Beaumaris Zoo Hobart - home of the Tasmanian Tiger
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Tasmanian Devils at Beaumaris Zoo
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Thylacine family at Beaumaris Zoo 1909
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WOMAN ZOOLOGIST.
LOVABLE DEVILS.
Mrs. Roberts, a Tasmanian delegate to the recent National Council of Women, Is distinguished as being the only woman who is a corresponding member of the Zoological Society of London. - This honor was conferred upon her for valuable services rendered to the society. Mrs. Roberts is also unique in possessing the only private zoo In Australasia. Any animals she can spare she sends from time to time to the London Zoo. Her venture is particularly fortunate for Tasmania, as her zoo is the only one there.
It was started by her In 1900 as an aid in the study of nature, and was opened to the public In 1904. Since then tourists from all parts of the world have visited "Beaumaris," and expressed themselves delighted with the interesting collection there. Also numbers of Hobart school-children have had their only practical lessons on their native fauna from this garden.
Since Its inception the work has grown considerably, and as it ls not subsidised by the Government the whole of the expense falls upon Its owner, who, though over 70 years of age, does all the secretarial work in connection with It and most of the feeding of the animals.
The collection ls almost entirely Australasian, Tasmanian fauna being especially prominent. Among the animals are some very fine specimens of Tasmanlan tigers. These are very shy and retiring, and the only photograph of one with her young was taken at Beaumaris recently by a visiting American millionaire. Tasmanlan devils are also to the fore, and are most lovable in captivity. Various kinds of kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, native cats, kangaroo rats, opossums, flying squirrels, and others dis port themselves In the happiest environment.
A little South African exile — a meerkat — has a history. She was brought from her native land by a lady, bound for Melbourne,
who called In at Tasmania. But on arrival there there was a cable declaring the meerkat a prohibited Immigrant. -
THE BEAUMARIS ZOO.
The death of Mrs. H. L. Roberts is a clear loss to the community; how far that loss is to be reckoned permanent and irreparable depends upon public opinion. On her own initiative, and at her own expense, Mrs. Roberts established and maintained a zoological garden on a small scale, but quite unique. Beginning without scientific training or any special knowledge, and taking the thing up as a hobby, she very soon gave to this collection of birds and animals a special and personal character. It became known among scientific people all through Australia and beyond, and men of eminence in the scientific world were pleased to receive and to answer letters from Mrs. Roberts regarding the life habits of Tasmanian fauna. The question now, which is of public importance, is whether this work is to die with Mrs. Roberts. It cannot be expected that her executors will carry it on for the public benefit, but we have no doubt that they will give any possible help in any proposal that it be carried on for the public of Tasmania. Primarily we should say this is a matter in which the Royal Society should take the lead, and if it does so, sup- port should not be lacking. The Government and the City Council are both concerned in what is a national work, and which also has a special Hobart interest. The work begun and carried on by Mrs. Roberts is too big and important to be allowed to go by the board for lack of public interest.
The Mercury, 29 November 1921
THE BEAUMARIS ZOO.
We learn that the whole of the valuable collection of animals belonging to the late Mrs. Mary Roberts has been offered by that lady’s family to the trustees of the Tasmanian Museum and Botanical Gardens to form the nucleus of a Zoological Garden which would be fitting memorial of Mrs Roberts’ work and long services to tho public It seems that many offers have been received from would-be purchasers the Beaumaris Zoo, acceptance of which would entail the removal from Tasmania. This, it will be generally agreed would be a sad loss to the State and a real disgrace if permitted when it could be avoided, the distinctly Tasmanian character of the collection being its chief feature. If the animals are suitably housed on an agreed site and money sufficient to maintain the Zoo is provided, the Trustees are willing to undertake responsibility of management, and they estimate that the annual cost would be about £800 reducible by charging admission fees. This very generous offer on the part of Mrs. Roberts’ family we are pleased to bring before the public, who will doubtless be unanimously in favour of its favourable consideration by the Government in order that the Museum trustees may carry out this scheme even if the financing should necessitate the admission charge as suggested.
The Mercury, 8 December 1921
BEAUMARIS ZOO.
