Shown here is the Acclimatisation Society’s fish hatchery pond at the eastern end of the Victoria Esplanade. Joe Monkensen, second from right, was from Hillrod, Denmark. The Palmerston North City Council moved that the hatchery be filled in, in 1927 (PNCC Minute Book, 1 August 1927). The band rotunda in the background was originally located in the Square but was shifted to the Esplanade in 1907. It was demolished in 1966. The Victoria Esplanade, named during Queen Victoria’s 60th year on the throne, was opened in 1897