75th Anniversary

George Mottershead was a pioneering figure, credited with founding Chester Zoo and ultimately helping to change the face of zoos worldwide.

Realising his dream of a zoo without bars George, with the support of his family - wife Elizabeth and daughters Muriel and June - laid the foundations for what is now the most popular and successful charity zoo in the UK.

With his drive and ambition and in the face of stiff local opposition, George opened the zoo in 1931. In 1934, the North of England Zoological Society was formed to run the zoo under a governance of a Council of elected members.

Now, in this historic year, previously unseen family footage of George and his family has been donated to the zoo by June.

The achievements of the zoo over the past seven decades will also be recognised with the launch of a new exhibition, chronicling the history from those first few days through to present time.

The exhibition, which will be outside close to the aquarium, will be unveiled by June and her husband Fred. The couple, who both devoted a lifetime to the zoo, still live nearby.

We're happy to see that the zoo is still a pioneer and making great strides forward in supporting wildlife conservation and is increasing awareness of the plight of fragile habitats around the world that are under threat.

Stephen McKeown, Chester Zoo’s Head of Education, said: “George Mottershead was a visionary. He saw what good zoos could achieve, the difference they could make in the role of conservation and the importance of animal welfare. This was something he never lost sight of and what we continue to aspire to today.

George faced many difficulties during those early years, particularly during World War II but now, 75 years on, we are still here, stronger than ever.”

The period after World War II was one of rapid expansion with the zoo growing considerably in size. Always Building was the slogan of the time and, ever resourceful, George sourced materials including wartime road blocks and pill boxes to build the polar bear enclosure. Elements of this building history can still be seen around the zoo.

Today the zoo covers 110 acres, welcomes more than 1.3 million visitors a year, supports conservation projects on each corner of the globe and has been named by Forbes as one of the best 15 zoos in the world.

“None of what we have achieved in recent years would have been possible without George’s initial tenaciousness – the zoo has seen some tough times but George’s solid determination and steely resolve ultimately laid the foundations for success. He had a plan for a zoo without bars and so began a new design concept for zoos which is today mirrored all over the world.

We are delighted that June will join us on this historic day for the launch of the exhibition and would like to thank her for sharing with us her valuable family footage and pictures and for her help in putting this exhibition together,” added Stephen.

The zoo continues to expand and has recently announced plans for further development with the launch of the Natural Vision project.

The ambitious £225 million plan will see it transformed into the largest conservation, animal and leisure attraction of its kind in Europe and will involve a £90 million first phase.

This will include the only domed ecosystem in the UK called ‘Heart of Africa which will be an African rainforest-themed sanctuary for a band of Gorillas, a large troop of chimpanzees, Okapi and a wide variety of tropical birds, amphibians, reptiles, fishes and invertebrates moving freely among lush vegetation.

The first phase – planning permission for which will be sought later this year – will also include a 90-bed hotel, a Conservation College, a key element of which is the ‘Futures’ education centre, and a revamped main entrance linking to a marina development on zoo land beside the Shropshire Union Canal.

Looking forwarded to the opening, June said: “I have been grateful for the zoo's recent interest in how the zoo was established and the people that were involved in doing this. My family and others did work hard to make our dreams become a reality.

“There are not many of us left to tell the tale of how the zoo was founded. Fred and I have been glad that we've been able to share some of the stories of these times so that they will not be forgotten.

We're happy to see that the zoo is still a pioneer and making great strides forward in supporting wildlife conservation and is increasing awareness of the plight of fragile habitats that are under threat around the world.”

TIME LINE

• 1931 – Chester Zoo opens to visitors for the first time
• 1935 – the first aquarium opens in the cellars of the Oakfield Manor House. It is now home to a restaurant, tea room and conference facilities
• 1934 – the Zoo membership scheme is launched. By the end of 1935 there are 147 members Today the zoo has more than 30,000 members
• 1937 – the first zoo magazine, Our Zoo News, is published
• 1940 – Chester Zoo launches the animal adoption scheme; the first zoo in the UK to do so
• 1941 – two Asian elephants arrive, Molly and Mannekin, arrive. They are walked to the zoo through Chester by their mahout Kay and June, George’s daughter.
• 1942 – the zoo makes its first profit
• 1949 – the zoo expands in size and is now 65 acres. Visitor figures reach 320,000.
• 1952 – the new aquarium opens
• 1953 – the Coronation Restaurant opens
• 1956 – new Ape House and Chimp Island are completed
• 1959 – Polar Bear Mottie is born
• 1961 – George is elected President of the International Union of Directors of Zoological Gardens
• 1967 – an outbreak of Foot and Mouth closes the zoo for 10 weeks
• 1968 – a record year for visitor numbers with 1,136,750 visitors passing through the gates
• 1972 – the Duke of Edinburgh opens the lecture hall
• 1973 – George Mottershead is awarded the OBE
• 1974 – hybrid elephant Motty is born to an African father and Asian mother. Motty lived for 11 days.
• 1977 – the birth of Jubilee, the first Asian elephant to be born in the UK
• 1979 – Dr Michael Brambell is appointed Zoo Director
• 1978 – George Mottershead dies
• 1982 – the zoo commissions its first TV advert
• 1982 – the first junior membership scheme is launched
• 1985 – a new tiger enclosure is opened
• 1987 – the Duke of Westminster becomes the Society’s first president
• 1989 – Diana, Princess of Wales, opens the chimpanzee house
• 1993 - the Polar Bear enclosure becomes Europe on the Edge
• 1995 – Prof Gordon McGregor Reid takes over as Director. He remains the Director General.
• 1997 – Duke of York opens Monkey islands
• 2000 – Islands in Danger is opened by Liz Hurley
• 2003 – Tsavo, the Black Rhino Experience is opened
• 2007 – Realm of the Red Ape enclosure – the largest enclosure of its kind in Europe opens
• 2008 – Butterfly Journey – the largest zoo-based butterfly house in the UK - opens