IN a bid to immortalise the iconic Nellie the elephant, the Moolchun family recently presented a statue of an elephant in memory of the Mitchell Park Zoo’s iconic resident.

For the older generation, Nellie conjures up childhood memories, as the elephant was synonymous with Mitchell Park. Nellie gave rides to generations of children for about 25 to 30 years.

Dhunniram Moolchun (99) had the privilege to ride the elephant when he was eight years old. Nellie arrived at the zoo in 1928 and died in 1983.
Moolchun is a trustee of Mitchell Park and is in good health and still attending meetings (as recently as last week). In Nellie’s honour, Sanil Singh, another trustee who is also a Durban vet, wrote a children’s book on the story of Nellie the elephant.

@caxtonlocalmediaIn a bid to immortalise the iconic Nellie the elephant, on Wednesday, the Moolchun family presented a statue of an elephant in memory of the Mitchell Park Zoo’s iconic resident. Dhunniram Moolchun (99) had the privilege to ride the elephant when he was 8 years old. Nellie arrived at the zoo in 1928 and died in 1983. #bereamail #nellietheelephant #MitchellParkZoo #Durban

♬ original sound – caxtonlocalmedia

Also read: Mitchell Park Zoo reopens after repairs

An Indian statesman and scholar, Valangaiman Sankaranarayana Sastri (after whom Sastri College is named) was appointed India’s first agent-general in South Africa in 1927. He left South Africa to return to India in 1929. Before his departure, Sastri facilitated the presentation to the Durban Town Council of a young female elephant, the gift of the maharaja of Mysore in southern India.

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