Taronga Zoo

Archives relating to the opening and operation of Taronga Zoo at Mosman

The State Archives Collection has a number of records which document the activities and development and opening of Taronga Zoo in Sydney.

Other related records may be found by searching our catalogue and using our finding aids.

List of main record series

Correspondence records

Series
Title
Dates
Registers of letters received from government departments (A series) [Treasury]
1901-1923
Correspondence: A Series [Treasury]
1901-1923
Letters received [Premier's Department]
1907-1976
Main series of letters received [Colonial Secretary]For further information on researching the Colonial Secretary's records please see the Colonial Secretary Guide.
1826-1982

Other records

Series
Title
Dates
Ink drawing for block of Taronga Park Tea Rooms
c.1940s
Building construction and maintenance files - [B files]See Collection Search on our home page for a list of B files relating to Taronga Zoo (tip: search using the term Taronga)
1920-2003
Images of tourist attractions and destinations [Tourism New South Wales]
1990-2002
Glass plate negatives [Government Printing Office]To search use registers of negatives: 6/21192 and 6/21195(Relevant images for Zoo's first year include: ST5928-5939; ST5941-5948; ST5974-5993; ST6007; ST6080-6086)
c.1870-1920

Agencies

Series
Title
Dates
Taronga Zoological Park Trust [I]
27 Mar 1912-20 Sep 1956
Taronga Zoological Park Trust [II]
20 Sep 1956-04 Jun 1973
Taronga Conservation Society Australia
04 Jun 1973-

Access to the records

Unless otherwise stated, these records are available to view at the Western Sydney Records Centre.

Taronga Zoo

History of Taronga Zoo

Can you imagine Sydney Harbour without Taronga Zoo perched on Bradley’s Head at Mosman? For one hundred years families have been making the trip by ferry, tram and car to see the exotic and native animals at Taronga and get a picturesque view of the harbour