Editorial: Final curtain falling on Marineland

The seals have landed - in Australia.

Or, and without wanting to sound flippant, five down and three to go.

Last Wednesday what was effectively the first of a two-part final stage in the long history of the closed Marineland was carried out.

Two Californian sealions, Dakota and Orion; two New Zealand fur seals, Iha and Ollie; and a subantarctic fur seal called Mako all checked out of their old Marine Parade seafront home and checked in for flights to Australia.

Iha has gone to Melbourne.

Ollie's across the border at Taronga Zoo in New South Wales.

The other three slightly bemused and bewildered travellers have gone to Sea World at Surfers Paradise in Brisbane.

I checked out yesterday's temperature in Surfers Paradise and it was around the 26C mark.

For sure the subantarctic fellow would have ordered ice.

All that remains at Marineland now are three fur seals.

They will eventually also make the journey across to maritime wildlife parks and reserves in Australia next March.

The fading old Marineland will then fall silent - for the first time in 50 years.

No more barking, hooting, grunting and splashing.

However, when the proposed new skate park and recreation centre facility opens as forecast later next year there will no doubt be a return of the hooting and grunting side of things.

The final departure will be viewed with sadness by many as it will herald the end of an era.

However, at the end of the day it was inevitable given the legislative stances now taken in regard to keeping sea animals (although land animals seem to slip through the net).

And importantly, the seals were not, as once suggested and feared, euthanised.

Time, effort and money was spent to resettle them, and that is to be applauded.

Those who fought to see the site rejuvenated into a wildlife and education centre have not given up that desire, although they have conceded that it would likely need to be built at another site, near the National Aquarium.

There is merit to that idea as such centres would, as Marineland once did, attract onlookers keen to see creatures that would otherwise be seen only on television.

Meanwhile, the aquatic Kiwis sent west will now finally attract an audience.

An Australian audience.