AUCKLAND SPECIAL.

Gisborne Times, Volume VI, Issue 229, 5 October 1901, Page 3

AUCKLAND SPECIAL.

MAOUI CURIOS. AU C KLA N’D'S CL A IMS. (Special to Timks.) Auckland, last night. Mr C. K. Nelson, who has just relumed from a trip to Europe, informs me that there are more Maori curios, weapons, carvings, etc., in the Eerlin Ethnographical Museum and other museums in Germany than in the whole of New Zealand museums put together. In the course of the discussion in liic House of Representatives on the estimates, the Hon. Mr Carroll said the necessity was recognised for erecting a building for Maori curios and relics, and suggested that the tennis ground at the hack of Parliament House would be a suitable situ for sucii a building. Wo think, says this morning’s Herald in a -üb-leadcr, that good objection might he made to this. When the Auckland Institute was founded one of its objects was declared to he to make a collection of all objects relating to the Native inhabitants of the colony. This has been steadily kept in view by the Council of the Institute, and the result is that we have now a collection far surpassing in completeness to any other collection in the colony. The Council of the Institute have lost no opportunity of increasing the collection, and are now in possession of Maori houses and pattakas which the Government could not procure the like of simply because they do not exist. All this has been done without asking the Government for a single penny from the general revenue, and the collection is now available to the public at tiie place where such an exhibition might naturally he looked for. If the Government are desirous to make a good collection illustrating all phases of Maori life, history, and art, it would he far better that they should aid the Council of the Institute than that they should set up a rival collection elsewhere, which never could be anything but second rate. The Council of ( the Auckland Institute is in a far better position to obtain objects of interest than j any Government institution at Wellington . could be. We are quite sure that if the Government were to place at the disposal ( of the Institute funds which would be required to erect a building on the Parliamentary tennis ground, a magnificent and complete collect ion could be made here. j -