Perth Zoo

Child Places

• 16792 Perth Zoo Primates Cages (fmr)

Statement of Significance

• The Perth Zoo is a 17 hectare site of animal enclosures, gardens and ancillary support buildings that as a whole has aesthetic value as a well maintained green environment in an urban setting that provides a strong contrast to its surroundings. • The Perth Zoo has historic value for its association with the WA Acclimatisation Society established in 1896 that represented the 19th century understanding and approach to local fauna and flora and zoo practices. • The Perth Zoo has historic value as a demonstration of the development of the understanding of zoos, animal husbandry and research since the late 19th century. The retention of old enclosures on the site demonstrates how zoo practices have changed. • The place has historic value for its association with several prominent citizens in the Western Australian community, including; Edward Le Souef, Charles Y O'Connor and Winthrop Hackett. • The place has social value as almost all individuals and groups in the community have attended the place and the policy of keeping entry fees to a minimum enable all sectors of the community to attend. • In recent years the methods of attracting visitors through a diversity of events and attractions has broaden the number of visitors from all sectors of the community.

Physical Description

In 2003-2004 the Perth Zoo finalised its 20-year Master Plan. As part of the plan, the heritage value of a number of areas in the Perth Zoo was identified. The sites of potential interest listed in the report prepared by the Perth Zoo are: 1. Dome Cage (1899) – dismantled and in storage, no access provided 2. Bird Feed Shed (circa 1898) – single storey random rubble limestone building of asymmetric plan form with gabled roof with wide overhanging eaves. A series of bays create a regular rhythm along the eastern elevation, the bays are boarded up and now artworks and information. The main entrance to the building is on the north elevation located within the projecting wing. The entrance is a single door with fanlight and with small arrow slit style openings to the east of the door way with larger opening above. 3. Old Kite Cage (1898) – a hexagonal former aviary that had open sides with timber columns, a steep pitched roof and limestone base. Whilst the form of the Kite Cage remains extant, the structure has been modified for a new purpose as a display area. The open sides have been infilled behind the timber columns with colorbond, a wide skillion verandah canopy added, a small room on the north elevation added and roof reclad with colorbond. Originally the Kite Cage was accessed via steps but the ground levels have since been altered and it now has level access on the east elevation with the limestone plinth remaining visible on the other elevations. 4. Stables – Unknown 5. Bear Caves (1898, 1900s) – the Bear Caves are a series of connecting limestone caves purposely constructed to house the bears. Each cave has a metal grille opening which would allow for good visual access into the caves. The Caves are now closed and not used for live exhibits and have become part of the Perth Zoo’s interpretation of earlier animal practices. 6. Hay Shed (1903) is a double height timber framed structure with weatherboard cladding, steeply pitched gabled roof and double timber ledge and braced entrance doors. The structure is a single space internally, adapted for the Rainforest Retreat entrance in 1993. 7. Tennis Shelters (1920s and renovated in the 1950s) – the former Tennis Shelters were relocated to the central lawn area in 1957 following the closure of the zoo tennis courts. The shelters are of timber framed construction with shallow pitched roofs with colorbond cladding and lattice panels to form the enclosure of the shelters. Each shelter now contains a picnic table and forms an important facility for the visitors to the Zoo 8. Carousel 1947 – traditional fairground carousel with 24 horses. The Carousel has been restored and features many images of zoo animals. 9. Mineral Baths (1918) (remnants visible north side of present Docent Lodge). 10. The limestone wall and built-in seats along the pathway approaching the side road near the back of the Rhinoceros, Giraffe and Elephant enclosures (1898-99)this section of wall is not in a public area and is believed to be an earlier construction than other sections of limestone wall constructed around the zoo following the demolition of Ernest Le Souef’s house in 1958. The 1890’s section of limestone wall curves around the rear of the Elephant enclosure and incorporates two seats and stone steps into the enclosure. The wall is of rubble stone construction with rendered capping to the top of the wall, the two seats and to the tread of the steps. The wall is approximately 1m high. The 1950s sections of limestone wall that are in the public area is constructed using the dressed stone from the former zoo keeper’s house, laid in regular courses with a cement capping. 11. The peppermint trees surrounding the World of Birds on the south-west corner of the Zoo – these trees contribute to the mature tree canopy that characterises Perth Zoo. 12. The two pine trees at the north of the site planted by the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall in 1901. The tree closer to Onslow Street was planted by the Duke who was later King George V of Great Britain. 13. The Pump House 1957 and the Holm Oak Tree (1900s) opposite the Café. The Pump House is a small brick built structure with terracotta tiled roof that is submerged in the dense planting at the foot of the Oak tree. The oak tree is the only one of its type in the zoo and provides shelter to a contemporary deck that now forms part of the “Oak Lawn” 14. Mulberry Tree near the site of the first house for a Director in the Zoo grounds, and is in the non-public part of the zoo, close to the boundary with Mill Point Road 15. Moreton Bay Fig (1900s) at the corner of Angelo and Onslow Streets. The tree was planted by one of the first keepers in the garden of his house (now demolished) and dominates the south eastern corner of the zoo. Whilst not accessible for the public within the zoo, the tree does contribute to the street scene along Angelo Street, outside the zoo boundary. 16. Train Station is a traditional style train platform of timber frame construction with weatherboard cladding to the waiting room and long pitched canopy supported on timber posts providing shelter to the ‘platform’. 17. Scout Hall – is a timber framed range with asbestos cladding and wide profile ‘weatherboards’ to the lower section of the elevation. The original timber framed sash windows have been replaced with aluminium sash windows to the south elevation and timber framed casements to the east elevation (other elevations were not inspected). The roof is a shallow pitched structure clad in colorbond. A deep skillion canopy to the east elevation. The report, ‘Perth Zoo - Sites worthy of Heritage Recognition’, describes and documents each of these items.

