Corporate Body
Taronga Conservation Society Australia (Taronga Zoo and Taronga Western Plains Zoo) (1913 - )
- From
- 1913
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia - Functions
- Conservation or Environment and Veterinary or Animal Health Industries
- Alternative Names
- Taronga Zoological Park Trust (Former name)
- Zoological Gardens Trust (Former name)
- Zoological Parks Board (Former name)
Summary
Taronga Conservation Society Australia manages Taronga Zoo (1916- ) and Taronga Western Plains Zoo (1977 - ). Although Taronga Zoo was officially opened in 1916 the Taronga Conservation Society Australia traces its roots back to an 1884 Sydney Zoo. Between 1916 and 2009 the Taronga Conservation Society Australia has gone by multiple names that reflect the evolving aims and mission of the organisation.
Details
The formal establishment of the Taronga Zoo in 1916 is traced back to the Secretary of the 1884 Sydney Zoo, Albert Sherbourne Le Souef, who was inspired by his experience of a bar-less exhibit in Hamburg Zoo. Ownership of the Sydney Zoo was passed to the New Zoological Gardens Trust and a new location for the zoo was established by the New South Wales Government. From 1913 until 1973 The New Zoological Gardens Trust, and later the Taronga Zoological Park Trust managed Taronga Zoo.
From 1967 Taronga Zoo developed a stronger emphasis on scientific research, conservation and education. In 1973 the Taronga Zoological Park Trust was replaced with the Zoological Board of New South Wales. Under the Zoological Board of New South Wales the Taronga Western Plains Zoo was opened, the first zoo in Australia based on the open range principle. In 2009 the Zoological Board of New South Wales was renamed the Taronga Conservation Society Australia.
Related entries
Archival resources
Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales
- Ephemera on zoos in New South Wales, 1916 - 1988, EPHEMERA/ZOOS/1916-; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
Published resources
Books
- Hediger, Heini, Report on Taronga Park Zoo from the viewpoint of biology of zoological gardens (Sydney, New South Wales: New South Wales Government Printer, 1966). Details
- Strahan, Ronald, Beauty and the Beasts: a Fascinating History of Taronga and Western Plains Zoos and Their Antecedents (Sydney: Zoological Parks Board of New South Wales, 1991), 160 pp. Details
Elizabeth Daniels
Created: 5 June 2018