From the outside, John Sbeghen's two-storey Queenslander looks like any other you would find in his unassuming rural Australian street.

But as soon as visitors step through the threshold of his front door, they enter another world.

"I prewarn people walking in that what they're seeing they probably won't see again in a lifetime," he said.

Loading...

"Maybe I'm an unusual person but I like unusual things."

The 71-year-old retired housepainter has spent years collecting hundreds of taxidermy animals from all over the world and displaying them throughout his home in Rosewood, west of Brisbane.

But it's not for the reason you might think.

"I love animals," he said.

"I don't trophy hunt — I just buy other people's trophies and enjoy them one more time."

One of the many rooms that house Mr Sbeghen's beloved and unusual collection. ( ABC News: Anna Hartley )

The quirky hobbyist sources most of his animals second-hand from deceased estates and auctions.

Mr Sbeghen said his diverse herd of more than 200 included bears, a piranha, zebras, snakes, a marmoset, a wolverine, a giant moose and even a famous bison from the award-winning western epic Dances with Wolves.

"He's from the famous hunting scene," Mr Sbeghen said.

Mr Sbeghen said he bought this large bison head from a friend who sourced it from the set of Dances with Wolves. ( ABC News: Anna Hartley )

"A mate of mine got him from the movie set and brought it back to Australia.

"I also have a squirrel from America, he's called a G.I. Joe squirrel and has a hat and machine gun and there's 'Marshalldillo' — an armadillo dressed as a US Marshall.

"They're all favourites."

What do friends and family think?

Mr Sbeghen was born and raised in his hometown to first-generation Italian immigrant parents and said they taught him how to hunt but also not to waste animal life.

"I wouldn't ever go and shoot something for the sake of it — it's got to be used or left where it is," he said.

"[My collection] is a way of preserving these animals."

His adult children do not share a passion for wildlife-based decor, but daughter Joleen said they loved the joy it brought their dad.

Mr Sbeghen's daughter Joleen might not love the collection the same way her Dad does but says it brings joy to their lives. ( ABC News: Anna Hartley )

"When he gets a new head, he calls me and I'm like, 'yeah okay, Dad'," she laughed.

"I like things neat, so it's not something I'd have in my house, but it makes him so happy so I love seeing him happy."

Ms Sbeghen said her father started putting more time into his collection after his wife died 13 years ago and described it as a type of therapy.

"He turned all his energy into collecting instead of going in a direction in life that was negative so we see it as really positive," she said.

Retired taxidermist and friend George Robinson is the man trusted to stuff and maintain the collection. ( ABC News: Anna Hartley )

Mr Sbeghen's good friend George Robinson was a taxidermist for 50 years and said the collection was one of the largest and most diverse of its kind in Australia.

Now retired, the Ipswich local still helps maintain the animals and said he never knows what his mate will bring to his door.

"John's a great guy, I've never seen such dedication," he said.

"It's got to be one of the biggest around."

Mr Robinson was a taxidermist for 50 years and says technology has helped simplify the art, making it more accessible. ( ABC News: Anna Hartley )

Why do we collect things?

Mr Sbeghen is not alone in his passion for accumulation — from traditional items like stamps and coins to modern-day obsessions like Ooshies or Little Stop — humans love collecting.

Almost every room of the house is home to one of Ms Sbeghen's animal "friends". ( ABC News: Anna Hartley )

Psychology professor Tony Machin, from the University of Southern Queensland, said the motivations behind collecting varied.

"It's very common, it's part of our makeup," he said.

"We all have our own identity and collecting can give us a clearer understanding of that.

"Collecting can be nostalgic but also provides a sense of belonging, it helps us meet people and to develop relationships."

Big plans to make private collection public

Mr Sbeghen said he realised his hobby was an unusual one but it was something he would never give up.

The avid collector even talks to his animal friends but said they hadn't started talking back.

"That's when I'll have to get the long sleeve jacket on," he joked.

Some might find the idea of dozens of eyes staring back at them every day unnerving but Mr Sbeghen says he loves the company. ( ABC News: Anna Hartley )

His passion is local legend but Mr Sbeghen hopes to share it with the world.

"I would love to open up a museum," he said.

"I hope other people can come enjoy them like I do."

Until that day he plans to keep expanding the herd.

"It'll keep going until I stop going," he said.