Kathy Gandolfi
‘ANIMALS rule this house – all day and all night’ reads a sign in the garden of retired former Limestone Coast top cop Trevor Twilley, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
Surrounded by a menagerie of rescue animals, Trevor’s daily tasks are a world away from those he faced as the region’s Police Superintendent, a position he held for more than eight years.
Last Friday marked the third anniversary of Trevor’s retirement from that position after a career in the police force spanning 40 years.
Now he and his wife Trina look after 50 rescue animals at any one time on their lifestyle block on the outskirts of Mount Gambier.
Known for her work with the South East Animal Welfare League and wildlife rescue programs, Trina’s devotion to animals infected Trevor years ago and the move to the South East further fostered the couple’s passion for animals.
Today their property is specially set up to look after injured and orphaned native animals and they are caring or have cared for a wide range of them including ringtail possums, sugar gliders, brushtail possums, kookaburras, tawny frogmouths, kangaroos, wallabies, wedgetail eagles and, Trevor’s personal favourites, wombats Roxy and Dozer who have an especially magnificent enclosure built for them to cater to their every need, including digging.
Interspersed with them are domestic chooks, a fish pond and a rescue dog, Belle, who was saved by the Twilley’s from an abusive past and now lives in harmony with their other fur children.
These animals are at the core of why the Twilley’s remained in the South East bucking the trend of many other former Adelaide based high ranking public servants who often return to the city for retirement after a stint in the country.
“We look after animals because of our passion for saving Australia’s wildlife for future generations – it’s why we bought this property,” said Trevor.
“But it’s also because of this community; people still come up to me in the street even now that I’m retired and say hello and thank me for my efforts in the police force.”