To the Editor of “The Mercury,”
Sir.–I was very sorry to see that the Premier was not able to accept the very generous offer made by the family of the late Mrs. M. G. Roberts. As one who has long been interested in our native birds and animals and their preservation, may I join in the wish ex-pressed in your paragraph on Saturday, namely, that our city fathers may see their way clear to accept the offer which the Government has refused? Might I point out that the collection is of the greatest value, and contains some of our nearly extinct animals, and if it is not secured now the loss will be little short of a calamity.
A small portion of the Domain could be fenced off with wire netting and a small charge made for admission to the zoo, where the birds and animals could be seen in almost their native habitats. Trusting that our city fathers will not miss this unique opportunity. –Yours, etc
A. L. BUTLER.
The Mercury, 19 December 1921
THE BEAUMARIS ZOO.
Messrs W. A. and G. A. Roberts, together with Mr A. L. Butler and the trustees of the Tasmanian Museum, met the Reserves Committee of the City Council yesterday morning and discussed with the committee the proposals concerning the Beaumaris Zoo. The Museum authorities stressed the value of the collection, and the generous nature of the gift, as well as dealing with the general position as regards upkeep management, etc. The committee is to consider the question and report to the next meeting of the council which is to be held on January 9, the Messrs Roberts having kindly consented to leave the generous offer open until that date/
The Mercury, 24 December 1921
THE BEAUMARIS ZOO
FREE GIFT TO CITY COUNCIL.
THE OFFER TO BE ACCEPTED.
The Reserves Committee reported to the City Council last night that an offer had been made through the trustees of the Tasmanian Museum for the transfer of the Beaumaris Zoo to the City Council as a free gift in memory of the late Mrs Mary Roberts.
The trustees of the Museum and the late Mrs Roberts’s estate conferred with the committee, and, after discussing the matter, it was resolved to approach the Government for some financial assistance. A letter was accordingly sent to the Premier, and a reply had been received, stating that in order to assist the Council to retain the collection in Tasmania the Government was prepared to submit, for the consideration of Parliament, a proposal to provide a subsidy of £280 per annum towards the cost of the maintenance of the zoo on the understanding that the City Council undertook all responsibility for buildings, management, and upkeep generally.
The committee had under consideration a proposal whereby Mr A. R. Reid, a taxidermist with a wide knowledge of the habits of Tasmanian animals and birds, would take over the management of the zoo.
The committee recommended that the generous offer of the trustees of Mr Roberts’s estate be accepted with thanks, provided the Government will grant a subsidy of £250 per annum.
The committee had not yet decided the question of a suitable site, and would submit a report on this later.
In moving the adoption of the report, Alderman Williams said the gift included not only the birds and animals, but all the houses and wire netting needed for them. It was a larger collection than the committee at first thought. In regard to the question of a site for the zoo, the committee had that day inspected St David’s burial ground, Queenborough reserve, and Sandy Bay, but all those sites had been turned down. Then they inspected the old sandstone quarry opposite Government House, and they were all agreed that it would be an ideal site. They did not want to lose the zoo, and, though there would be a growing expense in connection with it, they recommended that the Council should take it over.
The report was adopted
The Reserves Committee then report ed that it was of opinion that the old sandstone quarry, almost opposite the entrance to the Government House grounds, was the most suitable locality for the Beaumaris Zoo.
The report was adopted, on the motion of Alderman Williams and Lord.
17 January 1922
THE OCCUPANTS OF THE ZOO.
The present occupants of the Beaumaris Zoo total about 200, and comprise the following: - Marsupial wolf (tiger) (1), black swans (2), emu (1), Native Companian (1), Man-faced owl (1), ring-tailed opossum (1 pair), Cape Barren geese (1 pair), Flinders Island wallaby (3), Bennett's wallaby (6), Rufus necked wallaby (4), Mallard ducks (4), swamp hawks (4), brown hawks (2), American squirrel (1), native cats (3), dark kangaroo rats (1 pair), light kangaroo rats (2 1/2 pairs), opossum mice (3),
wombats (4), cardinals (birds) (2), wild teal (1 pair), flying squirrels (5), monkey (1), man kangaroo (1), eagle hawk (1), spur-winged plover (5), bald coots (2), silver pheasants (1 cock und 4 hens), pea fowl (1), laughing jackass (1), mandarins (1 drake and 2 ducks), green pigeons (2), Tasmanian quail (5), halfbred golden pheasants (3 1/2 pairs), barshouldered doves (5), Wonga Wonga pigeons (7). white doves (4), bronze-wing pigeons (1 1/2 pairs). Small birds: - Gouldian finch (1), spice finch (1), nutmeg finch (1), zebra finches (12), mannikins (2), black-headed nun (3), diamond sparrows (3), white Java sparrows (1),
Napoleon weavers (4), Grenadier weavers (2), parrots (14), cockatiels (2), lovebirds (5), leadbeater parrot (1), white
rabbits (5), wild turkey (1), black op-ossum (3 1/2 pairs), grey opossum (2 pairs), ring-necked ppheasants (2 pairs),
tortoise (3), crested pigeons (2 pairs), Barbary doves (2 pairs), young pheasants (5). bronzewings (2 pairs), silkies (3), Californian quail (1 pair), black jays (2), peaceful doves (2 pairs), diamond doves (4 pairs), nightingale (1), skeleton tiger (1).
