THE GARDENS OF THE ROYAL ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF IRELAND, DUBLIN
This Society was founded on May 10, 1830. On that day a public meeting
was held in the Rotunda for this purpose. The Duke of Leinster occupied
the chair, and a large and representative gathering was present. The
first and most important resolution--viz., ‘That it appears expedient
that a society be formed, to be entitled the Zoological Society of
Dublin’--was proposed by the Earl of Longford and seconded by the
Surgeon-General (Mr. Philip Crampton). The second resolution, which was
proposed by the Earl of Howth and seconded by Dr. Whitley Stokes, was
worded as follows: ‘That the object of the Society shall be to form a
collection of living animals on the plan of the Zoological Society of
London.’ Towards the close of the meeting Dr. Jacob intimated that the
Lord Lieutenant (the Duke of Northumberland) had arranged to give a
portion of the Phœnix Park for the purpose of establishing a Zoological
Garden.
At the second meeting, held on May 15, 1830, Dr. Whitley Stokes, then
Regius Professor of Medicine in Trinity College, was elected the first
Honorary Secretary of the Society, and on May 21, 1830, Mr. James Pim,
junior (41, Dame Street), was elected the first Honorary Treasurer.
Although numerous meetings of the Managing Committee were held during
the summer and autumn of 1830, there does not appear to have been much
progress made in the formation of a Garden until the summer of 1831.
This was largely due to the fact that the Duke of Northumberland left
Ireland in December, and to the difficulties which, in consequence,
arose in obtaining the formal possession of the site in Phœnix Park. In
June, 1830, the Honorary Secretary intimated that the Lord Lieutenant
‘had been pleased to give formal possession of the ground in Phœnix
Park,’ but it was necessary that this grant should be officially
confirmed by the new Viceroy, the Marquess of Anglesey. It was not
until May 28, 1831, that a letter was received from Colonel Gossett,
the Under-Secretary, who, in his capacity as Park Ranger, conveyed
the necessary powers, and at the same time intimated that the Lord
Lieutenant would be ‘happy to patronize the Society and give it his
support.’
At this stage it is right to bring prominently forward the valuable
services which were rendered by Mr. Nicholas Aylward Vigors, F.R.S.,
in connection with the early struggles of the Society. Having taken
an active part in the foundation of the London Zoological Society in
1826, he had been elected its first Honorary Secretary, and held that
office until 1833. He was deeply interested in the Dublin project, and
ten days after the public meeting he wrote to the Managing Committee to
say that the London Society would extend its co-operation to the Dublin
Zoological Society. A few weeks later he was elected on the Managing
Committee, and attended several of the early meetings. It is evident
that his advice was much relied on, and largely served to shape the
early policy of the new Society. At the first meeting at which he was
present (July 8, 1830) he urged the necessity of having a plan of the
proposed Gardens prepared by a competent person, and he was authorized
by the Committee to ascertain whether Mr. Decimus Burton, Architect
to the Zoological Society of London, would place his services at the
disposal of the Society in Dublin. This Mr. Burton ultimately agreed to
do for a fee of £75.
Some slight idea may be obtained from Mr. Burton’s report of the
condition of the ground at the time it was allotted to the Society.
He says in regard to this: ‘The ground on the other side’ (evidently
referring to the constabulary side of the lake) ‘is enclosed with a
stone wall, but the line it takes is very irregular. The upper or
eastern portion of the site is a paddock nearly level, at about 26 feet
average height above the surface of the water. In this paddock are two
groups of fine timber trees and an orchard. The slope next the water
is thickly covered with well-grown underwood, principally thorny. The
original buildings consist of a substantial dwelling-house, an outhouse
or stable, and a small cottage. The Society have had erected, but in
a temporary manner, a wooden building for the reception of the deer,
nylgais, etc., alcove seats, bear pits, etc., and lately they have
finished, in a better style, an otter place. There is an old ice-well
in the grounds.’
[Illustration: PHŒNIX PARK, DUBLIN.
(Photo by R. Welch, Belfast.)]
