ABOUT ZOOS

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2447, 28 April 1915, Page 5

ABOUT ZOOS

WELLINGTON AND CAIRO

LETTER FROM A TROOPER

[By ' John Crewcs, Member of the Wellington Zoological Society.! When tlie Rev. D. 0. Bates and His Worship the present Mayor of Wellington, and Councillor Frost, the '• best fiiend the Zoo has over had, and later when tho redoubtable Secretary Barnes, and his Mr., Brown, whose courtesy and conciliatory spirit worked wonders and the present overworked but indefatigable secretary, Mr. Castle, worked with a few friends in a band of public-spirited citizens to found the Wellington Zoo, we could not see that in this year of grace 1915 young men from New' Zealand would go to the Ministry of Public Works in Egypt and try to purchase animals to improve our collection; or, in the far away land of,the ancient Pharaohs, would, while devoting their lives to defend tie honour of their country, turn their-hearts towards their home, and praise the founders, of an institution that causes them to feel proud that in the- greateducational movements of the age New Zealand advances, so that her young men have no reason to feel- ashamed of the land of their birth. But it is gratifying to know that when about to march to maintain the imperishable glory of Old England, a young New Zea> lander sat down in a tent that had been pitched by the Young Men's Christian Association just under the shadows of the ancient Pyramids, and wrote:—"Just a line to say I tried to see if we could: buy anything from the Cairo Zoo, and make an addition to our own." That is tlie sort of feeling that I like. In that is one of the sccrets of England's greatness. Her sons feel that her institutions are their own. "Truly." says our patriotic young friends;."truly we might well be proud of our own; for it certainly, is a good one, and it really deserves greater support than ive are giving it. When one sees the beauty, and the asset it is to our council, no amount of money is too much to enlarge and continue the work the pioneers of the movement put into it." Further, he wrote:—"Well, sir, we leave here, and ere you receive this we will be far away, maybe again doing loyal service for our King. Sufficient to say an effort was made to secure something, as our men from Wellington had -agreed to send something from us to your Zoo, only we couldn't buy anything from the ; Egyptian _ Government." ■ He also says:— "Cairo certainly has a very nice zoo, etc., and, I suppose its surroundings, etc., are unique. _ Further on, ho says:—"Our lions in the Newtown Zoo are the best I have seen, and generally our collection stands as good as the one hero." That is tlje sort of feeling I like, for young patriots to carry round the world, and while they feel to say "our. King," and. "our lions," and "our Zoo," the Empire, is safe in their charge. Yes, and although I must not touch party, or even personal, politics in this'column, for all the candidates for the Mayoralty are, I believe, ready to do justico to tho Zoo, and several of the candidates for seats in the have rendered good service in improving all cur city reserves, I must' express the hope that the journalistio censor may allow me to say to the readers .of my notos that I hope that my fellow-citizens Who named, after Councillor. George Froßt, the first and only male lion ever born within the limits of our city, will place at the head of the poll the citizen that, although he I 'lias sometimes differed strongly and thwarted my desires, has done more than any other citizen has to make of our Zoo ah institution of which young New Zealanders, wherever thoy go, aro justly and reasonably proud.