Living in Newtown

My Grandad, George Hardgrove, grew up in Newtown. His family lived in such a small house with so many kids, he and his brother had to sleep in a tent in the backyard! At night, he tells me they could hear the lions at the zoo roaring! I live in Newtown now too and he always askes me "have you heard the lions yet?" Lizzie Waugh.

Memories from another letter

Today we visited and saw the elephant saddle. It reminded my family of their grandfather the elephant keeper.

It reminds my husband of his dad.

We saw the wall with someone elses memory & wondered if they & grandad met.

Great memories & new wonderings borne from a letter on a wall.

A criminal elephant

When my children were quite young we took them to the zoo. We had a lunch in a bag - and we were near the elephant which was tethered outside. When we went past the elephant took my bag - which contained my wallet and car keys - everything! I couldn't get it back! When we told one of the keepers they gave us money and said to return the next day after the elephant had been to the toilet and they would give back the keys + whatever else had survived. This would have been in about 1969 or 1970.

Together After 11 Months

My husband got a job in Wellington a couple of years ago and he had to go ahead of the family - so we were apart for 11 months except for 1 week (valentine's week 2012) when I came to see him and he took me to Wellington Zoo as a Valentine's present, to have a close encounter with a cheetah. We are all here now (+ our 5 children) and I work at the zoo as a volunteer. I love it!

A kiwi experience

We are from Puhoi & came down to visit family who took us to the Wellington Zoo. Fantastic, you feel like you could touch the kiwis as unlike most zoos in NZ when visiting the kiwi enclosure. There is no glass barriers. Go see for yourself. It's fabulous!

Riding a giant

I can remember riding on the elephant at the zoo in [the] early 1950's? No OSH regulations then but what an amazing experience as a child.

Animals on the wharf!

Thirty days hath September, thirty things we remember … (#30 of 30). This is our final story celebrating Wellington's unique history and culture. Thank you to our story tellers and most importantly to Wellington for being such a cool city!

In 2006 the Museum of Wellington City & Sea held an exhibition to celebrate Wellington Zoo turning 100. It was one of my first projects and was so much fun. The lovely staff from Wellington Zoo were great to work with and brought a blue tongued lizard, cockatoo and tuatara to the Museum. Already in residence was 'King Dick' (named after Prime Minister Richard Seddon) and officially the Zoo's first animal. My whole family helped out with the big outdoor 'Animals on the Wharf' event - a great excuse to dress up and celebrate all Wellington's animals: furry, bristly and scaly. (Kim, Marketing Manager)

Stay tuned for our daily stories throughout Wellington’s Heritage Month 2013 - where staff and volunteers share one of their favourite stories of the Wellington Region.