Brisbane History, Published 1 August 2026

Brisbane's Most Famous Residents Had Four Legs!

Long before Australia Zoo, some of Brisbane's most beloved residents lived quietly in the City Botanic Gardens.

In 1860, John Clements Wickham - former captain of HMS Beagle and Queensland's first Government Resident - donated three giant Galápagos tortoises to the Gardens. They soon became affectionately known as Tom, Dick and Harry.

For generations of Brisbane families, no visit to the Gardens was complete without stopping to see these gentle giants. The Botanic Gardens were also home to Brisbane's first zoo, where visitors could see kangaroos, monkeys, deer, emus, bears and many other animals.

The tortoises watched Brisbane grow from a small colonial town into a thriving city, but they also experienced its hardships. During the devastating 1893 Brisbane Flood, Dick was swept away and drowned when floodwaters surged through the Gardens. Tom lived until 1929, leaving Harry as the sole survivor.

In 1952, as Brisbane's zoological collection was being dispersed, Harry was transferred to Fleay's Fauna Sanctuary on the Gold Coast. There, caretakers made a remarkable discovery - "Harry" was actually female and was renamed Harriet.

Harriet later moved to Australia Zoo, where she became one of Australia's best-known animals. When she died in 2006, she was estimated to be around 175 years old, making her one of the oldest tortoises ever recorded.

For many older Brisbane residents, Harriet wasn't just a tortoise - she was part of growing up in Brisbane. She quietly watched generations of families stroll through the Botanic Gardens, becoming one of the city's longest-lived and most cherished residents.

Do you remember visiting the giant tortoises in the Brisbane Botanic Gardens? We'd love to hear your memories!

With sincere thanks to Ted Balneaves, whose idea inspired this article

Harriet Photo: By Fritz Geller-Grimm, CC BY-SA 2.5

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