These have their origins in the Scarborough Philosophical Society, which began life in 1827 and most of the important specimens in the Scarborough collections were acquired during the stewardship of the Philosophical Society. The Society's first objective was to build a museum and library for the use of members and the edification of the public, at least of those who could afford the one shilling entry fee. The Scarborough Museum, as it was then known, opened in 1829 with a modest collection of fossils and a borrowed collection of stuffed birds. In 1840 John Wharton donated a complete mounted specimen of a male giant tortoise which is thought to be from Charles (Floreana) Island in the Galapagos. Other important gifts include the Great Auk's egg bequeathed to the Scarborough Philosophical & Archaeological Society by Alwin Bell, the Little Bustard donated by Dr Peter Murray in 1839 and the Great Bustard reputed to be the specimen shot at Foxholes in 1835, the last Yorkshire record. The
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