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Troy Saville & Verne Dove Interview, Part 3
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IntervieweeTroy Saville & Verne Dove
Interview Date19 February 2019Place RecordedCoffs Harbour Butterfly HouseDuration10m47s
Interview Date19 February 2019Place RecordedCoffs Harbour Butterfly HouseDuration10m47sMore Information
DescriptionInterviewerJohanna KijasCollectionThe Hec Goodall StorySummaryTroy Saville started his interaction with Hec Goodall and the Pet Porpoise pool when he was ten. He used to collect solider crabs for the marine animals at the park for which he was paid 50 cents a bucket. Troy grew up in Sawtell and then Coffs, and after an occasion where he met Hec, who allowed him to come anytime to the PPP, he spent every day after school and every weekend there. Now 49, he and his partner of 11 years Verne Dove and their young family recently bought the Coffs Harbour Butterfly House.
Verne is a vet specialising in dolphins. She was born in 1978 in South Africa, emigrating to Australia with her family in 1997. She first heard about the PPP from Hec’s niece who was also in the vet science degree with Verne. Her first visit to the Pool was in 1999. From then on, Verne returned annually because she fell in love with the PPP, dolphins and other marine animals. In 2001 she came to do work experience with the dolphins, cementing her long friendship with Hec.
Our interview began with Troy’s introduction, which immediately began with his reflections on the PPP as a ten-year-old who quickly became entirely engrossed in the place. He describes the park he remembers from the early 1980s as ‘quaint’ – ‘the half-way house for every animal you could imagine’: a pelican with one wing, swans, every Coffs household’s cockatoo that they couldn’t keep, wombats, possums, and the list went on. There was one dolphin pool and a seal pool. After-hours the animals could roam freely. He describes Hec’s dedication to the animals and keeping the place afloat, always there seven days a week. Marine animal conservation and research was at the heart of Hec’s move from Jack Evan’s pool to Coffs Harbour. Troy describes the way the animals were trained, arguing the trainers were ahead of their time. For example, they phased out using food as enticement and allowed each animal to choose whether they would participate in the shows.
Verne then introduced herself and her passion for working with dolphins. We discussed working with marine animals in captivity and she compares zoos and other oceanariums with the PPP. There she felt the animals had a greater freedom of movement and choice, and she didn’t feel the same sense of captivity. She felt it was ‘such a different experience’. The tensions between presenting good aesthetics and a business ethic and Hec’s focus on animal welfare was discussed. First impressions of the Pool were ‘not good’. It was only when you got to know the place could you see ‘the true magic’. Troy re-joined us to reflect on his journey from boyhood to fulltime work at the Pool, the various roles he took on, and the demands of rescue work. The slow growth of tourism through the 1980s and 90s is discussed. Key staff are named. They learnt on the job – from Hec’s large library and a continual stream of leaders in the field who were given open access to all the marine animals. Engagement with the animal activists is discussed.
We were joined briefly by Troy’s childhood friend Kerren Higgins. The Pool was remembered as open to all where a large group of children across different ages and gender became ‘part of the family’. In adulthood Kerren became a fridge mechanic, donating time to fix things – welders and others came back in adulthood to put time into the pool. Community ‘love’ for the pool was described. Hec could do all the jobs, from managing, taking the shows to cleaning the toilets. Comparisons to later management style and outcome is discussed. Desires and plans for the future of dolphins and other marine animals in captivity were discussed.
The interview was conducted in Troy and Verne’s kitchen at the Butterfly House, initially with daughter Trinity in the background. Two table mics were used for the interviewees, with the interviewer’s voice not always as clear as the interviewees. This was changed as we moved the mics around. Troy had to leave at one stage to conduct a viewing at the Butterfly House and there were a few people coming and going throughout the interview.
