621 
THE MADRAS AQUARIUM. 
BY 
James Hobnell, F.L.S., F.R.A.I. 
( With a plate and 6 text fgures.) 
In spite of the faot that the Madras Aquarium was opened so long ago as 1909, 
and that it has ijroved a wonderful success whether judged by the public interest 
aroused or by the cold verdict of finance, it has had no imitators on the Asiatic 
mainland. Until the last few years its reputation had not travelled beyond the 
confines ot Madras, for till that time no strong effort was made to advertise it and 
make its attractions widely knowm. The first enthusiasm aroused by its ener- 
getic and versatile creator, Mr. Edgar Thurston, the then Superintendent of the 
Museum, died down in large part when he retired, which unfortunately coincided 
■with the completion of the building ; only when it was transferred to the care 
of the Department of Fisheries was any systematic effort made to extend its 
usefulness, and develop its possibilities to the utmost. 
To Mr. Thurston is due the credit for the inceiition of the scheme. As is well 
kno^vn he devoted an important section of his life’s work to the investigation 
of the marine fauna of the Gulf of Mannar ; his notes on this subject, all too 
few, are charmingly VTitten and full of interesting observations of great value 
to naturalists following in his tracks. The idea of an aquarium, where some of 
the wonders of the coral reefs that fringe the southern shores of the ^Madras 
Presidency might be brought home to the multitudes of Madras, must surely 
have been born on one of these collecting expeditions. At their best, what are 
stuffed fishes, dried sponges, corals and crabs, and colourless and 
shrunken specimens in jars, but faded and unsatisfying mummified remains ? 
To one familiar with the wonderful beauty of form and colour of the life of the 
shallower depths of our Indian seas, the desire to see these under conditions 
permitting close observation of habits such as is impossible in the sea itself, is 
ahvays present ; the designing of the Madras Aquarium was the outcome of 
this feeling in Mr. Thurston’s case. Curiously enough, the -writer, not then 
connected with Indian fishery dev’elopment, happened to be in Madras at the 
time when the plans were being roughed out, and his remembrance of discuss- 
ing with Mr. Thurston the details and arrangements of the tanks and fittings 
is vivid ; apart from the interest of the subject, the personality of the de- 
signer -was an arresting one, for Mr. Thurston had filled many roles in his career. 
Funds were not available for a very extensive or elaborate building ; simplicity 
and economy had to be studied, and both architect (Mr. Harris, Consulting 
Architect to Government) and contractors did wonderfully well to complete the 
building, virtually as it stands to-day, for the sum of Rs. 17,604 ; installation of 
electric lighting and fans subsequently cost an additional Rs. 4,778. 
It is located on the sandy sea-beach, opposite* the Presidency College, and 
midway between Fort St. George and San Thome — between what -ft'ere the 
original settlements of the Enghsh and the Portuguese at Madras. This long 
line of beach, bordered by a fine promenade, the ‘ Marina,’ the pride of Madras, 
has broadened considerably since the construction of the harbour works owing 
to sand accretion due to the northerly drift of sand along the coast in this loca- 
lity ; it is this accretion that has permitted of the erection of a building on the 
seaward side of the roadway at the spot chosen as the site for the Aquarium. 
Principally for ajsthetic reasons the design of the building had to be restricted 
to one floor ; that too is sunk some four feet below the general ground level. 
Originally it was less, but year by year drifting sand continues to raise the ground 
level ; increasing difficulty is experienced in coping with this trouble. 
