After reading The Old Glenelg Jetty Aquarium, Jana Minchin recently told me that the Glenelg jetty aquarium was made by (Alfred) Keith Minchin. Keith was the son of Alfred Corker Minchin who had been a director at the Adelaide Zoo. She said that the Minchin family have a great history with the zoo.
The Glenelg jetty aquarium in 1936
(Taken from The Advertiser’s “Moments in time – SA at play” special feature)
Alfred Keith Minchin, was director of both the Koala Farm and the Glenelg Aquarium. He was also Vice-president of the Zoological Society, Adelaide from 1935.
(The (South Australian Zoological and Acclimatization Society?) became the Royal Zoological Society of South Australia in 1938.)
Keith was the first-born son of Alfred Corker Minchin (1857-1934), former Adelaide Zoo director after his father, Alfred Keith Minchin (1899–1963) passed.
Keith’s grandfather was Richard Ernest Minchin, the founder and creator of the Adelaide Zoo. (Jana’s husband Graham is the great, great, great grandson of Richard Ernest Minchin. Keith Minchin was Jana’s husband’s first cousin, three times removed.)
According to Alfred Keith Minchin (1899–1963) by Joyce Gibberd, “Alfred Corker Minchin (1857-1934), zoo director, was born on 24 September 1857 in Victoria, son of Richard Ernest Minchin and his wife Ellen Rebecca, née Ocock. ….. He gained zoological knowledge at the Melbourne Zoo and was twice honorary director of the South Australian Zoological and Acclimatization Society. He became honorary assistant director in 1891 and, succeeding his father, director of the Adelaide Zoological Gardens from 1893 until his death. ….. In 1911 he was elected to the Zoological Society of London. ….. He died on 20 September 1934 and was buried in North Road cemetery.
“His second son Ronald Richard Luther (1904-1940) was born on 26 February 1904 at the zoo and was educated at the Collegiate School of St Peter. In 1923 he joined the zoo’s staff. In 1929, as assistant director, he bought new species from Java and Singapore, and from New Zealand in 1933. He was director from 1935. ….. and in 1938 the (South Australian Zoological and Acclimatization Society?) became the Royal Zoological Society of South Australia.
“Alfred Keith (1899-1963), Alfred Minchin’s elder son, was born on 24 May 1899 at the zoo and was also educated at the Collegiate School of St Peter. In South Africa and Britain in 1924-25 he collected animals for the Adelaide Zoo. He opened a snake park in the north parklands in 1929 with about 200 species. Two years later he was crippled by poliomyelitis, having to use crutches and, later, a wheel-chair. But in 1936 he expanded, and introduced koala bears; his notes, ‘Weaning of young koalas’, were published in 1937. He released surplus koalas onto his land on Kangaroo Island. His Koala Farm closed in 1960; council inspections had criticized the stables and enclosures. He also ran an aquarium off the Glenelg jetty, ‘the best bob’s worth on or off the beach’. By 1942, however, the Glenelg Council deplored the aquarium’s disgraceful state; it was destroyed (by a storm) in 1948.”
More about the Snake Park and the Koala Farm can be found at https://adelaideaz.com/articles/controversial-keith-minchin-runs-snake-park-then-koala-farm-near-zoo-1927-60 , which also includes “Keith Minchin was also involved in running the aquarium built on Glenelg jetty in 1929 between the pavilion and the shore end. Promoted as “the best bob’s worth on or off the beach”, the aquarium was condemned by Glenelg Council in 1942 for its conditions. A storm in 1948 left the aquarium isolated and it was demolished shortly afterwards.”
According to the web page found at https://www.rct.uk/collection/2806825/prince-henry-duke-of-gloucester-with-a-koala-bear-adelaide , Keith Minchin took this photograph of Prince Henry, the Duke of Gloucester holding a koala at the Adelaide Koala Bear Farm in October 1934.
The Duke of Gloucester at the Adelaide Koala Bear Farm in 1934
(Photograph taken by Keith Minchin – Source: https://www.rct.uk/collection/2806825/prince-henry-duke-of-gloucester-with-a-koala-bear-adelaide)
Keith is buried at North Road Cemetery, Nailsworth in the same grave as his parents and grandparents, although the gravestone has not got his name on it. The Adelaide Zoo holds the deed to Keith’s grave.
The Minchin grave headstone at North Road Cemetery, Nailsworth
According to Minchin Family: Minchin House and Minchin grave (adelaidezoo.com.au) , at the end of May 2024 “After celebrating its 141st birthday last week, Adelaide Zoo today opened the doors of Minchin House, the original Directors’ home and announced it has renewed the license on the grave of Richard E. Minchin, the first Director of Adelaide Zoo at nearby North Road Cemetery.”
