the launch of two new themed exhibits, Lost World of Reptiles and Spider World.

Since 1951, the park has helped save more than 15,000 lives through its work helping to develop anti-venoms for snake and spider bites and in the 1970s successfully bred a colony of parma wallabies previously thought to be extinct on the mainland and released them into the wild.

A spokesperson for the park said: "Throughout the October holiday celebrations visitors to the Australian Reptile Park will have the opportunity devour delicious 'Ploddy' birthday cake and children can have their faces painted free! Visitors can rock around the croc enclosure of Elvis and there will be a blast from the past with fifties and sixties memorabilia including sixties-style keeper's outfits for the park's entire male staff.

"There will be loads of exciting daily wildlife shows infused with historical anecdotes, along with interactive experiences and the pictorial timeline of the park."