17 January 1922
https://publications.rzsnsw.org.au/doi/pdf/10.7882/AZ.2008.024
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/180202498
AT BEAUMARIS.
AMONG THE TIGERS AND
DEVILS.
(By Our Special Reporter.)
Anyone fond of strange animals
and birds can spend a delightful afternoon
at Beaumaris, the well-known
residence of Mrs Roberts, Montpelier-
road, whose beautiful collection has
been thrown open to the public on so
many occasions for charitable purposes.
Mrs. Roberts is always look-
ing out for novelties, and she has just
been fortunate enough to secure a fine
specimen of a Tasmanian tiger and a
whole litter of Tasmanian devils, all
of which are great rarities, and very
seldom seen outside their native
haunts. Responding to a kind invita-
tion on the part of Mrs. Roberts, a
representative of "The Daily Post"
called round on Saturday afternoon,
and was shown the new treasures.
The Tasmanian tiger, which is about
the size of a wolf, was lying down in
its cage, and looked a very graceful
object, with its pretty black stripes on
its brown woolly fur, its head like
that of an intelligent dog, short point-
ed ears, slender tail, and gazelle-like
eyes. Its scientific name is Thylacinus
cynocephalus, the dog-headed
pouch-bearer or marsupial, but its
popular names—such as tiger, hyena,
zebra opossum, and zebra wolf—are
all derived from its stripes.
The marsupials, like the mammalia
of which they are a group, are divided
into meat-eaters and vegetarians. The
Tasmanian tiger belongs to the former,
and is the largest carnivorous marsupial
known. At one time it was
very common in different parts of Tasmania,
but it is now getting very
scarce, although it may still be seen
on the button grass plains of the West
and North-West Coasts to fairly large
numbers. Its nearest existing relation
is the North American opossum,
but fossil remains of it have been
found in Australia, showing that it
once existed there many centuries ago.
One great peculiarity about it is that
it does not possess the marsupial
bones that are found in nearly all other
marsupials, these being reduced in its
case to small cartilages. For that,
as for other reasons, it is of extreme
interest to scientists, and has been
ever since its existence was first made
known in the early part of last century.
There are many points of resemblance
between the dentition of the
Tasmanian tiger and that of the opos-
sums, to which the Tasmanian devils
also belong, the incisors of both jaws
being arranged so as to form a segment
of a circle, the outermost being
the largest and the innermost the
smallest, and closely resembling those
of the dog. The tiger is said to dwell
among the rivers and rocks In the
deep and almost impenetrable glens in
the neighborhood of the most mountainous
parts of Tasmania, where it
preys on the bush kangaroo and other
small animals which there abound.
According to Lieutenant Gunn, who
contributed some interesting notes to
the "Naturalists' Library" more than
50 years ago, the tiger often attacks
sheep in the night, but during the daytime,
when its vision is imperfect, its
pace is slow. Before going away, I
gave the dog-beaded marsupial one
more glance, but he heeded me not,
and still reclined lazily at the bottom
of his cage, his gazelle-Iike eyes staring
dreamily into space, as if conjuring
up the sylvan scenes of his former
haunts.
Mrs. Roberts next introduced me to
the Tasmanian devils. There were
six of them altogether, two females
and four little whelps, the latter lying
cuddled up at the far end of the cage
on top of one of the females, the tip
of whose nose had evidently come to
grief, while the mother stalked fiercely
about in front of the cage, growling
at her visitors, showing her white
teeth, and every now and then shaking
her huge black head. She was
about the size of an opossum, to which
family the Tasmanlnn devils belong.
