{"product_id":"giraffe-melbourne-australia","title":"Giraffe, Melbourne, Australia","description":"\u003cp\u003eScanned from a fragile photographic negative dating to c. 1917, this image captures one of Melbourne Zoo’s earliest giraffes during a time when exotic animals were still seen as extraordinary wonders to the Australian public.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1913, Melbourne Zoo imported its very first pair of giraffes from Africa. A male, whose name has largely been lost to history and a female named Nellie. They arrived after an unimaginable journey across oceans into a city that had never seen creatures like them before. Towering above the crowds, they became symbols of curiosity, spectacle, and the distant worlds Australians could only dream about.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis particular photograph was carefully digitised from an original negative discovered more than a century later amongst a deteriorating archive. Dust covered, scratched, and slowly decaying, the negative had survived wars, generations and neglect before finally revealing its image once more through light.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNellie would remain at the zoo until 1926, quietly becoming part of Melbourne’s memory during an era when the zoo itself was still young. In 1928, another pair arrived from Africa, Algernon and Pamela, followed shortly after by Andy in 1930. But despite the excitement these animals brought, tragedy often followed early zoo history. Many of the giraffes survived only a handful of years in captivity, their lives now preserved mostly through fading photographs and scattered newspaper records.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter Andy’s death in 1934, Melbourne would go without giraffes for almost three decades. For many children growing up during that time, the giraffes they once stared at in amazement became little more than stories told by parents and grandparents.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMore than 100 years later, this fragile negative survives as a rare connection to that forgotten era of Melbourne history. A fleeting moment where a giraffe stood silently before the camera, unaware that long after both photographer and subject were gone, its image would still endure.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNow restored and preserved as a museum quality fine art print, this photograph allows a small piece of Melbourne’s past to live on once again.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lumirra Collective","offers":[{"title":"A4 \/ Print Only","offer_id":53847185359214,"sku":null,"price":280.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A4 \/ Natural","offer_id":53847185391982,"sku":null,"price":420.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A4 \/ Black","offer_id":53847185424750,"sku":null,"price":420.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A4 \/ White","offer_id":53847185457518,"sku":null,"price":420.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 \/ Print Only","offer_id":53847185490286,"sku":null,"price":360.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 \/ Natural","offer_id":53847185523054,"sku":null,"price":580.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 \/ Black","offer_id":53847185555822,"sku":null,"price":580.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 \/ White","offer_id":53847185588590,"sku":null,"price":580.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A2 \/ Print Only","offer_id":53847185621358,"sku":null,"price":520.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A2 \/ Natural","offer_id":53847185654126,"sku":null,"price":820.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A2 \/ Black","offer_id":53847185686894,"sku":null,"price":820.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A2 \/ White","offer_id":53847185719662,"sku":null,"price":820.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A1 \/ Print Only","offer_id":53847185752430,"sku":null,"price":780.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A1 \/ Natural","offer_id":53847185785198,"sku":null,"price":1150.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A1 \/ Black","offer_id":53847185817966,"sku":null,"price":1150.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A1 \/ White","offer_id":53847185850734,"sku":null,"price":1150.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A0 \/ Print Only","offer_id":53847643423086,"sku":null,"price":1100.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0907\/3875\/3902\/files\/WatermarkG-1-2.jpg?v=1779854634","url":"https:\/\/lumirracollective.com\/products\/giraffe-melbourne-australia","provider":"Lumirra Collective","version":"1.0","type":"link"}