Hobart Zoo
Hobart Zoo | |
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42°52′03″S 147°20′00″E / 42.8675°S 147.3334°E | |
Date opened | 1895 (as Beaumaris Zoo)[1] 1923 (at the quarry site)[1] |
Date closed | 1937 |
Location | Hobart, Tasmania, Australia |
Land area | 2 ha (4.9 acres) |
The Hobart Zoo (also known as Beaumaris Zoo) was an old-fashioned
The Zoo was set in the surrounds of sweeping gardens, and had commanding views across the River Derwent.
Thylacines
The Hobart Zoo is most famous as the place where where footage of the
History
The zoo was originally called Beaumaris Zoo, and was opened in 1895 at the private residence "Beaumaris" of Hobart socialite
1922
After Mrs Robert's death, the family offered the Beaumaris zoological collection to the Hobart City Council, which accepted the offer in January 1922[7] on condition that the Tasmanian State Government give a subsidy towards the zoo. A subsidy of £250 per annum was approved on 10 February 1922 by the Tasmanian State Government and appropriated for the new zoo.[8]
In March 1922, the Hobart City Council advertised for a curator to care for the Beaumaris zoological collection still housed on the Roberts property.[9] On the evening of 27 March the Hobart City Council Reserves Committee held a meeting to consider the applicants for the curator's position. Arthur Reid was appointed as curator of the not yet constructed municipal zoological gardens.[10]
Arthur Reid, the new curator who had been born in
On 30 May 1922, Reid left for an 18-day tour of Australian zoos, including
The original Roberts collection had suffered losses during the time between the death of Mrs Roberts and the acquisition of the collection by the Hobart City Council. The Tasmanian devils that had been at the forefront of the Beaumaris collection no longer existed. Only one thylacine was noted, in ill health but recovering under Reid's care. A new pair of Tasmanian devils had been promised to replace those that had died. Other animals listed including
In July the Reserves Committee received a report from Curator Reid, after an article in the Illustrated Tasmanian Mail (22 June 1922) alleged poor
During late August a large
In September members of the public gave the new zoo a pair of Tasmanian devils, as well as black and grey possums.[15]
By early October, the boundary fence around the zoo site had been completed, workmen were putting finishing touches to the large pond which would house the collection of
With its loss, the Hobart City Council sent an appeal to the public for another live specimen for the zoo.[17] Tenders had been received for the construction of the curator's office, a tea kiosk and other buildings.[18]
Through the month of November the construction of the zoo was nearing completion. The site was fully enclosed by the new boundary fence, aviaries and enclosures were almost finished. Accommodation was being readied for a long list of animals and birds, including deer, emu, ostrich, and peafowl. A terraced enclosure for the African lions had been started with cuts made into the sandstone hill. The plan was to have the enclosure viewable from both above and below, with a moat at the front, and concrete walls on the sides, some 40 feet wide with a den area attached. A large figure of eight pond was featured on the site, 300 feet in circumference for the aquatic birds, and an arched bridge for the pond was also in the planning stages. Trees, shrubs and flower beds were being planted around the site. The Reserves Committee had accepted tenders for the construction of an office and store. Provision had yet to be made for a tea house and public lavatory.[19]
On 29 November the Tasmanian Legislative Council approved a clause in the Hobart Corporation Bill for the Hobart City Council to "...establish and maintain zoological gardens to be known as the Beaumaris Zoo in such portion of the Queen's Domain as it may determine, and also to expend on the zoo such annual sum as the Council may think proper."[20]
1923
By the end of January 1923 the zoo was ready to open. The animals were transferred from the old Beaumaris property at Battery Point, to the new zoological facility by the Hobart City Council at the rehabilitated quarry site at the Queen's Domain,[1][21] on 1 February 1923. An aged kangaroo, however, died shortly after arriving at the Queen's Domain site. The African lions, due from Taronga Park Zoo, did not arrive in time for the opening on 2 February.[22]
The official opening ceremony took place on Friday afternoon of 2 February 1923, officiated by Alderman Williams in the absence of the mayor, Alderman McKenzie. Ida Roberts, the daughter of Mary Grant Roberts who had donated the Beaumaris zoological collection to the Hobart City Council, was present at the opening of the new Beaumaris Zoological Gardens. The zoo held at its opening 100 animals and 220 birds.[23]
On opening day the two Tasmanian devils that had been given to the zoo escaped their enclosure, and were later found hiding under a culvert. Despite efforts to recapture them the marsupials eluded zoo staff.[24] The animals were recaptured on 17 February after Curator Reid built a box trap baited with lambs heart, and left it near the culvert where the pair had been hiding.[25]
The gate that secures the site since 9 September 2000 (World Threatened Species Day) was designed to communicate the history of the zoo to the passing public and secure the site. It won an award in 2001 for landscape design from the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects.[26]
Closure and fate
The Zoo was closed in 1937 due to severe financial problems. The site was acquired by the Royal Australian Navy and converted into a fuel storage depot for the nearby HMAS Huon shore base. The Navy used the site from 1943 until 1991,[27] when it reverted to the Hobart City Council and was used as a storage depot.
