AQUARIUM FOR CITY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2143, 8 May 1914, Page 8

AQUARIUM FOR CITY.

1 A GENEROUS GIFT. ANOTHER ATTRACTION FOR THE ZOO. Recently the Minister of Marine (the Hon. F. M. 13. Fisher) offered the Exhibition Aquarium as it stood to the City of Auckland, but the offer was refused. Seeing .this, Councillor Geo. Frost, chairman of tho Reserves Committee of tlie City Council, asked tho Town Clerk (Mr. J. R. Palmeu) to lvrito to the Minister to see if ■ tho aquarium could bo acquired as an adjunct to tho "Zoo." The letter, written on Monday last, read as follows: — "Dear Sir,—l am directed hy tho chairman of tho Reserves Committee (Councillor Frost) to state that it has been reported that tho city authorities of Auckland have not seen their way clear to accept tho aquarium proposed to be presented by you from .the recent Exhibition. If such is the case, the chairman respectfully suggests (if you consider it suitable) that you offer to present it to the Wellington City Council, to bo used in connection with tho Zoological Gardens at Newtown, where ho is sure it would be a great attraction and much appreciated by Wellington folk, especially tho children.—Yours faithfully (signed) J. R. Palmer, Town Clerk."' ,--... To tho above letter the following reply was -received on Wednesday from Mr. Allporfc, Secretary of the Marino Department:— "I have the honour, by direction of the Minister of Marine, td acknowledge the. receipt of your letter of May 4, and in reply to state that es the Auckland City Council has declined to take over 1 the Department's aquarium at tho Auckland' Exhibition, which was-offered to it, tho Minister is willing to hand it over to your council to be used in connection with tho Zoological Gardens at Newtown. I shall therefore be glad if you wJll let me know whether you wish tho whole building to he taken down and tho .material of which it is constructed forwarded to "Wellington, or whether you only wish the fish tanks to be forwarded. Tho Department has- some Japanese newts, tortoises, and gold-fish which wevo in the aquarium; and those can bo handed over to you, but the trout salmon and earn, which were in the tanks at Auckland, have been distributed, but if you require some of these fish they can bo got by tho Department from different places in the Dominion." • . ' At the meeting of the Reserves Committee, held yesterday, afternoon, the above correspondence was road, and it was decided to accept the offer nf ;the Minister for both the aquarium building, fish-tanks, and exhibits that still remain in thchi. The ■ committee- was._ auite unanimous in considering that Wellington had.received a valuable gift,, and an additional attraction to tho expanding ."Zoo" at Newtown Park.