They are extremely ferocious, and very
destructive to sheep, poultry, and live
stock generally, from which characteristic
they derive their name. The
scientific name of the devil is Dasyurus,
or hairy tail, by which it is distinguished
from the other members of
the opossum tribe. The true opossum,
of which Mrs. Roberts has a very
tame specimen, lives upon the trees,
round the branches of which it curls
its tail like a monkey. The Dasyurus,
on the other hand, not living upon
trees, but in holes and crevices of the
rocks, whence it prowls about at
night in search of prey, has no other
use for its tail apparently than to
whisk off the flies; consequently it is
as soft and bushy as that of any other
respectable member of the earth-roving
mammals. The Dasyures could be
seen in very large numbers at one
time around Hobart, but they have
nearly all disappeared, and are now
principally found In the Midland district.
According to Lieutenant Gunn,
the devil was the most destructive of
our indigenous quadrupeds. He described
it as nocturnal of habit, very
fierce, and a match for any ordinary
dog, while its bite was very severe.
Mrs. Roberts, by tbe way, furnishes
some interesting information about
the authority last quoted. He was,
it appears, "the original of the Gunn
famlly here, and father of Mr W.
Gunn, of Broadmarsh, who was for a
great number of years the Warden of
Brighton." Lieutenant Gunn, she
adds, was shot in the arm while out
with a party after bushrangers in the
Sorell district. The limb had to be
amputated, and subsequently was the
cause of a very good joke, for when
on one ocasion a man was brought
before him for some crime or other
the Lieutenant told the prisoner that
his record was as long as his (the
Lieutenant's) arm, to which the prisoner
wittily replied, "Which one?"
It would take up too much space to
describe all the other remarkable animals
and birds to be seen at the Beau-
maris grounds. Many of them have
been seen and described often enough.
It may, however, be mentioned that
among recent acquisitions is a Tasmanian
ring-tailed opossum, just come
from Rokeby; three Singapore teal,
very rare; a pair of green-winged
pigeons, from Formosa, very like the
lIttle green pigeons of Australia; some
fery rare Chukars or Indian partridges;
as also an Indian ruddy shell-
drake, a very rare pair of Japanese
peacocks, a pair of flying squirrels, a
Rock Popiar parrot, and some mealy
rosellas from Moreton Bay
LOVABLE DEVILS.
Mrs. Roberts, a Tasmanian delegate to the recent National Council of Women, Is distinguished as being the only woman who is a corresponding member of the Zoological Society of London. - This honor was conferred upon her for valuable services rendered to the society. Mrs. Roberts is also unique in possessing the only private zoo In Australasia. Any animals she can spare she sends from time to time to the London Zoo. Her venture is particularly fortunate for Tasmania, as her zoo is the only one there.
It was started by her In 1900 as an aid in the study of nature, and was opened to the public In 1904. Since then tourists from all parts of the world have visited "Beaumaris," and expressed themselves delighted with the interesting collection there. Also numbers of Hobart school-children have had their only practical lessons on their native fauna from this garden.
Since Its inception the work has grown considerably, and as it ls not subsidised by the Government the whole of the expense falls upon Its owner, who, though over 70 years of age, does all the secretarial work in connection with It and most of the feeding of the animals.
The collection ls almost entirely Australasian, Tasmanian fauna being especially prominent. Among the animals are some very fine specimens of Tasmanlan tigers. These are very shy and retiring, and the only photograph of one with her young was taken at Beaumaris recently by a visiting American millionaire. Tasmanlan devils are also to the fore, and are most lovable in captivity. Various kinds of kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, native cats, kangaroo rats, opossums, flying squirrels, and others dis port themselves In the happiest environment.
A little South African exile — a meerkat — has a history. She was brought from her native land by a lady, bound for Melbourne,
who called In at Tasmania. But on arrival there there was a cable declaring the meerkat a prohibited Immigrant. -
THE BEAUMARIS ZOO.
