MUSEUM VICTORIA
MELBOURNE MUSEUM
SCIENCEWORKS
IMMIGRATION MUSEUM
ROYAL EXHIBITION BUILDING
Western Lowland Gorillas
In 1865, three Western Lowland Gorillas were registered in the museum collection. Purchased from a collection in London, they included one adult male, one adult female and one unsexed young.
The common ancestry of apes and humans was in hot debate after the publication of Charles Darwin’s
On the Origin of Species
in 1865. The museum’s gorilla display was both a catalyst for this debate in Melbourne and a great crowd pleaser.
© Museum Victoria Australia