WHY NO AQUARIUM ?

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue CXXIII, 10 April 1937, Page 10

WHY NO AQUARIUM ?

(By "X.")

In an interview in "The Post" Dr. Grabham, a visitor to New Zealand, drew attention to the lack of aquariums in New Zealand—a condition in contrast with its possession of museums and zoos. /

The aquarium, for the^ display .of marine life; as the zoo is for life on land, is in many cities elsewhere in the world a distinct attraction for residents and visitors, and, as Dr. Grabham declared, apart from the entertainment aspect, has an educational and scientific value. New Zealanders who have travelled abroad will no doubt have come across in different cities where they have tarried awhile examples of the. type of aquarium to which Dr. Grabham refers. There is an excellent one in Sydney, for instance, another at Honolulu, and others in San Francisco, Monte Carlo, and, in particular, at the Zoological Gardens in London. In these may be seen a variety of life in the water as fascinating as any that has "its habitat" on land. The shapes are/as beautiful, weird, and quaint and the colouring as magnificent!" The most extraordinary specimens come from tropical waters and- need, of course, special provision for their continued existence in the confinement of an aquarium in an alien environment, but the same care must be taken of denizens of both colder and warmer climes when they are introduced into the zoos of cities in the temperate zone.

Even if tropical fish are excluded, New Zealand waters could furnish many interesting exhibits for an aquarium on a more modest scale. Some years ago, indeed, a proposal was made to construct, such a marine sanctuary in Wellington- among the rocks at Island Bay, but the scheme, though supported by scientific authority, failed to materialise.

With the renewed interest in our seafishing industry, encouraged by the Government, the establishment of an aquarium, for which there are many suitable sites on Wellington's extensive waterfront, is worth serious considera-