DOMINION MUSEUM

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 62, 7 December 1918, Page 2

DOMINION MUSEUM

HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS . THE WAR EXHIBITS The Director of the Dominion Museum states, in his annual :eport, that the an-, peal for material for a uational V • toricaT collection .has been issued " further number of relatives of (Settlers, but in*.the majority of without any .tangible resuit. Neve, less, a considerable, amount of histoi. material has been obtained in this ml ner, including early books, newspapei maps, views and portraits, autographs, letters, account books, and diaries. Since the first issue of tho appeal the number of entries in the register, including the war section of the Museum, has risen from iSU to 858. The tiro most valuable historical documents comprise the official letter-book of James Busby, British Resident from 1833 onwards, and a manuscript'history of New-Zealand- by the same, both presented by his 60n,-Jlr. William Busby, of Tokoinaru Buy. These documents throw hew light on the events" which led up to tho Treaty of Waitangi, and are'bf the first importance'. _ Another interesting manuscript is a history 01 tho Pai Jlariri or Hauhau religion, pur- ' chased from" Mr. W.' Pl'..Gordon, of New Plymouth. A valuable-donation to the liistoriciiiriibrary, iiiude" by the commit- ■•; tee of .tlie- ]}uncdin-.-Athenaeum t consists of a number of early reports of the Provincial. legislatures.. Other rare New Zealand books have been donated by Mrs. D. Scott, Hiss ITGlashan, Messrp. W. D. I'arquhar, L. Stowe (C.M.G.), J. A. Wilson, tho Lower Hutt Borough Council, and the Defence Department. Other accessions of interest include the plates used for printing tho stamps of'tho Great Barrier Island pigeon service, donated by Sir.'. H. Bolitho, of Devonpoi't; and a. large number or early maps, presented by Air. C. A. Ewen. An effort was'.mado i.through the High Com--•missioner-to-, trace and- secure- the -manuscript of Thomas Brunner's journal, but ift was discovered that the original was never sent to England, the copy printed in-tho "Journal , of the Koyal Geographical Society" being taken from a printed copy printed in Nelson in IBSi by Charles Eliott, prin'.er, as recorded in Ho'elcon's Bibliography. ■ Tho". original manuscript, if ijtill extant, is probably still' in New Zealand. The decision of the Board of Science and. Art *to compile a register of early colonists will, it is hoped, keep the national historical collection before' the public during the conw irig.'.y.ear. ' '.'..'. . ' .. '..'. During the year considerable'progress has been made in the collection'of materials illustrating New Zealand's part in the great war. By co-operation with the Defence Department there haTO been obtained sets of cap j>nd collar badges of tho Territorial units and of the-Tirst to the Thirty-fourth Reinforcements- of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, copiee of the magazines published on the Irans- ' ports r by tho reinforcements, and a number of.'.war trophies, comprising, trench mortars, bomb-throwers, machine-guns and parts, a field gun, and fragments of shells. Of special interest are a large pontoon by which tho Turks crossed the Suez Canal, and n sextant .used, by the Germans who escaped from Motuihi Island, and made upon the island. Through tho High Commissioner- there have been obtained'samples of the Military Cross, tho Distinguished , Conduct - Medal, and the medals for bravery in the field and for, meritorious service, a. largo number of official lantern slides and photographs of the. New Zealand Expeditionary Forces, and a set of propaganda literature issued by the British Government. In addition, the High Commissioner Is arranging for the collection in London of-, earlier transport, magazines not represented in tho collection, and for war trophies generally. • A collection is being made of the photographs, of officers and men who have gained distinctions in tho war, and already some 355 have been obtained. The exhibition of these has proved of great popular interest, dud has given general satisfaction to'the.relatives of the soldiers in question. The portraits have . 'eomo'lfroni all over -7s T sw . Zealand, nnd ■from Whangarei in the'north to Invercargillin the.south, showing that the collection entirely merits its designation of "National."' Special thanks are due to Mr. F. P. Andrew, ,of Wellington, who has presented forty photogr;<vhs, and has kindly offered to make any copies needed for the' collection.