Harry Burrell Glass Plate Negative Collection Harry (Henry J)
Burrell was an enthusiastic early Australian naturalist famous
for being the first person to successfully breed and keep
platypuses in captivity. He was also a keen photographer, and
this collection documents his wide interest in Australian native
fauna. Henry James Burrell (1873-1945) was born at Rushcutters
Bay in Sydney. After basic schooling, Burrell led a wandering
life, including spending time as a comedian in a vaudeville act.
He developed an interest in natural history after he settled in
Manila, northern NSW with his wife Susan Emily Naegueli in 1901.
As a naturalist, Burrell is most famous for being the first
person to successfully keep and breed platypuses in captivity.
To do this he invented the ‘platypusary’, a storage tank which
enabled him to both study and exhibit live platypuses. The
platypusary was used for the first time in 1910 to show live
platypuses at the Moore Park Zoo in Sydney. In 1922, Burrell,
his platypusary and Henry t