Minchin House
(Source: https://www.adelaidezoo.com.au/minchin-house-and-minchin-grave/
“The zoo has been connecting people with nature for 141 years. We wanted to invite our members and Life Members to tour Minchin House, the former home of the zoo’s first Directors.
“We also wanted to acknowledge our connection to the role that the Minchin family played in the formation of Adelaide Zoo. We were therefore happy to renew the license on the grave of Richard E Minchin, his son Alfred Corker Minchin and their families at the historic North Road Cemetery.
“….. Jeff Lugg, General Manager of Operations at Zoos SA who conducted two tours of Minchin House on Wednesday said, “It’s exciting to be able to share some of the history of the Minchin family and the house they lived in from 1888 to 1938.
“….. Meanwhile, Andrew Boucaut, Cemetery Manager of North Road Cemetery was delighted to learn that Zoos SA had agreed to take on the license of the Minchin grave.
“As licenses expire at North Road Cemetery we write to people and connected organisations to see if they’re interested in renewing. I wrote to Elaine Bensted, CE of Zoos SA to see if the zoo wanted to renew and the Board decided that because the Minchins were so significantly linked to Adelaide Zoo that they would. The license has been extended for 50 years.
“If people would like to see the grave they can enter via D’Erlanger Avenue and head to Path Four, North,” finished Andrew…… For more details about North Road Cemetery, visit www.anglicancemeteries.com/ .”
“Minchin family and Minchin House facts:
Richard E Minchin (1831 – 1893), the first director of the zoo, originally became involved in the South Australian Acclimatization Society which lobbied to have a section of the Botanic Garden set aside as a zoological garden. This met with success in 1882 with land allocated near Albert Bridge, its present location. The Zoo opened in May 1883 and RE Minchin was appointed as the zoo’s first Director. He moved into the Director’s House five years later.
Alfred Corker Minchin (1857-1934), was the son of R E Minchin. Alfred gained further zoological knowledge at the Melbourne Zoo. Alfred Minchin became director of the Adelaide Zoological Gardens on the death of his father until his own death in 1934 – 40 years. A tall and imposing man, Alfred Minchin further developed the zoo, travelling to many places around the world and in Australia to add to the collection. The lemurs are said to have been his favourite animals.
Minchin House is now used as an administration building and sits in the centre of zoo close to the Siamangs and White-cheeked Gibbons. The house built in 1888 and its ornate gardens are planted to represent earth, wind, fire and water and are often the backdrops to visitors’ photographs.
Composer, lyricist and comedian Tim Minchin is descended from Richard E Minchin.”
MORE ABOUT THE OLD GLENELG JETTY AQUARIUM
As I wrote at The Old Glenelg Jetty Aquarium, “According to the web page found at https://southaustralia.com/products/adelaide/attraction/glenelg-jetty, an aquarium was built on the first Glenelg jetty in 1929, showcasing fish, sea lions and sharks.
The Glenelg jetty aquarium in 1936
(Taken from The Advertiser’s “Moments in time – SA at play” special feature)
“As I wrote in our July 2002 newsletter, the aquarium was built about halfway along the jetty. I wrote in our March 2006 newsletter that the aquarium would display fish, sharks, dolphins, seals, stingrays and octopuses.”
According to Trove, the advertising page for the News newspaper in Adelaide on 30th December 1935 featured a classified advertisement for the aquarium, stating “The Aquarium exhibits garden ponds, water plants, and water lilies as well as penguins. sharks, rays. and hundreds of strange deep-sea fish. Seals and sea lions do marvellous stunt swimming in a huge glass tank holding 36 tons of water.”
A large storm destroyed the jetty on 11th April 1948. Part of the aquarium was washed out to sea.”
Glenelg jetty’s pavilion & aquarium during the 1948 storm
(Taken from The Advertiser’s report on the 70th anniversary of the storm (2018) )
“I have written about the storm several times, including in our January 1999 newsletter. The jetty’s pavilion and remains of the aquarium survived the storm, but these were both demolished later on. A new jetty was built between 1968-9.”
Glenelg jetty storm history
(Taken from The Advertiser’s “Summer Extra” 27/12/1993)
The above details are presented in memory of (Alfred) Keith Minchin in recognition of his work, especially his time with the Adelaide Zoo and the Glenelg jetty aquarium.