Calderpark Zoo - The Early Years

The Zoological Society of Glasgow was founded on 15th December, 1936. The Society's aim from the start was to found a zoological garden within the city boundaries. The initial proposal was to participate in the Empire Exhibition in Bellahouston Park in 1938 with a four-acre exhibit of Animals of the British Empire, and then expand into the rest of the park when the Empire Exhibition finished.

This proposal was rejected by the Exhibition organisers, so various other locations were considered. No site within the city could be identified. At the end of 1938 the Society looked at the Calderpark Estate, a couple of miles beyond the city boundary. The name of the Society was subsequently altered to the Zoological Society of Glasgow and West of Scotland, although more recent boundary changes have incorporated Calderpark back into the city.

The founder President of the Society was Edward Hindle, Professor of Zoology at Glasgow University. He subsequently moved to the Zoological Society of London. The founder Secretary was Sydney Benson, who became the first Director of the zoo. Another early member of the Society, Edward H. Bostock, had promoted the idea of a zoo for Glasgow for forty years and his family connection with animals in Glasgow went back well over a century.

The onset of World War II delayed the opening of Calderpark Zoo until 9th July, 1947. Since its opening there have been three Directors only: Sydney Benson, Jerry Fisher and the present Director, Richard O'Grady.

 Glasgow's Zoo - the Search for a Site, 1938-47

The founding of the non-profit-making Zoological Society of Glasgow in 1936 was the beginning of an adventure, at times exciting, frequently frustrating but always fascinating for those members of the Society who took an active part in pursuing the aim of establishing a living zoological collection in the West of Scotland. Money had to be raised. A site had to be found. And a growing membership had to be serviced. The Press, then as today, was ready to report every move.

The advent of the 1938 Empire Exhibition at Bellahouston Park led to the suggestion that an exhibit of Animals of the Commonwealth, covering about four acres, should be included. This display would be left to form the nucleus of the new Glasgow Zoo after the main Exhibition closed. For months the suggestion was considered by the Exhibition promoters, while the Society marked time. Eventually the idea was rejected.

Back into the search for a site. Early in 1938 Professor Hindle, S.H. Benson and the other office-bearers investigated Garscube Estate, where the University Veterinary buildings are today situated. E.H. Bostock, still active, said he had tried to obtain this ground twenty years previously but without success. The Society fared no better and turned its attention first to Cathkin Braes and then to Calderpark, an estate of 93 acres, which came on the market at this time. An option was taken up on 15th May and the papers transferring ownership of the ground to the Zoological Society of Glasgow were signed early in 1939.

Now that a site was available plans were drawn up. The order for the boundary fence was about to be placed. But, once again, war was to cheat the West of Scotland of its zoo. Calderpark Estate was let out, partly for ploughing, partly for grazing. The income was useful and in 1942 the ' zoo ' reported a profit of £6!

During those years the Zoological Society ( now The Zoological Society of Glasgow and West of Scotland ), went from strength to strength. Membership increased and lectures were held regularly in the University on a variety of subjects. Indeed, the first lecture given after the declaration of war was entitled ' Animals and War Camouflage '.

At the end of 1943 the Society had a serious loss when Professor Hindle, President since the foundation, had to resign when he was appointed Scientific Director to London Zoo. The position of President was not filled until early 1945 when the Earl of Dumfries was elected.

With the end of the war, plans for the new zoo were prepared. Building materials were in short supply but enthusiasm and ingenuity solved many problems. A team of ex-servicemen under S.H. Benson, now Director-Secretary, set to work to enclose about 30 acres, using miles of wire that had previously been used in prisoner-of-war camps.

Animal enclosures were constructed out of second-hand materials such as concrete road blocks once intended to hinder the enemy in case of invasion, bricks salvaged from air raid shelters now being demolished, timber from old mine trucks, metal from battleships, and road-making materials obtained by diverting scarified road-metal destined to be dumped.

The animals began to arrive. They included Soay sheep from the island of St Kilda, owned by the President, as well as a representative collection of Scottish wildlife from his Bute estates. Dublin Zoo presented a pair of lion cubs. London Zoo loaned - and later donated - a pair of adult lions .

A prize exhibit was a - then rare, though now fairly common - white peacock. The public brought along their exotic pets - monkeys, parrots and the like. The children, too, brought their pets to give to ' their ' zoo. Guinea pigs and rabbits added to the deer, monkeys, penguins and wallabies brought the number of animals up to 160 specimens by opening day, 9th July 1947.

The war had finished two years previously. Britain was beginning the battle for recovery. And, at long last, Glasgow and the West of Scotland had its own zoo.

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