THE REPORT OF THE COUNCIL. 67''' 



" In 1S81 a bill drawn up by Mr. F. Gannon for tie protection of wild and native game was passed. 

 By permission of the City Council the Society formed a depot at Billy Goat Swamp, Moore Park, the 

 site of the late Gardens, and aviaries and a caretaker's cottage were built for the care of the wild birds 

 that were being collected for acclimatisation purposes. 



" In 1880 the late Mr. G. F. Want gave permission for the Society to use his office, 40 Hunter 

 Street, and the following Committee was appointed to manage its affairs : — President, Arthur Todd 

 Holroyd ; Committee — Charles Moore, F. Gannon, G. Want, H. Mostyn, Hon. Charles Moore, Yeo. 

 William Beaumont, George Bennett, Dr. Dansey, Walter Hall, Walter Bradley. In 1881 it was 

 decided to lay out the grounds as a Zoological Gardens. This was completed in 1883, and Dr. George 

 Bennett was elected President of the Society. A sum of £352 was collected by subscription for the 

 purchase of two elephants, which arrived in the Gardens at the end of 1883. It is interesting to 

 note that one of them, Jessy, is still to the fore, having been a delight to tens of thousands of children 

 ■during her thirty-three years in the Gardens. 



" The chief energies of the Society were still directed to the acclimatisation of fish, and thousands 

 •of trout ova were imported from New Zealand and Tasmania and put into the southern streams, and 

 many English perch distributed into rivers and ponds to the north and west. In looking back to 

 these activities, stress must be laid on the success of the acclimatisation of trout in the State. This 

 business soon became so important that it was taken over by the Fisheries Department, which has 

 continued the work very successfully. 



" The Gardens were opened to the public in 1884, and in that year the receipts from the gates 

 were £899. In the following year this had risen to £2,700 6s. 8d. School children had been admitted 

 free, and in that year 36,062 attended. In 1884 Sir John Robertson and Robert Lucas Tooth were 

 Vice-Presidents. In 1887 Sir Henry Parkes was President, and John Keep Treasurer. In 1889 

 George Edward Rundle was President. In 1903 Mr. Catlett, who was Secretary from the inception, 

 died. He (Mr. Le Souef) succeeded to the position, and Mr. W. A. B. Greaves was appointed Treasurer. 



" In 1906 Sir Thomas Anderson Stuart was President, and Dr. Todd Treasurer. In 1910 Captain 

 Ghest was President, and shortly after Mr. Charles Hedley was elected to the position. In 1912 

 Colonel Spain was appointed President, and Mr. Green Treasurer. 



" In 1902-3, owing to drought and financial depression, the funds of the Society got low, but from 

 -this time on , with careful management, the Council had been able to record marked progress — so much 

 so, that in 1910 it was realised that the site at Moore Park had either to be enlarged or another position 

 found to which the whole collection could be removed and housed on up-to-date lines. The City 

 Council having refused any more of Moore Park, various localities were inspected, including Harris 

 Park, Maroubra, Upper Lane Cove, Pearl Bay, Vaucluse, Bondi, and Queen's Park. The Council 

 finally decided to ask for 50 acres at Ashton Park, which was granted by the Government. Work at 

 this new site was commenced in 1912, and now, in 1916, largely through the efforts of Mr. Fred. 

 Flowers and Mr. H. C. Hoyle, the undertaking is being brought to a conclusion. 



" During the last thirty-three years the Government has granted to the Society the sum of 

 £60,158 for the maintenance of the gardens ; members have subscribed £4,870, and, approximately, 

 £80,000 have been received from other sources. About 7,500,000 visitors have entered the grounds, 

 a considerable proportion of whom have been admitted either free or at a nominal rate on Sundays. 

 The State school children have always had the free run of the grounds for the purposes of studying 

 the animals and recreation." 



(Signed) ROBERT H. TODD, 



Chairman. 



