Auckland Zoo

About

Auckland Zoo (Māori: Te Whare Kararehe o Tāmaki Makaurau) is a 16.35-hectare (40-acre) not-for-profit wildlife conservation organisation that focuses on the wellbeing of people, wildlife and nature. This lush and immersive zoo is located in Auckland, New Zealand, situated next to Te Waiōrea Western Springs Park not far from Auckland's central business district. It is part of a charitable trust and Tātaki Auckland Unlimited (an Auckland Council-controlled organisation). Auckland Zoo opened in 1922 and by 1930 a sizeable collection of animals arrived and a zoological society formed. The zoo consolidated during the Second World War and was at that time under the leadership of Lt. Col. Sawer. After the war the collection was expanded. In 1956, chimpanzees from London Zoo arrived to take part in popular 'tea parties' for the public's entertainment - which was part of a global trend in zoos at the time. Due to changing attitudes and an evolving zoo philosophy, this practice ceased in 1963. In 1973 the zoo expanded into the adjacent Te Waiōrea Western Springs Park. From the late 1980s to the present day, many old exhibits were phased out and replaced by modern enclosures. In 2011 the zoo opened...

Early history In February 1911, businessman J.J. Boyd purchased 6 acres in Symonds Street, Onehunga for the purpose of establishing Auckland's first zoological facility. Boyd had established an earlier zoo in 1910 at Upper Aramoho near Wanganui (in the southern part of New Zealand's North Island ).

Boyd's Onehunga Zoo was a constant source of aggravation for the local council. Local residents would complain regularly about the sounds and smells, and the council made regular attempts to close it during the following years. This prompted a successful run for mayor of Onehunga by Boyd.

Finally a change Onehunga Borough Council's by-laws forced Boyd to close the zoo in 1922. Auckland City Council used £ 800 to purchase the remaining animals that Boyd had not already sold to other individuals, as the basis for a group that would form the nucleus of the permanent zoo at Auckland's Western Springs. There is still a Boyd Avenue in Royal Oak today.

1920s On the afternoon of Saturday 16 December 1922, the zoo was opened by the Governor-General, Lord Jellicoe, with the mayor of Auckland James Gunson in attendance to a sizeable crowd. At this time Western Springs was 4 mi (6.4 km) from the town hall in what was then a semi-rural area. The story of Boyd's zoo was well publicised and the public warmed to the zoo immediately.

The early zoo was a bleak and uninspiring place, founded with an initial fund of £10,000. However, in 1923, the staff quickly set about planting 5,000 trees and developing the grounds into a pleasant setting.

The council had a meeting on 26 July 1923 with the purpose of arranging the location of a flying aviary, a monkey house and accommodation for the polar bears, bison and birds of prey. Money was also spent developing a bandstand, hippopotamus pools, elephant house and walk, refreshment kiosk and a tiger arena.

L.T. Griffin was the zoo's first supervisor, and in effect its first director. He went to Africa in 1923 to acquire species for the newly formed zoo. What followed was an aggressive policy of expansion over the next few years, including the zoo's first animal star, the female Indian elephant, Jamuna, whose influence is still seen today in the naming of Jamuna plaza in the rear of the modern zoo. The zoo originally had two keepers who worked seven-day weeks. The early mortality rate of animals in the zoo was terrible especially considering modern standards. However, this was normal for the time.

In 1927, the zoo was still expanding rapidly. By December that year, there were 250 mammals of 80 species, more than 1000 birds of 130 species and 24 reptiles of 6 species. Total expenditure on the zoo amounted to £53,818. Mortality rates were still high and staff were struggling with a plague of rats but there was positive news as well. Some of the zoo's most popular enclosures were completed and people were still keen to donate animals. Perhaps most encouraging was that 25 mammals and 62 birds were born at the zoo in 1928. By the end of the 1920s, the zoo was well established and had assembled a large collection in a relatively short period of time.

On 17 July 1929, the formation of the Auckland Zoological Society was announced: its main purpose was to encourage scientific study.

