Wellington Zoo (Wellington)

Wellington Zoo was founded in April 1906 when the Bostok and Wombwell Circus presented a young lion to Wellington City. The lion, named 'King Dick', after Prime Minister Richard Seddon who had died that year, was initially housed at Wellington Botanic Garden along with a small collection of animals.

In 1907 the City Council developed a part of Newtown Park into New Zealand's first zoo. The zoo grew rapidly, and by 1912 around 500 animals were housed in cages, aviaries and a huge sea lion pool.

Wellington Zoo is New Zealand’s first Zoo, having been established in 1906. Wellington Zoo became a charitable trust in 2003, previously it had operated as part of Wellington City Council. The Trust Board has been instrumental in moving the Zoo forward and addressing legacy issues. One of the biggest successes for the Trust Board is the Zoo Capital Programme (ZCP) a ten year redevelopment plan for the Zoo, signed off by Wellington City Council in December 2006. The Trust must raise funds of $5million in five years to unlock Council’s funding for this capital development programme.

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