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At the turn of the century, Thomas Gould left
$3,000 of his estate to
the Hamilton Zoological
Society for a specific purpose "to make the
Dundurn Park Zoo more attractive for little
children". The money was invested while the
Society pondered its use. In May, 1927, when
the sum had grown to $5,000, the Society decided
to remodel the
animal house at the Zoo and
turn it into an aviary. The Hamilton
Parks
Board agreed to do the work and the Society
agreed to find
the birds.
With the help of Dr. Crandell, curator of the Buffalo Zoo, the plans
were approved in September 1927. The aviary was opened on June 1, 1928. William L. Hayes
was the first supervisor. Mrs. W.D. Christenson of Port Nelson and the Hamilton Bird Society donated the first birds. The collection continued to grow and was looked after by Parks
Department employees.
A New Beginning for the Hamilton Aviary
In 1992, faced with budget cuts, the City of Hamilton decided to eliminate the staff positions and close the Aviary. Local bird lovers met with City staff and proposed that volunteers keep the Aviary open. Newspaper ads attracted volunteers and in June 1992 the "Friends of Dundurn Aviary" was established.
On July 1, 1992 the "Friends" took over
the running of the Aviary. In the summer
of 1995, due to extensive historical restoration
efforts at the castle, the flock was moved
temporarily to an unoccupied police station
for the duration of the work. In the spring
of 1996, it became apparent
that the birds
would not be returning to their home of
70 years at the castle. This started a
frantic search involving visits to many
sites, with and without buildings, that
might make a suitable home. At this time
the Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) was
centralizing most activities to its Main
Centre and their site known as the Teaching
Gardens was being vacated. Because of
the many features suited to the Aviary
at this location, the City and the RBG
agreed to a multi-year lease and the
Aviary
was moved July of 1996. Volunteers worked
hundreds of hours to prepare the site.
Indoor and outdoor cages were built and
today, the Aviary continues in a new home,
in a beautiful
park setting.
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