History

The Western Australian Acclimatisation Society, forerunner of the Zoological Gardens Board, was established in July 1896. In February 1897, the chairman of the Acclimatisation Society, Hon. Sir John Winthrop Hackett MLC, invited Mr Albert Le Souef, the Director of Melbourne Zoo, to select a suitable location for the Perth Zoo. A forty-one acre (16.6 ha) site of virgin bushland in South Perth, near the Swan River, was selected and granted to the Acclimatisation Society. Colonel Ernest Albert Le Souef (1869 to 1937), a veterinarian and son of Albert Le Souef, was appointed as the first Director to the Perth Zoo. One of the first tasks was the establishment of gardens in the Zoo grounds. The local sandy soil lacked nutrients, so cart loads of manure were brought into the Zoo for the next two years to improve the soil quality. Director Le Souef and the head gardener, Henry Steedman, who worked at the Perth Zoo until 1929, planned the gardens. Plants and trees from throughout the British Empire made up the rose gardens, lupin fields, exotic tropical plants and palm groves. On 17 October 1898, the Perth Zoo was opened by Governor Sir Gerald Smith. The first exhibits included a tiger, two lions and two mute swans. Admission prices were sixpence (5c) for adults and three pence (3c) for children. Three of the original exhibit enclosures have been preserved; the bear enclosure made from limestone brought from Cottesloe, a rotunda-shaped aviary, and the Dome Cage which was modelled on one in London. All three enclosures are unoccupied and kept for historical educational purposes. A number of the stone and concrete constructions around the Perth Zoo were built by Frederick Stidworthy. He and his wife Lucy lived opposite the Perth Zoo in Mill Point Road. From these premises Lucy ran tearooms for Perth Zoo visitors. (At that time, the entrance to the Perth Zoo was in Mill Point Road.) Water at Perth Zoo was scarce. In February 1899, C Y O’Connor located artesian water within the grounds at a depth of 1,860 feet. This allowed reticulation of the gardens which then flourished. The water was also used for the animals and was also fed into mineral baths for its medicinal properties for visitors. The water temperature was measured at 39C degrees. A brick bath house was built for medicinal as well as personal hygiene purposes in 1918. This was last used as baths in 1967 and now houses the Docent Association. In 1901, the Duke and Duchess of York visited the Perth Zoo and planted two Norfolk Island Pine trees and released 80 kookaburras into the wild. The Norfolk Island Pine trees are located on the higher side of the Zoo grounds above the Australian Wildlife Park. The trees are known as the ‘King and Queen’ trees. Attendances grew annually to reach 71,000 people in 1904. Many of the people arrived by ferry at the Mends Street Jetty which was widened at the suggestion of Government Engineer CY O’Connor. The gold rush days of Western Australia had ended by 1904 and development within the Zoo slowed down as maintenance and repair costs rose. For a period of ten years, little development occurred. In 1916 Sir Winthrop Hackett, the president and member of the Zoo Board, died, leaving money to the Perth Zoo. At the end of World War I, development at the Perth Zoo continued with additions to the number of cages and shade shelters for the tennis courts which remain as picnic shelters. During the 1920s, visitors were attracted to the Perth Zoo, not just for animal exhibits but for the free entertainment that included the RSL concerts, treasure hunts and baby shows. It was during the 1920s that the new entrance in Labouchere Road was created. Also in this decade, a new lion yard was built, just before the Depression. After the Wall Street crash in 1929 all development stopped and the Perth Zoo was in serious debt. During the 1930s, the Perth Zoo experienced such financial difficulties that no new animals could be acquired or housed. In 1931, in recognition of the difficulties the Zoo was in, Director Le Souef and the keepers accepted a wage cut to reduce the Zoo’s costs. In 1932, in a desperate attempt to save the Perth Zoo, control was passed from the Acclimatisation Society to the State Gardens Board. Le Souef resigned his position. Mr L.E. Shapcott was appointed to head the now combined Acclimatisation Society and State Gardens Board. The financial circumstances of the Perth Zoo improved after 1932 enabling payment of outstanding debts, repairs to many fences and the opening of the miniature railway. The collection of birds, mammals and reptiles also grew. World War II brought work in the Perth Zoo to a standstill. Trenches were dug in the grounds to protect patrons and cages of dangerous animals were reinforced in case of enemy bombing. After the war in 1946, F R Stanley was appointed curator of the Perth Zoo and reconstruction began with primate enclosures and aquariums. The Carousel was established on 11 November 1947. It originally carried 20 horses and two boats, but in 1968, the boats were removed and replaced with four horses, making the ride a true ‘carousel’. While merry-go-rounds can feature various animals and objects, a true carousel has only horses. Mr W.K. Lyall was appointed as superintendent in 1950. In 1952, after 