The death of Mrs. H. L. Roberts is a clear loss to the community; how far that loss is to be reckoned permanent and irreparable depends upon public opinion. On her own initiative, and at her own expense, Mrs. Roberts established and maintained a zoological garden on a small scale, but quite unique. Beginning without scientific training or any special knowledge, and taking the thing up as a hobby, she very soon gave to this collection of birds and animals a special and personal character. It became known among scientific people all through Australia and beyond, and men of eminence in the scientific world were pleased to receive and to answer letters from Mrs. Roberts regarding the life habits of Tasmanian fauna. The question now, which is of public importance, is whether this work is to die with Mrs. Roberts. It cannot be expected that her executors will carry it on for the public benefit, but we have no doubt that they will give any possible help in any proposal that it be carried on for the public of Tasmania. Primarily we should say this is a matter in which the Royal Society should take the lead, and if it does so, sup- port should not be lacking. The Government and the City Council are both concerned in what is a national work, and which also has a special Hobart interest. The work begun and carried on by Mrs. Roberts is too big and important to be allowed to go by the board for lack of public interest.
The Mercury, 29 November 1921
THE BEAUMARIS ZOO.
We learn that the whole of the valuable collection of animals belonging to the late Mrs. Mary Roberts has been offered by that lady’s family to the trustees of the Tasmanian Museum and Botanical Gardens to form the nucleus of a Zoological Garden which would be fitting memorial of Mrs Roberts’ work and long services to tho public It seems that many offers have been received from would-be purchasers the Beaumaris Zoo, acceptance of which would entail the removal from Tasmania. This, it will be generally agreed would be a sad loss to the State and a real disgrace if permitted when it could be avoided, the distinctly Tasmanian character of the collection being its chief feature. If the animals are suitably housed on an agreed site and money sufficient to maintain the Zoo is provided, the Trustees are willing to undertake responsibility of management, and they estimate that the annual cost would be about £800 reducible by charging admission fees. This very generous offer on the part of Mrs. Roberts’ family we are pleased to bring before the public, who will doubtless be unanimously in favour of its favourable consideration by the Government in order that the Museum trustees may carry out this scheme even if the financing should necessitate the admission charge as suggested.
The Mercury, 8 December 1921
BEAUMARIS ZOO.
To the Editor of “The Mercury,”
Sir.–I was very sorry to see that the Premier was not able to accept the very generous offer made by the family of the late Mrs. M. G. Roberts. As one who has long been interested in our native birds and animals and their preservation, may I join in the wish ex-pressed in your paragraph on Saturday, namely, that our city fathers may see their way clear to accept the offer which the Government has refused? Might I point out that the collection is of the greatest value, and contains some of our nearly extinct animals, and if it is not secured now the loss will be little short of a calamity.
A small portion of the Domain could be fenced off with wire netting and a small charge made for admission to the zoo, where the birds and animals could be seen in almost their native habitats. Trusting that our city fathers will not miss this unique opportunity. –Yours, etc
A. L. BUTLER.
The Mercury, 19 December 1921
THE BEAUMARIS ZOO.
Messrs W. A. and G. A. Roberts, together with Mr A. L. Butler and the trustees of the Tasmanian Museum, met the Reserves Committee of the City Council yesterday morning and discussed with the committee the proposals concerning the Beaumaris Zoo. The Museum authorities stressed the value of the collection, and the generous nature of the gift, as well as dealing with the general position as regards upkeep management, etc. The committee is to consider the question and report to the next meeting of the council which is to be held on January 9, the Messrs Roberts having kindly consented to leave the generous offer open until that date/
The Mercury, 24 December 1921
THE BEAUMARIS ZOO
FREE GIFT TO CITY COUNCIL.
THE OFFER TO BE ACCEPTED.
The Reserves Committee reported to the City Council last night that an offer had been made through the trustees of the Tasmanian Museum for the transfer of the Beaumaris Zoo to the City Council as a free gift in memory of the late Mrs Mary Roberts.
The trustees of the Museum and the late Mrs Roberts’s estate conferred with the committee, and, after discussing the matter, it was resolved to approach the Government for some financial assistance. A letter was accordingly sent to the Premier, and a reply had been received, stating that in order to assist the Council to retain the collection in Tasmania the Government was prepared to submit, for the consideration of Parliament, a proposal to provide a subsidy of £280 per annum towards the cost of the maintenance of the zoo on the understanding that the City Council undertook all responsibility for buildings, management, and upkeep generally.
The committee had under consideration a proposal whereby Mr A. R. Reid, a taxidermist with a wide knowledge of the habits of Tasmanian animals and birds, would take over the management of the zoo.
The committee recommended that the generous offer of the trustees of Mr Roberts’s estate be accepted with thanks, provided the Government will grant a subsidy of £250 per annum.
