How To Move a Zoo by Kate Simpson and Owen Swan

Title: How To Move a Zoo

Author: Kate Simpson and Owen Swan

Genre: Historical

Publisher: Allen and Unwin

Published: 4^th June 2024

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 32

Price: $24.99

Synopsis: The true story of how at the beginning of the 20th century Jessie the elephant walked from Moore Park Zoo to her spacious new home in the Taronga Zoological Park.

It was still dark when Mr Miller opened the gates of the old zoo, but he wasn’t scared because he wasn’t alone. He was with Jessie the elephant and together they were going to walk from Moore Park, through the city streets, to the ferry at Fort Macquarie. Jessie was moving to her spacious new home in the soon-to-be-opened Taronga Zoological Park.

Jessie’s surprising journey was unlike any other and it brought a little warmth to the city on that brisk September morning in 1916.

The incredible true story of Jessie the elephant from the bestselling author of Anzac Girl: The War Diaries of Alice Ross-King and the highly acclaimed illustrator of Anzac Biscuits.

~*~

Kate Simpson, author of Anzac Girl: The War Diaries of Alice Ross-King, has returned with another book based on a true story – how Jessie the elephant was moved from Moore Park Zoo to her new home at the spacious Taronga Zoological Park at Bradleys Head.

Jessie’s journey was unique – she was too big to fit in the cars and vans, so Mr Miller had to walk her through the city in the early hours of a September morning, through the city streets to get her to the ferry at Fort Macquarie – and he stayed with her until they reached her new home. Kate tells this story in a gentle and accessible way, allowing readers to follow Jessie’s journey – made easier to follow with a delightfully drawn map by Owen Swan that shows Jessie’s journey amidst the rest of the story and illustrations.

This evocative story gives readers an insight into what transporting animals between zoos would have been like early in the twentieth century, and the lengths people went to so they could ensure the safety of the animals on the journey, and the safety of the public and ensure the transportation was effective and get the animals ready for the zoo to be open. It’s a great story, and one that I hope will be widely read.

Up until 1916, the main zoo in Sydney was in Moore Park. 108 years ago, it was moved to its new location, Taronga Zoological Park at Bradley’s Head, and it has remained there ever since, undergoing changes over the years, and introducing conservation programs. And it now operates as a not-for-profit. These days, animals might have gone across the Sydney Harbour Bridge – an impossibility in 1916, so the animals were moved across five different roads and on ferries. And this story engages with the moving of the zoo from Moore Park to its new location. This story is told in picture book form to make it accessible to a new generation of readers and readers of all ages, and is one that is touching and evocative, with a sense of feeling peaceful as Jessie the elephant moves through the city. It touches on what happened, giving the necessary details and leaving room for further investigation if you would like to. I can say that Kate has created another wonderful historical picture book that makes history accessible to all ages.

Surely a deeper and more complex story, what Kate has done is created something to introduce the story to readers and show them where the zoo began. It opens up another historical story to a wider audience. It gives readers a chance to go and explore it further, and an informative note at the end giving context to the story, and informing readers of Jessie’s story. This allows readers to engage on a range of levels with the story, from entertainment to an educational story for readers to explore further should they be interested. Kate has used her exceptional storytelling talent to bring Jessie’s story to life, and her words invite you into the story wholly and joyfully.

I was interested in learning more, and here are a few resources that you can explore alongside the book:

Museums of History NSW – https://mhnsw.au/whats-on/exhibitions/how-move-zoo/

Taronga Zoo – https://taronga.org.au/sydney-zoo

Mosman Collective – https://mosmancollective.com/history/more-than-a-century-ago-hundreds-of-animals-were-moved-across-sydney-harbour-to-their-new-home-at-taronga-zoo/