From the minutes it would appear that the cottage was occupied by
Mrs. Rourke, and that the substantial building referred to was the
park-keeper’s lodge. Mrs. Rourke, evidently uneasy with regard to
her tenure, approached the Committee, and the Honorary Secretary
was instructed to inform her that the Society did not ‘at that
moment require the house,’ and that ‘they will not interfere to
have her removed immediately.’ Mrs. Rourke appears to have been a
somewhat troublesome tenant. In April, 1832, it was ordered that the
communication between Mrs. Rourke’s house and the Gardens be cut off,
and in December of the following year ‘Mrs. Rourke was cautioned not
to hang any more of her linen within sight of the visitors to the
Gardens.’ Ultimately, on April 27, 1835, it was resolved ‘that Mrs.
Rourke be warned that, unless she do leave the Gardens before the
next meeting of Council, she will forfeit the advantages so liberally
accorded to her by the Council.’
During the winter of 1830-31 there were no meetings of the Committee,
but after the formal acquisition of the site, operations were actively
carried on with a view towards the early opening of the Gardens to
the public. Up to this time the only animal mentioned as being in the
possession of the Society is a wild boar. On September 25, 1830, £2
were allowed to Godden ‘for the support of the wild boar,’ and in the
following year (May 28, 1831) there is an entry ‘that the sum of £2 be
given to Godden for feeding the pig.’ During the summer of 1831 animals
were gradually gathered in, but it is very doubtful if the Gardens
could have been opened that year without the large consignment that
came through Mr. Vigors from the London Gardens.
In 1830 His Majesty King William IV. presented to the London Society
all the animals in the royal menagerie in Windsor Park. Amongst these
there were fourteen wapiti deer, of which two were sent to Dublin,
along with one Sambur deer, one nylgai, two emus, two ostriches, and
quite a number of less important animals. These animals arrived some
time in June, 1831. There is a note in the minute-book (on the 25th of
that month) to the effect that Dr. Stokes was empowered ‘to send Godden
to London as soon as possible to take charge of the animals, and bring
them over by the London steamer.’
In 1831 the King handed over to the London Society the collection of
animals that was kept in the London Tower, and on this occasion he
expressed a wish that such as were not required for Regent’s Park
should be sent to the Zoological Society of Dublin. In this manner the
first royal gift of animals came to Dublin. It consisted of a wolf, a
leopard, and a hyæna.
The modest character of the operations of the Society during the first
two years may be gathered from the entries of the weekly payments. On
May 25, 1832, ‘wages, labour, and provisions for the last week’ came to
£6 2s. 9d. This may be taken as a sample of the weekly expenditure, but
it does not represent the total outlay upon provisions, because bills
were run for several items of food for the animals.
The Gardens were opened to the public on September 1, 1831. The
following advertisement appeared in the _Saunders’ Newsletter_ on the
morning of that day:
‘ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
‘The Zoological Garden in the Phœnix Park, under the patronage of His
Excellency the Lord Lieutenant, will be opened for visitors on this
day, Thursday, September 1, at nine o’clock in the morning, and will
not be closed until a late hour in the day.
‘All persons are to be admitted for sixpence each, and they are to
write their names at the gate.
‘A member who has paid his subscription, and two friends coming with
him, are admitted free of expense.
‘Members are also allowed to purchase transferable tickets.
‘The Committee request that visitors may leave their sticks and
umbrellas at the gate, and that children may be kept from approaching
too near to the bars which confine the animals.
‘J. Pim, Esq., 41, Dame Street, continues to receive subscriptions and
donations.
‘The first day’s receipts will be given to the Mendicity Institution.’
On January 10, 1833, Mr. Drewett was appointed Superintendent at a
salary of £100 a year, with £20 per annum for house-rent, until such
time as a house could be provided. The Society met on November 19 at
Hunt’s Hotel, Dawson Street, and Dr. Whitley Stokes read the first
report of the Committee of Management. It would appear that from the
opening of the Gardens, September 1, 1831, up to November 1, 1832,
36,497 visitors had paid for admission. The Treasurer’s statement gave
the following items:
£ _s._ _d._
For subscriptions 508 5 0
Admissions (September 1, 1831, to
November 1, 1832) 912 8 10
----------------
1,420 13 10
Entire expenses since the commencement 1,331 9 9
----------------
Balance in Treasurer’s hands 89 4 1
================
A list of the animals in the Gardens is also furnished. This includes
forty-six mammals, of which fifteen were monkeys, seventy-two birds,
and a few other animals.
