This giraffe house was built in 1925, when the first giraffe arrived from South Africa. It was designed by the zoo’s curator, Louis T. Griffin. The first occupant, a young bull, died shortly after arrival; and the zoo was without giraffes until 1960, when a bull was imported from London Zoo.
A photo of the giraffe house (taken 1956) is on the cover of A Tiger by the Tail - a history of Auckland Zoo and there are several other photos of it within this book.
A small aquarium was built alongside it in 1949, but later demolished.
This giraffe house has since been renovated to display tarantulas. Auckland Zoo currently has nine tarantulas: three Peruvian pinktoe tarantula; three Andean stripe knee tarantula; two Costa Rican zebra tarantula; and one Bolivian blue leg tarantula. One Andean stripe knee tarantula and the Bolivian blue leg tarantula are currently on display.
@DavidBrown I’d imagine storage facilities, though the 1926 map shows flamingos on this site; and a map from the 1950’s shows cassowaries. The 1960’s saw the return of giraffes and the founder of a successful breeding herd of Grant’s zebra arrive.
