CANTERBURY MUSEUM.

Press, Volume L, Issue 15037, 4 August 1914, Page 2

CANTERBURY MUSEUM.

RENOVATING NEW ZEALAND • BIRD COLLECTION. A remarkably interesting collection of curios from the Northern Territory of Australia has been presented to the Canterbury Museum by Mr J. E Davenport. This includes many epears, waddies, and clubs, armlets, : necklets, bark bags, and other curious articles, which 60 far have not been identified. No reference to the*latter can be found in "Baldwin Spencer's book, "The Wild Tribes of Australia." Mr R. Speight states that the only opinion he can, form regarding them is t,hat they are ceremonial in character, and are probably used in connexion with aboriginal dances and rites. Many of the bags, spears, and other articles in the collection are ornamented with the primitive designspeculiar to the Australian aboriginls, worked in red and yellow ochre. • Another interesting gift made by Mr Davenport is a fine pair of horns taken from a Melville Island "buf- ■ falo." This animal is properly a; musk- J ox, and is found only on-Melville Is-: land and ono or two other small is- ' lands on the coast of Northern Australia. The horns, wliich are. of very heavy formation,, have a spread of nearly three feet. The representative collection of New Zealand land and sea birds in the;, Museum is at present being thorough- ' ly overhauled and renovated. Many of the specimens are old and are being _ replaced by fresh birds, with the cooperation of the Acclimatisation Society. Others which were badly mounted are being re-modelied. Tho work is being carried out under the 6uperin- j tendence of Mr R. -Speight, Curator of 1 the Museum, by Mr E. J. Hayues, j who is a clever- taxidermist of considerable artistic ability. . • Specimens of China rock and China clay or kaolin have been presented to the Museum by Mr David Hawke, of West Oxford, who obtained them from Cornwall. They have been placed, tor comparative purposes, side by side with specimens of China rock from Lakes Brunner and Poerua, \Vestland. Kaolin is formed from rock, usually granite composed principally of telspar. Tho parent rock is found in all etages of decomposition, and when hard, though decomposed, is called China rock, and, when completely decomposed, China clay. It is used for making the finest pottery and fire-bricks, and also in the manufacture of paper.

NEW AND INTERESTING ' v SPECIMENS.