Without question, the most important meeting of the Society since its
foundation up to the present day was that which was held in Hunt’s
Hotel, Dawson Street, on May 15, 1833. Mr. W. Tighe Hamilton, who had
in the previous year given notice that he would propose a new code
of laws for the government of the Society, again brought this matter
forward. The keynote struck at that meeting was that the Zoological
Society should be developed as a Scientific Society, and that its
leading aim should be to stimulate a love of natural history amongst
the people. A protracted and animated discussion took place on the new
code of laws submitted to the Society. Captain Portlock, R.E., was
elected Honorary Secretary in place of Dr. Stokes, who had opposed the
new code of laws. The Surgeon-General, Mr. Philip Crampton, became the
first President, and Mr. James Pim retained office as Treasurer.
It is pleasant to note that the Society showed its indebtedness to Mr.
Vigors, and its appreciation of the high scientific reputation which he
had earned, by electing him one of its first Vice-Presidents.
The code of laws which was passed in 1833 is the same as that which now
regulates the affairs of the Society. In the course of the sixty-seven
years which have elapsed since the code was adopted few alterations
have been made, and for the most part they are of a trifling character.
The laws, as originally adopted, rigidly limited the tenure of office
of the President to one year. It is now competent for the Society,
should it so desire it, to re-elect the President annually for a period
of five years. Under the present regulations only three instead of five
members of Council retire each year. Other slight changes have taken
place in the laws since 1833, but it is not necessary to specify them.
We have noted that, on its institution, the Society was designated the
Zoological Society of Dublin. It bore this name for eight years, and it
was only after her late Majesty Queen Victoria graciously consented to
become Patron that it assumed the title which it now bears.
A special feature in connection with the management of the affairs of
the Zoological Gardens consists in the fact that the members of the
Council take breakfast together each Saturday morning in the Gardens
before proceeding to transact the weekly business. These breakfasts
have become one of the social features of Dublin, and there cannot be
a doubt that they exert a most important influence in advancing the
interests of the Society. Not only do they promote good-fellowship
amongst the members of the Council, but they have a remarkable effect
in obtaining a regular attendance at the business meetings which
follow. They are also recognised as a powerful agent in obtaining
recruits for the Society. Curiously enough, it would appear that an
impression has got abroad amongst some of those who are not acquainted
with the management of the Zoological Gardens that the expense of
these breakfasts is defrayed out of the funds of the Society. Such a
conception is absolutely erroneous, and it may be well also to state
that even the furniture of the room in which the breakfasts are held,
and the table equipment, are the personal property of the members of
the Council.
At least one anniversary dinner has taken place in the Gardens (in the
summer of 1838). This dinner, held always in connection with the Annual
Meeting of the Society, was continued for some years; but, except on
the one occasion referred to, it appears to have been held in an hotel.
In having no salaried officers outside those actually engaged in the
Gardens, the Zoological Society of Ireland differs from most, if not
all, kindred societies.
In 1868 there were 127,900 visitors to the Gardens, the receipts being
£938 18s. 6d.
In 1869 there were 136,052 visitors, and there were in the Gardens 143
mammals and 219 birds.
In 1877 Miss Nesbitt presented the Gardens with a handsome aviary
costing £350.
In 1878 a severe frost occurred, covering the lake in the Gardens
with a sheet of ice 9 inches thick. A fortnight’s good skating was
the result, and no animals were lost, owing to special precautions
being taken to supply additional fuel for the stoves and extra straw
for bedding. During the visit of the British Association to Dublin in
August, the Council entertained at breakfast seventy-two of the most
distinguished of the foreign and British visitors in the aquarium.
There is, however, no record to show whether they were given anything
else but fish! During this year animals were born in the Gardens,
including three leopards. One hundred and nineteen carcases of beef,
twenty-four horses, and seventeen sheep were used to feed the animals.
