Bears in Devonport, Auckland??

Well, I never knew that !!

As it turns out it's apparently not quite true anyway, as I found out on digging deeper.....


The Bear Garden was set up by an American businessman, George Quick, who in the 1880s commissioned two ferries (the Osprey and the Eagle) to compete with the service operated by the Devonport Steam Ferry Company Ltd. The Bear Garden was an entrepreneurial venture intended to attract passengers from Auckland onto Quick's ferries, but the venture was not a success, and although the walls were built, the 'garden' never housed bears (or any other exotic wildlife).