The committee had not yet decided the question of a suitable site, and would submit a report on this later.
In moving the adoption of the report, Alderman Williams said the gift included not only the birds and animals, but all the houses and wire netting needed for them. It was a larger collection than the committee at first thought. In regard to the question of a site for the zoo, the committee had that day inspected St David’s burial ground, Queenborough reserve, and Sandy Bay, but all those sites had been turned down. Then they inspected the old sandstone quarry opposite Government House, and they were all agreed that it would be an ideal site. They did not want to lose the zoo, and, though there would be a growing expense in connection with it, they recommended that the Council should take it over.
The report was adopted
The Reserves Committee then report ed that it was of opinion that the old sandstone quarry, almost opposite the entrance to the Government House grounds, was the most suitable locality for the Beaumaris Zoo.
The report was adopted, on the motion of Alderman Williams and Lord.
17 January 1922
THE OCCUPANTS OF THE ZOO.
The present occupants of the Beaumaris Zoo total about 200, and comprise the following: - Marsupial wolf (tiger) (1), black swans (2), emu (1), Native Companian (1), Man-faced owl (1), ring-tailed opossum (1 pair), Cape Barren geese (1 pair), Flinders Island wallaby (3), Bennett's wallaby (6), Rufus necked wallaby (4), Mallard ducks (4), swamp hawks (4), brown hawks (2), American squirrel (1), native cats (3), dark kangaroo rats (1 pair), light kangaroo rats (2 1/2 pairs), opossum mice (3),
wombats (4), cardinals (birds) (2), wild teal (1 pair), flying squirrels (5), monkey (1), man kangaroo (1), eagle hawk (1), spur-winged plover (5), bald coots (2), silver pheasants (1 cock und 4 hens), pea fowl (1), laughing jackass (1), mandarins (1 drake and 2 ducks), green pigeons (2), Tasmanian quail (5), halfbred golden pheasants (3 1/2 pairs), barshouldered doves (5), Wonga Wonga pigeons (7). white doves (4), bronze-wing pigeons (1 1/2 pairs). Small birds: - Gouldian finch (1), spice finch (1), nutmeg finch (1), zebra finches (12), mannikins (2), black-headed nun (3), diamond sparrows (3), white Java sparrows (1),
Napoleon weavers (4), Grenadier weavers (2), parrots (14), cockatiels (2), lovebirds (5), leadbeater parrot (1), white
rabbits (5), wild turkey (1), black op-ossum (3 1/2 pairs), grey opossum (2 pairs), ring-necked ppheasants (2 pairs),
tortoise (3), crested pigeons (2 pairs), Barbary doves (2 pairs), young pheasants (5). bronzewings (2 pairs), silkies (3), Californian quail (1 pair), black jays (2), peaceful doves (2 pairs), diamond doves (4 pairs), nightingale (1), skeleton tiger (1).
17 January 1922
https://publications.rzsnsw.org.au/doi/pdf/10.7882/AZ.2008.024
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/180202498
AT BEAUMARIS.
AMONG THE TIGERS AND
DEVILS.
(By Our Special Reporter.)
Anyone fond of strange animals
and birds can spend a delightful afternoon
at Beaumaris, the well-known
residence of Mrs Roberts, Montpelier-
road, whose beautiful collection has
been thrown open to the public on so
many occasions for charitable purposes.
Mrs. Roberts is always look-
ing out for novelties, and she has just
been fortunate enough to secure a fine
specimen of a Tasmanian tiger and a
whole litter of Tasmanian devils, all
of which are great rarities, and very
seldom seen outside their native
haunts. Responding to a kind invita-
tion on the part of Mrs. Roberts, a
representative of "The Daily Post"
called round on Saturday afternoon,
and was shown the new treasures.
The Tasmanian tiger, which is about
the size of a wolf, was lying down in
its cage, and looked a very graceful
object, with its pretty black stripes on
its brown woolly fur, its head like
that of an intelligent dog, short point-
ed ears, slender tail, and gazelle-like
eyes. Its scientific name is Thylacinus
cynocephalus, the dog-headed
pouch-bearer or marsupial, but its
popular names—such as tiger, hyena,
zebra opossum, and zebra wolf—are
all derived from its stripes.
