Beaumaris Zoo [Hobart] - Sandy Bay [1895-1921], Queen's Domain [1922-1937] (continued):     The Mercury article continues:     It is very gratifying to me that through my exertions and those of my assistant, Mr. Robert Anders (who was responsible for the crate-making, packing, etc.), Tasmania is not a blank in the exhibition now being held, and I believe, both in Sydney and Melbourne a sum of money was set apart for the purpose, either by the State or Zoological Gardens, I am not sure which. . Tasmanian devils at Beaumaris Zoo (SB).  Source: Laird Files (TAHO). .     I am much indebted to Colonel Cameron, Mr. E. O. Cotton, and other gentlemen, who endeavoured to procure the Tasmanian tiger for me, and as at the present time station hands are on the look-out for these very unique animals (like the devil, peculiar to Tasmania), both in the Lake Country and on the North-West Coast, I am hoping to procure one, or more to ship to London per S.S. Persic, timed to leave Melbourne on September 9.  The platypus, I am told, has never reached England alive.  Should anyone be good enough to make me a donation, I will endeavour to get it on the right food, with the object of sending it to the London Zoo, as its presence is very much desired there.  The two echidnas were given to me, and I read in the official guide to the Zoo:     'The echidna is in many ways the most extraordinary animal in the gardens.  It and the duck-billed platypus are the lowest of existing mammals and are distinguished from all other mammals by the fact that they produce large eggs, like the eggs of reptiles, and, by anatomical characters that make them living links between mammals and reptiles'.      Before concluding, I would like to thank all who kindly helped me in forming the collection, and others who have given me much encouragement in past times, and whose names are too numerous to mention individually.  I would like, however, to thank Mr. Harold Wright for presenting a devil to my collection, and which, having three little ones in her pouch, will, I hope, be a great attraction to visitors when the gardens are reopened to the public in the spring.  None of the handsome mountain duck wore obtainable, either here or in the other States, when the collection left.  I have recently shipped three devils to the Melbourne Zoo".

    To follow is an edited abstract from an article published in the Sydney Morning Herald on the 20th April 1910 (p. 5) complementing Mrs. Roberts's efforts in creating a unique zoo:

    "The town of Hobart has no public zoological gardens, and the children of that city would have little opportunity of knowing anything about the animals of their island were it not for the enterprise of a woman, whose love of nature has induced her to bring together a collection of birds and beasts.  In her lovely garden at Beaumaris, Mrs. Roberts has gradually collected a number of wild creatures for some years, and now the whole represents as good a private zoo as one could wish to find.  The first thing that strikes the visitor to the garden is the splendid condition of the animals, and the evidences of the care bestowed upon them, for the whole of the collection is under Mrs. Roberts' personal supervision, and, with the help of one man, she attends to everything herself; and the directors of some of the public gardens might well take a lesson from her humane management.  As her space is naturally somewhat limited, she has not attempted to have all animals represented, but has given her attention chiefly to Tasmanian forms and in this lies the great value of the collection, for there may be seen some of the interesting creatures peculiar to Tasmania, which are rapidly being exterminated.  In one little house there is a family of Tasmanian tigers - the only one in captivity in the world - and it certainly speaks well for the owner that she has reared these creatures and kept them alive and well for several years, when the big zoological gardens have failed in the attempt.......The habits and natural surroundings of every creature are studied; and, as far as possible, they are housed accordingly.......Tasmania owes more to this public-spirited woman than it realises.  Scientists from other lands recognise the value of her work, and in her visitors book appear the names of most of the notable people who have passed through Hobart; for her gardens are open to all who care to see them, and visitors are always welcomed and generally shown round by the owner herself.  And it is certain that most people who have seen the garden come away with a feeling of keen pleasure, mixed perhaps with a little wonder that a woman can accomplish so much".

    The Mercury newspaper of the 14th January 1909 (p. 4), in an article entitled "Beaumaris Exhibition", notes one of Mrs. Roberts's rather gentile afternoon displays of her "tigers":

    "Many persons who have been awaiting an opportunity to see the Tasmanian tigers (Thylacinus cynocephalus) may be pleased to know that they will be on view on Saturday afternoon next.  It is rarely that these animals are captured alive, and all who take an interest in our marsupials should not miss this chance, which may never occur again.  An orchestra will be in attendance, and several ladies interested in charitable work will be present to assist in dispensing afternoon tea.  Given fine weather, the exhibition should be, as hitherto, a great success".