A conservation plan was published in 1967 as The Beaumaris zoo site conservation plan.[28] Proposals as late as 2003 for future uses of the site included a sculpture park for Tasmanian artists and a wildlife rehabilitation centre. A plan to build a new zoo had been in mind for a few years. However, the property, described as a "national treasure" and as "a special place in the state's history", was sold at auction in 2019 for $3.9 million Australian dollars ($USD 2.75 million) and a 16-room privately owned family home was built.[29][30]
References
- ^ a b c d e "Benjamin – The Last Captive Thylacine". naturalworlds.org. Natural Worlds. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
- ^ "Extinction of thylacine". nma.gov. National Museum of Australia. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ "On the trail of the London thylacines". utas.edu.au. University of Tasmania. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
- ^ "National Threatened Species Day". Department of the Environment and Heritage, Australian Government. 2006. Archived from the original on 9 July 2009. Retrieved 21 November 2006.
- from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
- ISBN 978-1-74114-368-3. p.84, 93.
- ^ "Private Collector's Zoo". Western Argus. Kalgoorlie, WA. 24 January 1922. Retrieved 8 June 2012 – via National Library of Australia: Trove.
- ^ "House of Assembly". The Mercury. Hobart, Tasmania. 10 February 1922. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
- ^ "Advertising". The Mercury. Hobart, Tasmania. 8 March 1922. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
- ^ "Beaumaris Zoo". The Mercury. Hobart, Tasmania. 28 March 1922. p. 4. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
- ^ "Obituary Mr A. R. Reid". The Mercury. Hobart, Tasmania. 14 December 1935. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
- ^ "Beaumaris Zoo". The Mercury. Hobart, Tasmania. 30 May 1922. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
- ^ "The City Council. Beaumaris Zoo". The Mercury. Hobart, Tasmania. 25 July 1922. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
- ^ "Capture of a large eagle". The Mercury. Hobart, Tasmania. 22 August 1922. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
- ^ "The Zoo". The Mercury. Hobart, Tasmania. 19 September 1922. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
- ^ "Hobarts New Zoo". The Mercury. Hobart, Tasmania. 5 October 1922. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
- ^ "Beaumaris Zoo —death Of Tiger". The Mercury. Hobart, Tasmania. 16 October 1922. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
- ^ "Hobart City Council". The Mercury. Hobart, Tasmania. 18 October 1922. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
- ^ "Beaumaris Zoo". The Mercury. Hobart, Tasmania. 14 November 1922. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
- ^ "Beaumaris Zoo". The Mercury. Hobart, Tasmania. 30 November 1922. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
- ^ Freedman, Eric (2002). "Cut from history" (PDF). ejmagazine.com. EJ Magazine. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
- ^ "The Beaumaris Zoo – Birds and Animals transferred". The Mercury. Hobart, Tasmania. 2 February 1923. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
- ^ "Beaumaris Zoo Official Opening Ceremony". The Examiner. Launceston, Tasmania. 3 February 1923. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
- ^ "The Escaped Tasmanian Devils". The Mercury. Hobart, Tasmania. 12 February 1923. p. 4. Retrieved 7 October 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Tasmanian Devils Recaptured". The Mercury. Hobart, Tasmania. 19 February 1923. p. 6. Retrieved 7 October 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Beaumaris Zoo Entry Gates". aila.org.au. Australian Institute of Landscape Architects. Archived from the original on 9 November 2004. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
- ^ "The Avenue: overview of the Queens Domain". soldierswalk.org.au. Friends of the Soldiers Memorial Avenue. 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
- ^ Kathryn, Evans; Jones, Michael D.; National Estates Grants Program (Australia); Hobart (Tasmania) Council; Back-Tracks Heritage Consultants (1996). Beaumaris zoo site conservation plan. Hobart City Council, Hobart, Tas.
- ^ https://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/historic-beaumaris-house-passed-in-at-auction-for-39m/news-story/657efc289fe931a952e90dee1462263e [bare URL]
- ^ Bevan, Jarrad (9 June 2022). "Historic Beaumaris House tops $3.5m". realestate.com.au. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
External links
- Media related to Beaumaris Zoo at Wikimedia Commons