The marsupials, like the mammalia
of which they are a group, are divided
into meat-eaters and vegetarians. The
Tasmanian tiger belongs to the former,
and is the largest carnivorous marsupial
known. At one time it was
very common in different parts of Tasmania,
but it is now getting very
scarce, although it may still be seen
on the button grass plains of the West
and North-West Coasts to fairly large
numbers. Its nearest existing relation
is the North American opossum,
but fossil remains of it have been
found in Australia, showing that it
once existed there many centuries ago.
One great peculiarity about it is that
it does not possess the marsupial
bones that are found in nearly all other
marsupials, these being reduced in its
case to small cartilages. For that,
as for other reasons, it is of extreme
interest to scientists, and has been
ever since its existence was first made
known in the early part of last century.
There are many points of resemblance
between the dentition of the
Tasmanian tiger and that of the opos-
sums, to which the Tasmanian devils
also belong, the incisors of both jaws
being arranged so as to form a segment
of a circle, the outermost being
the largest and the innermost the
smallest, and closely resembling those
of the dog. The tiger is said to dwell
among the rivers and rocks In the
deep and almost impenetrable glens in
the neighborhood of the most mountainous
parts of Tasmania, where it
preys on the bush kangaroo and other
small animals which there abound.
According to Lieutenant Gunn, who
contributed some interesting notes to
the "Naturalists' Library" more than
50 years ago, the tiger often attacks
sheep in the night, but during the daytime,
when its vision is imperfect, its
pace is slow. Before going away, I
gave the dog-beaded marsupial one
more glance, but he heeded me not,
and still reclined lazily at the bottom
of his cage, his gazelle-Iike eyes staring
dreamily into space, as if conjuring
up the sylvan scenes of his former
haunts.
Mrs. Roberts next introduced me to
the Tasmanian devils. There were
six of them altogether, two females
and four little whelps, the latter lying
cuddled up at the far end of the cage
on top of one of the females, the tip
of whose nose had evidently come to
grief, while the mother stalked fiercely
about in front of the cage, growling
at her visitors, showing her white
teeth, and every now and then shaking
her huge black head. She was
about the size of an opossum, to which
family the Tasmanlnn devils belong.
They are extremely ferocious, and very
destructive to sheep, poultry, and live
stock generally, from which characteristic
they derive their name. The
scientific name of the devil is Dasyurus,
or hairy tail, by which it is distinguished
from the other members of
the opossum tribe. The true opossum,
of which Mrs. Roberts has a very
tame specimen, lives upon the trees,
round the branches of which it curls
its tail like a monkey. The Dasyurus,
on the other hand, not living upon
trees, but in holes and crevices of the
rocks, whence it prowls about at
night in search of prey, has no other
use for its tail apparently than to
whisk off the flies; consequently it is
as soft and bushy as that of any other
respectable member of the earth-roving
mammals. The Dasyures could be
seen in very large numbers at one
time around Hobart, but they have
nearly all disappeared, and are now
principally found In the Midland district.
According to Lieutenant Gunn,
the devil was the most destructive of
our indigenous quadrupeds. He described
it as nocturnal of habit, very
fierce, and a match for any ordinary
dog, while its bite was very severe.
Mrs. Roberts, by tbe way, furnishes
some interesting information about
the authority last quoted. He was,
it appears, "the original of the Gunn
famlly here, and father of Mr W.
Gunn, of Broadmarsh, who was for a
great number of years the Warden of
Brighton." Lieutenant Gunn, she
adds, was shot in the arm while out
with a party after bushrangers in the
Sorell district. The limb had to be
amputated, and subsequently was the
cause of a very good joke, for when
on one ocasion a man was brought
before him for some crime or other
the Lieutenant told the prisoner that
his record was as long as his (the
Lieutenant's) arm, to which the prisoner
wittily replied, "Which one?"
It would take up too much space to
describe all the other remarkable animals
and birds to be seen at the Beau-
maris grounds. Many of them have
been seen and described often enough.
It may, however, be mentioned that
among recent acquisitions is a Tasmanian
ring-tailed opossum, just come
from Rokeby; three Singapore teal,
very rare; a pair of green-winged
pigeons, from Formosa, very like the
lIttle green pigeons of Australia; some
fery rare Chukars or Indian partridges;
as also an Indian ruddy shell-
drake, a very rare pair of Japanese
peacocks, a pair of flying squirrels, a
Rock Popiar parrot, and some mealy
rosellas from Moreton Bay
