The sea lion of St Clair

Some local businesses used Joey in their advertising, as in this photo-mechanical print depicting Joey the sea lion drinking Thomson’s mineral water, September 1935. JOEY THE SEA LION, 1935. PHOTOGRAPHER UNKNOWN, P2011-030, HOCKEN COLLECTIONS UARE TAOKA Ō HĀKENA

I’ve spent my lifetime following the return of New Zealand sea lions to the beaches around Otago — even writing a picture book about "Mum the sea lion" for a primary school project. So you can imagine my delight when I stumbled upon the title Joey: the seal of St Clair by Joan Morrell in the Hocken’s publications collection.

This little book, published in 1939 in Wellington by Wright & Carmen Ltd, contains in its 11 pages the simple but profound story of one of Dunedin’s personalities: a sea lion named Joey, who arrived on the shores of St Clair around July 1935.

"When you saw him diving and disporting in the sea," Morrell wrote, "he was pure animal, a creature of the elements; but on land he seemed to develop lovable human traits — his very motion had the ponderous and rolling gait of a sailor unaccustomed to shore leave."

Morrell’s book documents how Joey became a Dunedin celebrity: tram ticket sales went up, and local businesses benefited from the "dense crowds" visiting, all hoping to pat, or play with, or have a photograph taken with the "unusual visitor". Joey could be seen sleeping in gardens, swimming in the St Clair baths, or ambling along the street to the dairy for an ice cream.

After six months, however, Joey’s presence was causing frictions — as Morrell put it, "he came to divide man into two camps, the kindly and unkindly."

Joey’s story does not end well. Government intervention was necessary after two local men tried (unsuccessfully) to shoot him. The mayors of Dunedin and Wellington decided to send Joey to Wellington Zoo, where, after only two weeks, he was found dead in his enclosure.

I hope we have learnt some things in the 86 years since Joey lived among us. As wonderful as it is to share our coastline with sea lions, our celebration of them should always be at a respectful distance.

This summer, more than 20 female sea lions will have their pups around the Otago coast. All come from the lineage of "Mum", who in 1995 was the first female sea lion to have her pups in this area in more than 200 years. A statue of "Mum" can be seen on the northern side of the Esplanade in St Clair.

Joey: the seal of St. Clair, by Joan Morrell, can be requested to view at the Hocken Collections, open Tuesdays-Saturdays, 10am-3pm.

- Rauhina Scott-Fyfe is a Hocken Collections assistant, Hocken Collections Uare Taoka ō Hākena.