Australian Museum Showcases Harry Burrell, the Vaudevillian Who Revolutionized Platypus Science
The Australian Museum in Sydney is currently hosting an exhibition titled 'Harry Burrell: The Platypus Man,' which highlights the life of Harry Burrell, a self-taught naturalist and ex-vaudeville artist renowned for his studies on monotremes, especially the platypus. Born in 1873 in Sydney, he wed Susan Emily Naegueli in 1901 and later moved to Manilla, New South Wales. In 1927, Burrell created the 'platypusary' to record platypuses in captivity and captured them along the Namoi River. He showcased a platypus at the Sydney Zoological Garden in 1910 and assisted in transporting six to the United States, where one lived for 49 days at the New York Zoo. The exhibition will be open until March of next year.
Key facts
- Harry Burrell was born in Sydney in 1873 and married Susan Emily Naegueli in 1901.
- Burrell invented the 'platypusary,' a portable platypus carrier mimicking burrow networks.
- He was the first person documented keeping platypuses in captivity.
- In 1910, he displayed a platypus at the Sydney Zoological Garden for three months.
- He helped transport six platypuses to the United States; the sole survivor lived 49 days at the New York Zoo.
- Burrell produced the first known footage of a platypus swimming underwater.
- His work laid the foundation for the discovery of electroreception in platypuses.
- The exhibition 'Harry Burrell: The Platypus Man' is on display at the Australian Museum until March next year.
Entities
Artists
- Harry Burrell
- Susan Emily Naegueli
- Meg Foster
- Kirsten Wehner
Institutions
- Australian Museum
- Sydney Zoological Garden
- New York Zoo
- University of Technology Sydney
- University of Sydney
- Sydney Environment Institute
- The Conversation
Locations
- Sydney
- Australia
- Manilla
- New South Wales
- Namoi River
- United States