This oral recording project documents a history of the Coffs Harbour Pet Porpoise Pool through to new management when it became the Dolphin Marine Magic and now Dolphin Marine Conservation Park. The Pet Porpoise Pool was opened in 1972 by Hec Goodall, with a board made up of business associates from Victoria and Coffs Harbour. From its earliest years the Pickering brothers Greg, Spencer and Robert came onboard as the dolphin and seal trainers and in maintenance positions.
This is interview #4 in the oral history project.
InterviewerJohanna KijasCollectionThe Hec Goodall StorySummaryTroy Saville started his interaction with Hec Goodall and the Pet Porpoise pool when he was ten. He used to collect solider crabs for the marine animals at the park for which he was paid 50 cents a bucket. Troy grew up in Sawtell and then Coffs, and after an occasion where he met Hec, who allowed him to come anytime to the PPP, he spent every day after school and every weekend there. Now 49, he and his partner of 11 years Verne Dove and their young family recently bought the Coffs Harbour Butterfly House. Verne is a vet specialising in dolphins. She was born in 1978 in South Africa, emigrating to Australia with her family in 1997. She first heard about the PPP from Hec’s niece who was also in the vet science degree with Verne. Her first visit to the Pool was in 1999. From then on, Verne returned annually because she fell in love with the PPP, dolphins and other marine animals. In 2001 she came to do work experience with the dolphins, cementing her long friendship with Hec.
Our interview began with Troy’s introduction, which immediately began with his reflections on the PPP as a ten-year-old who quickly became entirely engrossed in the place. He describes the park he remembers from the early 1980s as ‘quaint’ – ‘the half-way house for every animal you could imagine’: a pelican with one wing, swans, every Coffs household’s cockatoo that they couldn’t keep, wombats, possums, and the list went on. There was one dolphin pool and a seal pool. After-hours the animals could roam freely. He describes Hec’s dedication to the animals and keeping the place afloat, always there seven days a week. Marine animal conservation and research was at the heart of Hec’s move from Jack Evan’s pool to Coffs Harbour. Troy describes the way the animals were trained, arguing the trainers were ahead of their time. For example, they phased out using food as enticement and allowed each animal to choose whether they would participate in the shows.
Verne then introduced herself and her passion for working with dolphins. We discussed working with marine animals in captivity and she compares zoos and other oceanariums with the PPP. There she felt the animals had a greater freedom of movement and choice, and she didn’t feel the same sense of captivity. She felt it was ‘such a different experience’. The tensions between presenting good aesthetics and a business ethic and Hec’s focus on animal welfare was discussed. First impressions of the Pool were ‘not good’. It was only when you got to know the place could you see ‘the true magic’. Troy re-joined us to reflect on his journey from boyhood to fulltime work at the Pool, the various roles he took on, and the demands of rescue work. The slow growth of tourism through the 1980s and 90s is discussed. Key staff are named. They learnt on the job – from Hec’s large library and a continual stream of leaders in the field who were given open access to all the marine animals. Engagement with the animal activists is discussed.
We were joined briefly by Troy’s childhood friend Kerren Higgins. The Pool was remembered as open to all where a large group of children across different ages and gender became ‘part of the family’. In adulthood Kerren became a fridge mechanic, donating time to fix things – welders and others came back in adulthood to put time into the pool. Community ‘love’ for the pool was described. Hec could do all the jobs, from managing, taking the shows to cleaning the toilets. Comparisons to later management style and outcome is discussed. Desires and plans for the future of dolphins and other marine animals in captivity were discussed.
The interview was conducted in Troy and Verne’s kitchen at the Butterfly House, initially with daughter Trinity in the background. Two table mics were used for the interviewees, with the interviewer’s voice not always as clear as the interviewees. This was changed as we moved the mics around. Troy had to leave at one stage to conduct a viewing at the Butterfly House and there were a few people coming and going throughout the interview.
Related Content
Troy Saville & Verne Dove Interview, Part 3. Coffs Collections, accessed 06/04/2026, https://coffs.recollect.net.au/nodes/view/55476