In 1879 ten lion cubs were born in the Gardens. Two Himalayan bear
cubs were successfully reared during the year, a circumstance without
parallel in the history of Zoological Gardens.
In 1880 five lion cubs and three leopard cubs were born in the Gardens.
A polar bear and a bison were purchased. Thomas Flood, one of the
keepers, was killed by the red deer stag, of which he had the care.
Over one hundred animals and birds were added to the collection in
1881; four lion cubs and one leopard cub were born in the Gardens.
In 1882 two young elephants were purchased from Burmah. In order to aid
in the construction of a suitable house for them, a number of Fellows
and Professors of Trinity College, Dublin, gave a series of lectures,
which produced a net profit of £50.
In 1883 the first dog show was held in the Gardens. Four lion cubs, one
red deer, and one yak were born.
In 1884 the dog show was made an annual event. The Egyptian pariah
dogs, captured on the field of battle at Tel-el-Kebir, and presented by
Lieutenant Cusack, produced puppies.
In 1887 the receipts at the gate fell considerably; but this was
balanced by the sale of lion cubs and other animals bred in the
Gardens, which realized £260. A fine paddock and shelter for the red
deer was constructed and the aquarium was improved. One hundred and
forty-one lions had up to now been born in the Gardens, cubs realizing
£45 each. Two moose were obtained in Canada, and presented by Mr. S. K.
Twigg. In 1885 no less than twelve lion cubs were born, and six were
disposed of for £100 in cash and £105 worth of other animals. An adult
lion costs £15 a year to feed. Two thousand eight hundred pounds have
now been obtained from the sale of lion cubs.
An event which had been looked forward to with much interest--namely,
the birth of a young American bison--terminated fatally both to mother
and calf. A fine young orang-outang was acquired, and was visited by
thousands.
In 1889 the average price obtained for lion cubs was £42 10s. The total
number of cubs born in the Gardens now stood at 145. A tiger died this
year, but three tiger cubs were presented by Surgeon Henston, who
secured them in a cave in India after having killed their parents. Two
lion and two tiger cubs were to be seen living on the most friendly
terms together in one cage. The orang-outang died.
[Illustration: THE LAKE, DUBLIN.
(Photo by R. Welch, Belfast.)]
In 1891 the Gardens were visited by His Royal Highness the late Duke
of Clarence on two occasions. Seven lions were born in the Gardens.
In 1892 a savage encounter took place between a lion and a tigress
which had been placed in the same cage together. There were seven
species of bear to be seen in the Gardens. The last of the large
kangaroos died. The Gardens were visited by the Lord Lieutenant. The
attempts to breed lion and tiger hybrids had up to now failed.
Amongst other animals acquired in 1893 was a jaguar, two hunting
leopards, a black leopard, a tapir, a yak, a Bactrian camel, a female
nylgai, and a male ostrich. Four hundred pounds were spent on the
erection of a large outdoor aviary. One hundred and sixty-nine lion
cubs had now been born in the Gardens, ‘Old Girl’ (from 1862 to 1873)
producing no less than fifty-five and ‘Queen’ (from 1884 to 1891)
twenty-eight. ‘Old Charley’ (between 1866 and 1874) was the father of
forty-seven.
In 1895 her late Majesty Queen Victoria presented the Gardens with
a fine young male lion. Various improvements were effected in the
grounds. An island was formed in the lake, and a goat house and
rockery were built. The Burchell’s zebra died of old age, having been
twenty-one years in the Gardens. A chimpanzee and a white-tailed gnu
were added to the collection. There were born in the Gardens during the
year ten puma cubs, three lion cubs, one hog deer, two Barbary sheep,
one llama, two red deer, and other smaller animals.
In 1896 alterations were made in the aquarium, which was built in 1868;
an alligator pond and diving-bird cages and tanks were introduced into
it. Since 1857 the large sum of £4,760 had been realized by the sale
of lion cubs. A Cape hunting-dog had a litter of four puppies, but
unfortunately they all died. A pair of Burchell’s zebras was added to
the collection, and twenty-nine animals were born in the Gardens during
the year.
