The History of Defunct Marine Mammal Parks

Hi Great site! I am so glad a few sites like this are popping up, its lovely to see the old dolphins and orcas that lived in the UK. I have a website just about the dolphins and whales on Clacton Pier, its being hard work getting photos and info but I am getting there now, I am still on the hunt for photos.
Keep up the great work!

Ocean world is now a parking lot now in ....FT.Lauderdale Florida....I miss it !!!!

Hi I just wanted to say that in 1972 I worked at the Brighton Dolphiarium as an asst trainer.There were at that time 5 Dolphins. Even to this day I can remember the spiel that we had to start each show, which if memory serves me correctly was to audiences of up to 500 people. The Dolphins in turn of introduction to the audience were Poppy, Dolly, Baby, Missie and Belle. Missie was baby's mother and Belle was Missie's sister. The seating for the public was set in a semi circle in tiers around the pool and seperated by a high toughened glass partition. I don't know about later on but in my time there no members of the public had any contact with the dolphins other than to watch the shows. At the end of each show we would ask if there were any children in the audience with a birthday either on that day or that week,we would then call the dolphins to the front of the stage where we would stand and conduct them to a tune of happy birthday being played on tape from the control room.

Hi, great job John, the site email is defunctmarineparks@hotmail, we would also love to put them on the site, if that's ok with you.
Thanks for your effort and interest!

John Dineley says...
Hello

I have just done a couple of screen captures from The Fruit Machine. Where would you like me to email them too.

JD

Hello

I have just done a couple of screen captures from The Fruit Machine. Where would you like me to email them too.

JD

Thanks for that John, because on every site i've seen they all say the brighton dolphins were filmed! Great stuff!
As regards the film, it has proved extremely difficult to find any decent information on it, so anything like you screen captures would be brilliant. just drop us a comment if/when you get them up.
Thanks.

John Dineley says...
Nice site. A lot of the pictures are mine from Skegness and Margate but you are welcome to use then for none profit. As regards "The Fruit Machine" - the dolphins were actually at Flamingoland including the end of the film with the lorry underwater; I happend to be there the day the filmed it. Only extenal shot of the aqaurium at brighton where used. I have the film on DVD so may try a do a few screen captures.

JD

Nice site. A lot of the pictures are mine from Skegness and Margate but you are welcome to use then for none profit. As regards "The Fruit Machine" - the dolphins were actually at Flamingoland including the end of the film with the lorry underwater; I happend to be there the day the filmed it. Only extenal shot of the aqaurium at brighton where used. I have the film on DVD so may try a do a few screen captures.

JD

i love this site

Ian Roberts says...
I worked at Ocean World while in high school (Cardinal Gibbons) in the late 1970's and early 1980's. I have enough memories to write a book! Curator Craig Smith, trainer Jim Blankenship and many others really made me welcome as a teenager working there. I remember many of the beautiful animals there...Tiger in the round, who used to pop her jaws at you when you had overstayed your welcome diving in the round. Polyanna, one of a couple in the "petting tank" with a deformed pectoral fin...what a sweetheart who never forgot me when I came back to visit even years after I left. Dixie in the show tank. One Crocodile with the Alligators...the monkeys.....what an amazing place. I always wondered what happened to all the surviving animals after it closed.

sounds like you had a great time and have some amazing memories! if you ever do write a book, be sure to let us know! here is an article on polyanna:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=19910409&id=nJ0TAA
AAIBAJ&sjid=MwcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3794,6035353 and somethin about dixie, which i'm guessing you knew about as it's from 1983:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1320&dat=19830823&id=B64RAA
AAIBAJ&sjid=3OkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5901,2543475