Animals a change for removal men

FOR workmen more used to delivering furniture or hoisting pia nos up f l ig hts of sta i rs, shifting truckloads of lions into Perth’s newest visitor attraction was an unusual assignment.

The bizarre spectacle from the early 1930s, part of preparations for the opening of the city’s museum and art gallery on George Street, was captured for prosperity by a local photographer.

And his eye-catching image now forms part of a nostalgia-filled exhibition, celebrating the fascinating story of Perth City Hall and Perth Museum and Art Gallery.

Local firm Camerons House Furnishers and Removals was commissioned to move stuffed animals and other exhibits from the old Perthshire Natural History Museum on Tay Street.

It heralded the start of a new cultural renaissance for the city.

Huge crowds gathered for the launch of the new museum in 1934, when the Duke of York congratulated Perth on “this welcome piece of slum clearance”.

The new exhibition, at the George Street gallery, has been put together by Culture Perth and Kinross who asked locals for their own memorabilia to put on show.

Tayside Healthcare Arts Trust has also been working with museum staff on the display which marks key moments in the venue’s history. The exhibition runs until early March.