On the night of September 6th 1936, Hobart experienced extreme weather, dropping to freezing temperatures. Three years after David Fleay filmed him, Benjamin died due to gross neglect. However, I would say the full tale of this zoo and Benjamin is a very tragic and human story of its own. You could say Port Arthur has more important stories of human tragedy and cruelty that are central to this country’s grim history. The surrealness of seeing this long-lost animal is only compounded by knowing that Fleay claimed that Benjamin bit him on the ass while filming. Only when he yawns with his powerful jaw and bares his large canines do you recognise the ferocity and uniqueness of this animal. You see Benjamin pace, scratch himself he seems similar to any domestic dog. The most famous thylacine in history, he was recorded by David Fleay in 1933, who created one of few film recordings of the now-extinct* species. If one animal marked the zoo’s history forever, though, it was the thylacine – commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger.Īfter having several tigers in their history, by the mid ’30s, the zoo was left with only one, known by the name Benjamin. From the main gate, visitors would see a leopard roaming back and forth within its concrete cage to their left, a pit that confined a polar bear. Within the city upon a hill overlooking the River Derwent, it housed exotic animals of Tasmania and the wider world. At that time, one of the top attractions in Hobart was the Beaumaris Zoo (today referred to as Hobart Zoo). To attempt to explain this properly, I have to tell a story that starts back in the 1930s.
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