Geelong jumbo puzzle
JUST how did an elephant ant bone end up in Geelong?
The jumbo-sized bone, , unearthed during construction of the Geelong Arts Centre last May, has had historians scratching their heads as to where it might have come from.
Hundreds of buried historiorical objects were unearthed hed during construction, including ding tickets to theatre performanances from the late 1800s, a century-old science textbook, an 1850s inkwell, an old maths test, and a token.
But the bone, believed to be from the front leg of a baby elephant, was the strangest find.
The Arts Centre is now appealing for information or photos about how the elephant bone came to be onsite.
Researchers believe it may hav have been part of an exhibition at the Mechanics’ Institut tute or a private collection But there may be s stranger explanations. The discovery has evoked memories of an old zoo at Kardinia Park in the early 1900s. Initially, the zoo hosted ab about 20 species of animals. B But as it grew, it gained Africa rican and Indian monkeys, deer deer, various kangaroos, emu, ostr ostriches, wallaby, lemur — and an elephant that visitors could ride on. The zoo closed during the Second World War. A ship that crashed near Barwon Heads in 1891 also had zoo animals on board from Calcutta.
The British India Company’s steamer Bancoora was driven ashore at Bream Creek by rough seas on July 14, 1891.
The Bancoora stayed stranded until August 28, 1891
The stranding attracted much public interest, with part of the cargo destined for Melbourne Zoo, including a young elephant, a rhinoceros, monkeys and parrots.
All were landed safely and taken by lorry to Geelong, although the rhinoceros only survived for two days.
GAC CEO Joel McGuinness said no one seems to know the bone’s origins.
“One of the theories I had heard was during the gold rush they put elephants to work in the goldfields,” he said.
“They brought them out as juveniles on the boats because they were small enough to carry.”
As part of the Ryrie Street redevelopment project, the Arts Centre will develop a display for its new foyer to showcase the found items and tell the story of the site’s rich history.
To share information about the elephant bone or the history of the Arts Centre site, please email: yourstory@geelongartscentre.org.au