The History Of Australian Zoo's

This year we will be posting the history of zoo's around Australia. This will include the good, the bad and the ugly side of Animals in captivity and an open unbiased look into where we went wrong, what we learnt and where we are now excelling in conservation and breeding programs.

Today we start off with Moore Park Zoological Gardens (Sydney, NSW)

• Operated: 1884–1916

• Overview: Sydney’s first public zoo, also known as the Moore Park Zoo, was established on a site known as Billy Goat Swamp. It predates the modern Taronga Zoo and featured a variety of exotic and native animals.

• Transition: Closed in 1916 when the collection and operations were taken over to form Taronga Zoo Sydney. Remnants like the original bear pits still exist on the grounds of Sydney Girls High School.

• Historical significance: Played a major role in public zoological education in late 19th & early 20th century Sydney.

• Conservation Impact

• Introduced the idea of public zoological education in Australia.

• Laid groundwork for Taronga Zoo’s later scientific mission.

• Welfare Controversies

• Conditions were primitive:

  • Concrete pits

  • No veterinary science

  • Animals chained or tethered

• Bears, big cats, and primates kept in extremely confined spaces.

• Reflected Victorian-era belief that animals were curiosities, not sentient beings.