History

History of Auckland Zoo

Take a trip down memory lane.

How it all began...

In February 1912, a "zoo" opened in the Auckland suburb of Onehunga. This area belonged to John James Boyd, who set up a private menagerie consisting of six lions, a tiger, a panther, one hyena and several monkeys – and here the early seeds of Auckland Zoo were sown.

The residents of Onehunga were upset about the "zoo" – and the following years saw a multitude of safety concerns and complaints about the noise, smell, and crowds. In June 1922 Auckland City Council purchased the animals and six months later, in December 1922, opened what is now the Auckland Zoo, at the current Western Springs location.

One of the early challenges the Zoo faced was to build a collection of animals. City business people were encouraged to seek out new stock whilst on overseas trips, which brought many more new animals for the Zoo.

Chimps' tea party

In 1956, it was decided that zoo visitors wanted more "entertainment". Chimpanzee tea parties had been happening for some time at London Zoo, and were very popular. Auckland Zoo decided to follow suit, and four young chimpanzees arrived in October 1956 to entertain the crowds.

Having spent time in London learning this art, the chimpanzees, Janie, Bobbie, Josie and Minnie, settled in quickly to the daily tea party ritual and entertained thousands of visitors. This famous four featured in tea parties until the Zoo put an end to this primarily visitor-focused activity in 1964. By this stage, attitudes to animals in captivity were beginning to change.

Janie is the last remaining of the group known as the "tea party chimps".  You can visit her at the Zoo, where she is one of the oldest and much-loved members of the Zoo family.

Key dates for Auckland Zoo