Art Collection
At first glance, the St. Augustine Alligator Farm and Zoological Park appears to be an unassuming display of animals. But within its walls is housed one of the most unique collections of public art in St. Augustine.
While traveling to acquire crocodiles, Australian alligator wrangler George Craig introduced David Drysdale to the indigenous carvings of Oceania. As a collector, Drysdale says he is drawn to this art because of the symbolic representations of crocodiles and believes they contribute to the visitor experience by making people think about the relationship of humans with animals, their cultural meaning, and their representations.
One of his prized possessions is the Timor Crocodile, a wooden sculpture in front of the amphitheater. Behind this grand sculpture lies an even greater tale. When Drysdale was in Bali going to Komodo and back, he found numerous wood pieces that he wanted. Once ready to check out, the merchant's credit card machine was not working. In order to make his purchases, he had to drive to another store to use their machine. When he arrived, Drysdale was immediately entranced by this sculpture and purchase it on the spot.
Carved from a single tree trunk, with numerous baby crocodiles on its back, this piece was a rare find. The grain of the wood is criss-crossed, meaning it will not crack. There are only three in the world. One is in a hotel in Europe, the second at the Malaysian Natural Resources building, and the third here at the Alligator Farm. At more than six feet in length, shipping it, joked Drysdale, cost almost as much as the purchase itself.
Another interesting object at the Alligator Farm is a pillaged crocodile skull with fake teeth. Drysdale explained how indigenous New Guineans worshipped crocodiles and used their teeth for making tools and jewelry. When he came into ownership of this crocodile head, Drysdale had his friend George Craig come in and create the teeth. Craig created molds of the sockets and made the teeth out of dental supplies. He shaped and dyed them to look like aged crocodile teeth within the skull.
When Craig was in town doing this, Drysdale’s son was in first grade. It was around the time of show-and-tell day. Not knowing what to bring, Drysdale told his son to take Craig whose crocodile dental work surely impressed the class!
But Craig himself was no doubt the story. With a Canadian father and English mother, Craig spent time as a child in Peru and lived in London during the raids of World War II. When he graduated college, an art major, he moved to Australia where he found work detonating mines and catching and skinning crocodiles. Craig also spent time in Papua New Guinea hunting alligators before opening his own aquarium on Green Island, Australia. Marineland Melanesia is also a family-operated zoological park with a large collection of artifacts on display--a tribute to Craig's love of art and animals.