 He worked there for three and a half years, during which time he was able to achieve some significant scientific "firsts" such as the first breeding in captivity of emus, scrub turkeys, some birds of prey, the tawny frogmouth and a variety of marsupials including the koala.He constructed his first platypussary (a home for platypuses).His time, however, with the Melbourne Zoo was not particularly happy as he disagreed with management on matters of principle.