ballarat zoo 1917 to 1959

[rayharvey271]

i meet a lady this week told me how she grew up in ballarat went to the zoo most weekends, which was located at the botanical gardens. i ask her about any strange animal in that area ,she mention the big cats running wild and i asked about any thylacine sightings, she said only the one at the zoo . about 1947 to 1949 . well to me this is interesting the last one died in 1936 ben. i rang the tourist information at ballarat the lady there said i heard that before the same story we thought it was a myth. also the lady decribed other animals that were there two polar bears ,which were a dirty yellow colour from thier water and a very large eagle. so dennis and wal any ideas . i contacted the historical centre as well as the gold museam they are checking out what they can. can any of your old relative in ballarat remember any infro on this zoo.

[rayharvey271]

the museam got back to me they have photos of a skin . a stuff one at ballarat did it died there and was stuff or did it come from tas .

[rayharvey271]

did this thy die at ballarat zoo

[greatdane]

That´s gold Ray!
1947 - 1949, former employee´s and others with relevant knowledge may still be alive.
Would be great if Wally and Dennis could track someone down.

[molloch]

I believe the one in your photo (it is the one from Ballarat Wildlife Park) is a complete fabrication. Let me check.

Bah, can't find out at the moment. I seem to remember someone else saying it was fake in another thread on here.

[dennisw]

Unfortunately my family who might remember have all passed away, I don't remember seeing this myself although in the 1940s we were in Melbourne because my Father was an engineer and was seconded to the military as well as his regular work. He had a lot of friends from overseas and I do remember going to zoos and sanctuaries so that they could see some Australian animals. Healesville was popular because they were the only ones with a platypus and it was easier than camping by the river and hoping for an obliging platypus. I don't recall a thylacine anywhere but the museum.

[cantona]

Excellent lead, needless to say this would be remarkable if it were the case.

[lurcherman]

There 'might' be corroborative evidence of some sort in this remark by former Victoria Premier Steve Bracks speaking in 2004 "I can remember as a little boy going to a zoo in Ballarat near the botanic gardens, believe it or not, and there was a Tasmanian tiger still there."

This would have been in the fifties. When Premier Bracks was told the Tassie Tiger supposedly became extinct in 1936 he recanted a bit and said "It must have been passed down in folklore in my family, but there was at the botanic gardens, at the zoo, a Tasmanian tiger at some stage."

www.fishnet.com.au/forums/viewtopic.php?p=241206&sid=465d1f2899c46c5b3e436a5b3378e5f1

It's the tenth post down the screen.

Supposing Premier Bracks was correct and it was his naysayers - who seem to so easily confuse the Thylacine with the much smaller, differently coloured Devil - who were wrong.

[Deleted]

Hi people all. I am back on track. I do recall dingos at the Ballarat zoo.
My cousin Bob from Brown Hills obtained the concrete "House"
and carted it home dangling from a crane for a dog kennel

[rayharvey271]

the pic i put up is a replica from the wild life park i have been told , others seem to think the one from the zoo was a stuff one in a life like setting 1947 if thats correct where did it come from and where is it today . while searching for infro on this i found on trove a tiger cat 4 foot long from nose to tail was given to the mel bourne zoo in 1933, fleay said it was up there with the biggest he had seen. also i got a pic of a thy imprint from 1970 sa sightings. and the 3 areas thylacines were seen in that era. ballarat fish and acclimatisation society was founed in 1870 and started to bring exotic plants and animals in. also the qld society started doing this as well. its was worth my time and effort to research this its paid off with other imformation.

[Deleted]

Fantastic bit of sleuthing, Ray. Hats off to you, mate. I been out of town most of last week but I might get a chance to trawl through Trove this week. Unless Lurch and others have got there first ..

[rayharvey271]

this is dawns print sa, i can see my v shaped in this.

[youcantry]

The thing about that print - isn't the width of the foot across the digits supposed to be less than that across the plantar?

[youcantry]

Ray, you've just reminded me - somewhere (!) I have seen a photo of an *Eastern* quoll, caught by David Fleay, I believe, in Tasmania, which was about twice the size and weight of any other seen before or since.

Regarding Ballarat - if there was a live tiger in the 50s (not!) there would *have* to be many more people who remember it. I just don't think you could keep that under wraps.

I suppose a stuffed specimen is possible - that should be traceable if it existed.

I've seen that pic before, on a website, and think it was attributed there to being at Ballarat too - but that counts for basically nothing.

[rayharvey271]

hi youcantry i dont think u can always applied that rule, when in soft soils , mud and clay or a mixture of any of these sand etc prints can change dramatically. if you looked at old footage you can make out some of thier tracks.as for ballarat you would think some one would remember, i rang people in ballarat they said thier is a myth to that effect so maybe it was a old skin in a real life setting.

[youcantry]

Found that pic of a huge Eastern quoll. Follow the link below, and on that page, find the link in the text which reads "Native Cats" - hover your mouse over that and the image pops up with a caption above it.

www.naturalworlds.org/thylacine/additional/fleay/Fleay_expedition_2.htm

Actually, I'll post this as a new thread with a more relevant title.. maybe comment there?

[[e-mail]]

l remember ballarat zoo very well, langley's owned and ran it, there weren't many animals left as l recall, certainly didn't see any tasmanian tiger. great site, keep up the good work.sincerely, liz dixon, have a happy Xmas and all the best for 2015.

[Ian Thomas]

Thanks for your kind thoughts Liz. May you also have a happy Xmas and a prosperous 2015.


Ballarat Zoo? Been years since I went there. I remember lots of kangaroos you could walk around among and a humongous python in the snake house. Guy had this trained eagle did tricks if memory serves. No thylacines.