1930s The zoo's first male elephant arrived at the zoo in November 1930 from Hobart Zoo, Tasmania, Australia. Rajah stood eight feet three inches at the shoulder and was 13 years old. Rajah spent six years in Auckland before his keeper began to lose control of him and he was put down by the future director of the zoo, Lt. Col. Sawer. This was considered more humane than chaining up the elephant for the rest of his life. It transpired that Rajah's unpredictable nature was due to a lit cigarette being put up his trunk by a patron while still in Hobart, however there are no contemporary reports in the newspapers of the time to support this as sound evidence. Rajah's carcass is on display at the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

In 1931, the mortality rate dropped significantly due to improvements in accommodation and handling. L.T. Griffin, the original director, died in 1935 and his last report was an optimistic one. On the top of the list for a new director was Lt. Col. E. R. Sawer, one-time Director of Agriculture in Rhodesia ( Zimbabwe ). Already in his mid-fifties, Col. Sawer was an advocate for the newish notion that zoological parks were fundamentally about education, science and conservation. He was initially approached to report on the zoo, and the council was suitably impressed with his submission of six pages of closely typed analysis on where the zoo should be headed. This report not only showed his general approach but gave the fullest report on the zoo at the time.

Stock numbers were heavily reduced in 1935 and some species such as the apes, sea lions and camels had disappeared completely. The polar bears and South African animals were senile and aged. Sawer's report called for animals to be paired or the sharing of enclosures of animals in "mournful solitude". Sawer made sweeping changes, with the overwhelming feeling being that of order and co-ordination. Sawer was appointed curator on 1 April 1936. The mortality rate was now 10% compared with 29.5% for mammals and 40% for birds at London Zoo in 1934. The mortality rate was further demonstrated by the figures in 1937, when only 9% of animals died, compared to a full 35% of the animals in 1930. For the first time, in 1939 natural increase had overtaken mortality in mammals. Sometimes the Colonel's remedies were miraculously effective. A tiger suffering from a cancerous intestinal sarcoma was successfully treated with massive doses of rhubarb and laxative. Much of the improvement came from attention to diet and supplements by providing food with vitamins for deficiencies. This resulted in improved fertility and reduced disease, and previously barren animals began to breed, Sawer was also a gifted marketer and pushed for greater attendance and an aquarium similar to that which had greatly increased visitor numbers at the New York Zoo.

In February 1938, the first keeper to suffer an injury was W.A. (Bill) Hawke who was attacked by a bear and suffered a serious leg injury. After five weeks in the hospital he could not continue his keeping duties, but stayed at the zoo for a further thirty years as a gatekeeper.

This point is where Sawer is first seen to be at odds with the council. He called for a clear objective for the zoo, attention to education, relaxation of restrictions on importing animals, and an increased ability to exhibit native New Zealand birds. The end of the Depression and the subsequent economic recovery helped Sawer in the transformation of a group of emptying cages to a "full house of exhibits".

With the advent of World War II, the period 1939–45 saw the zoo simply trying to survive. Attendance was down, and animal importation and supplying zoo animals with food were low on the New Zealand Government's list of priorities. Due to these pressures, exhibits changed to more localised and rural representatives.

The arrival of United States military personnel in June 1942 helped the zoo, especially because the personnel were quartered close to Western Springs. It was not unusual for the majority of weekend visitors to be in uniform. The end of the war found the zoo in a state of slight disrepair and depletion of stock, but in good condition considering the conflict of the previous six years. This period also saw the retirement and movement away of many of the early or original members of the zoo staff.

1945–49 Auckland Zoo's problems did not evaporate with the end of the war. Zoos all over the world were looking to improve collections, and New Zealand's isolation was a deterrent to animal exporters. Additionally, Wellington Zoo was getting favouritism from politicians, and Auckland was still not allowed to exhibit native fauna.

The year 1948 was a turnaround point for the zoo, with new capital works being approved. In Sawer's March 1949 report, the details of the animals were given as 165 mammals in 51 species, 329 birds in 98 species and 19 reptiles in eight species. An aquarium was built, on a smaller scale than Sawer had anticipated, but successful nevertheless. The zoo had also finally won the right to exhibit kiwi, partly due to New Zealand soldiers becoming known as Kiwis during the war. A curator's house, offices and laboratory were constructed in 1949.

In late-1948, the council called for the first animal entertainments. Sawer strongly opposed this, but he was now approaching seventy years of age and his career was drawing to an end. Sawer recommended a full-time on-site curator and veterinarian and started to look for a successor.