54 years of unchanging prices, the admission fees for the Perth Zoo doubled. The new prices were 1 shilling (10c) for adults and sixpence (5c) for children. Following recommendations from the University of Western Australia that the Zoo was a “first class educational aid with great value”, redevelopment continued. In 1955-57, the Perth Zoo also promoted itself as a venue for holding popular car shows, jazz concerts and other events. In 1957, the first Australian animal exhibits went on display with ten kangaroos and two emus. In 1962, two female Asiatic elephant calves arrived. They were named Tricia and Tania in a newspaper competition. In 1967, Nancy Le Souef, daughter of the first Director, retired after spending her whole working life and her childhood at the Perth Zoo. In 1968, Perth Zoo separated from the National Parks Board, to be administered in its own right. The new Director (the first since Le Souef’s resignation in 1932) was a Scottish Zoologist, Tom Spence. A program began in this period replacing older exhibits with new habitat-based exhibits and unfenced enclosures. During the 1970s, the walk through Wallaby Park, the Grundt Nocturnal House and new aviaries opened. A major policy change occurred in 1974 when the “No feeding” policy was introduced. However, one thing didn’t change – entry fees remained incredibly low which, in 1976, were 80c for adults and 20c for children. In 1981, the Great Ape precinct was opened, followed by the Lesser Primates and Numbats exhibits. From a humanistic point of view, the Docent Association (Volunteer Guides) formed and Tom Spence retired and was replaced by Director John De Jose. In 1991, the Perth Zoo’s first purpose-built immersion exhibit, the African Savannah, was opened. This was closely followed by release of the Perth Zoo’s 25 year Master Plan, which identified the key exhibit zones of Australia, Africa, and South East Asia. In the 1987, Architects and Planners, Oldham Boas Ednie-Brown, along with Hassell Planning Consultants Pty Ltd, Scott and Furphy Engineers and Tract Landscape Architects, were commissioned to undertake the ‘Mends Street and Perth Zoo Precinct Study’. The study partners were City of South Perth, Perth Zoo Board, State Planning Commission (later renamed ‘Western Australian Planning Commission’), and the City of South Perth Bicentennial Community Committee. At the conclusion of the Study, a Development Concept was produced. To facilitate the Perth Zoo’s development program, the Development Concept included their Bicentennial Education facility, sited to the east of the Zoo entrance on land previously used for some of the courts of the former South Perth Tennis Club. In examining a balance between local and regional community interests in the area, the consultants’ 1988 Report recommended that wider or regional community interests be given priority, particularly in respect of Windsor Park and the Perth Zoo. Elements of the Perth Zoo identified in the Study report as needing improvement or provision, included car parking with access from Mill Point Road and a one-way bus access between Mill Point Road and Labouchere Road, enhancement of the approach and entry statement to the Perth Zoo to more safely cater for crowds and school outing groups, and additional educational facilities on the site. During the 1990s, under Director John de Jose, the Perth Zoo negotiated with the City of South Perth for more than one hectare of Windsor Park to be transferred to the Zoo site to enable its required services and facilities to be provided. The transfer was facilitated by the removal or relocation of some of the long-standing facilities from Windsor Park, including the tennis courts, rugby oval, and some bowling greens. As part of this work, the Mill Point Scout Group Hall which had stood on Windsor Park since 1927, was relocated a short distance into the Perth Zoo site, in 1987. Following its relocation, the hall accommodated the Perth Zoo’s reference library, continuing its role in community education. The relocation was necessary to provide better and safer access for buses carrying school groups. In 1994, a new infrastructure building was constructed near the corner of Angelo Street and Onslow Street. This building was designed by Baverstock, Murphy and Associates to using solar design principles and won a Western Australian Energy Efficiency Award, and a Royal Australian Institute of Architects Energy Award Commendation in 1996. Also in the 1990s, cultural events returned to the Perth Zoo with a number of popular family concerts and other strategies were introduced to bolster visitors including Night Zoo opening, and Ferry / Zoo passes. In 2004, the Heritage Council of Western Australia assessed the ‘Perth Zoo Dome Cage’ for consideration of possible inclusion in the Register of Heritage Places. Ultimately no determination could not completed because the cage did not occupy a permanent location within the Zoo grounds, and had been placed in storage. The Perth Zoo has been a primary visitor destination in Western Australia and has opened every day since it began operating in 1898.

Integrity/Authenticity

High / Moderate

Condition

Good

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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