In 1897 Field-Marshal Lord Roberts, V.C., was elected President for
the ensuing year. The aquarium, which had been closed for alterations,
was reopened by the Countess Cadogan. Out of a litter of five Cape
hunting-dogs born this year only one was reared; seven lion cubs were
born, all of which died.
In 1898 there were 123,806 visitors to the Gardens, and the receipts at
the gates were £1,785 16s. 1d. The name of the late Dr. Haughton, for
many years President of the Society, was perpetuated by the erection
of ‘Haughton House,’ a building for the display of living monkeys and
birds. Steps were taken to endeavour to preserve the nesting-places of
the choughs. A sea-lion, the only specimen of the kind ever brought to
Ireland, was acquired. Its weekly fish bill cost £1, whilst its weekly
supply of water cost 10s. Two litters of Cape hunting-dog puppies were
born, and a few reared by the aid of foster-mothers. The period of
gestation averaged about eighty days. Many valuable donations to the
Gardens were made, including monkeys, a python, squirrels, peacocks,
seven crocodiles, a monitor, and several birds.
On May 19, 1899, the Haughton Memorial Building was formally opened by
His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant. The Irish lion industry was now
causing anxiety, and few cubs were born. A Nubian lion was bought
from Herr Carl Hagenbeck to try to lay the foundation stone of a
second strain. This purchase was attended with the most gratifying
results, for in September a litter of three cubs was born, ‘Germania’
being the mother. Thus a new strain was established. Two months after,
‘Hypatia’ gave birth to three cubs by ‘Cæsar’; she, however, refused
for the third time to rear her cubs. A goat suckled them for three
days, and then a fine Irish red setter was brought into requisition as
a wet-nurse. During the year a medal was instituted, to be given each
year to the person who submitted the best series of animal photographs
taken in the Gardens. Lord Roberts, the President of the Society, was
the means of the Gardens obtaining a black buck, two axis deer, and
a fine male leopard, and a large number of important gifts were made
from all parts of the world. A camel calf (the first ever born in
Ireland) unfortunately died in six days. The period of gestation was
twelve months and twenty-one days. Two anthropoid apes died. A hybrid
antelope, between _Gazella subguthurosa_ and _Antelope cervicapra_, was
born, also two Barbary sheep, five wolf cubs, one great wallaby hybrid,
and four puma cubs.
On April 20, 1900, her late Majesty Queen Victoria visited the Gardens,
and spent an hour slowly driving round the grounds and inspecting the
animals. Plans were formulated for the erection of a beautiful new lion
house fitted with outdoor cages. The new house was to be called ‘the
Roberts’ House,’ after Lord Roberts, the President. Professor Cossar
Ewart sent a number of his zebra hybrids for exhibition. They remained
in the Gardens for over a month.
[Illustration: LION CUBS FROM SOMALILAND, DUBLIN.
(Photo by Miss Grace Eustace.)]
The Irish lion industry at this time began to revive. During the first
forty-four years of this industry it had periods of marked depression.
From 1874 to 1878 Dr. Ball recorded that, ‘though the blood was
preserved, breeding was interrupted.’ Again, between 1895 and 1898,
only eighteen cubs were born in the Gardens, and of these only six were
reared. Three litters were born during 1900. These were seven males and
two females. The number of cubs born in the Gardens since 1857 had now
reached the large total of 211, of which 112 were males, 98 females,
and one of unrecorded sex. The average litter is now composed of two or
three; prior to 1886 it comprised four. The famous lioness ‘Old Girl’
contributed no less than fifty-five cubs.
The stock of lions in the Gardens this year was two males, five
females, and eleven cubs. A large number of presents were received,
among which may be mentioned two Bengal tigers from the Nizam of
Hyderabad, a black bear cub, a large python from West Africa, six
giant tortoises from the Hon. Walter Rothschild, and a polar bear. A
female white-tailed gnu, two Bactrian camels, and two ostriches were
purchased. The sea-lion and the two fine cheetahs died, together with
an ostrich, a recently acquired chimpanzee, and a male Bactrian camel.
The Royal Zoological Society of Ireland has now had an existence
of seventy years, and is only four years younger than the London
Zoological Society, founded in 1826.