THE COLONIAL MUSEUM

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5059, 11 June 1877, Page 3

THE COLONIAL MUSEUM

Although the necessary re-arrangement of the Colonial Museum consequent on the enlargement of the building 13 not yet finished, enough has been done to show that in a few weeks it will be by fax the most complete and the best arranged museum in New Zealand, for in point of richness in the possession of rarities, as may be known, it surpasses most of the larger collections in the older Australian colonies. A good deal of additional space has been obtained by sinking the old flaor a depth of 6ft By this means a second storey has been secured, furnishing a gallery capable of holding a Teat number of cases, and also a fine lec-ture-room for the use of the New Zealand Institute, besides providing iccommodation for a quantity of matter which is now relegated to the cellars below. The space thus gained has been made the most of, and Dr. Hector, since his return from America, has been exceedingly busy in arranging the Museum so as to secure a perfect classification of the exhibits. The hall has been, or rather is being, divided into three comp .rtments, which may be designated the central ball, and north and south wings respectively, and round the room runs a 10ft. gallery, which may be described as being similarly divided, though no dividing partitions are to be erected. The northern wing on the ground floor is devoted to the accommodation of a collection of specimens of New Zealand natural history. Commencing with the terrestrial mammalia in which New Zealand in so poor, there are to be seen a couple of species of bats, a rat and a dog ; but the paucity of the exhibition in this respect is somewhat counterbalanced by the fine specimens of cetacea, chief among which is one of the great rorqual {SihnldM antartkas), the vertebral column of which is 60ft. in length, and reaches across the entire width of the northern wing of the building, so that the skull has to be shown separately,"and other parts in vertical section. Prominent in the collection also is the porpoise whale caught at Wo.ser Bay very recently, and which has been the subject of a good deal of pleasant badinage between Mr. W. T. L. Travera, M.H.1!., and the "Intelligent Vagrant." To those who are curious on the point it may be mentioned that the skeleton of this whale is the first object of natural history that strikes the visitor on his entrance to the Museum. It is satisfactory to know that all the trouble which has occurred about that whale lias not been expended upon an altogether worthies* object. Indeed to Havana it is especially interesting, seeing that is the third or fourth specimen of /Jcmrdius arnouxii that has been taken. One occupies a place in the Paris Museum, another was forwarded by Dr. Von Haast, of Canterbury, to the Museum of the J loyal College of Surgeons in London, and we have a hazy idea that there is a third in the Canterbury Museum. At the rear of this there in a male specimen of the black fish (atobiocephalus\ and on the other side a cow whale {Tunic metis), of the same species, both of which by the way are almost as rare as the central figure of the group, if we may so term the throe. Then there are specimens of the black whale, the hump-backed whale, and others, including the unique A'cobal/iena marijinala; and in another division of the cetacea there are porpoises, seals, and other marine mammalia, represented by mounted specimens in the wall eases. Near to these is situate a very complete type collection of fishes, partly in wall cases, and partly in spirits; and underneath the front windows is being fixed up an aquarium, in which will be reared live specimens of the fresh-water fish of the colony. In the centre of the natural history department stands a magnificent type collection of the birds of New Zealand, presented to the Museum, some years ago by Dr. Duller, and upon which that gentleman founded his classical work on New Zealand ornithology. At the rear of this is a collecti'un of the eggs and nests of New Zealand birds, and adjacent to this a couple of cases of shells, Ice, all thoroughly in order and classified for reference.. A prominent feature, too, is a collection of the feathers and eggs of the nroa, together with casts of the eggs

of the yEpyornis of Madagascar, the only bird whose egg is known to exceed in size that of the moa. These are associated for the purpose of comparison, and the contrast is all the more interesting when it is remembered that both the Madagascar and the New Zealand bird are extinct. In the same ease there is also a collection of the bones of an unborn chick of the moa, and of the bones of a chick of the Australian emu at a similar stage of development. Another curious item in the immediate vicinity is a hawk, which was shot near the spring at the Great White Terrace at liotomaliana, and petrified where it fell.

The southern wing, however, may perhaps be regarded as the " eye " of the exhibition, coutaiuin" as it does a collection of geological specimens vast in quantity, unsurpassed in rarity, and representing the work of years of patient research and labor in all parts of the colony. Here are to be. found between 25,000 and 30,000 fossils and geological specimens, all either arranged or being arranged both according to species and localities ; and an idea of the varieties present may be gathered from the fact that there are type representatives numbering 3000, indicating the geological character of nearly 300 distinct localities, all of which are b-.ing numbered so as to be easy of reference for students and visitors. It would be impossible within the limits of a newspaper article to go into the details of this collection. The perfectly unique fossils of extinct reptiles are most valuable, and conspicuous amongst these are twenty-five species of Taniwhasaurus Oweni, which, however, form but a small part of the collection. Many large cases of the surplus specimens are, we believe, to be shipped to America and Europe in exchange for other articles. The collection of economic minerals and ores, which finds a resting place in a central case, is very fine. The gold case, containing over 160 specimens of alluvial "old in New Zealand, aud a large number of specimens of quartz, is of course an especially attractive feature. This is the same case that was sent to Philadelphia. The ground floor of the wiug is too small to accommodate the whole of the geological collection, and the | whole of the exhibits representative of tertiary formations are placed in the south gallery. The ethnological display in the main gallery is most interesting. In it there are upwards of 500 specimens, consisting to a great extent of the implements aud utensils of the Maori; but including also specimens of the stone a<'e in Scandinavian countries, Great Britain aud Ireland, and the Australian colonies. Plenty for food of study here, for it is no difficult matter to read in these quaintly-fashioned aud rudely-carved stones sermous eloquent aud striking on the mutability of human affairs and the civilising influence of Christianity. The southern gallery is devoted to the exhibition of industrial products. Therein is contained wool in all conditions of preparation for the market, aud specimens indicative of the various processes through which it passes after it has entered the mills of the manufacturer—teased, carded, spun and yarned wool, all meet the eye. Then side by side are placed the products of Nature and the handiwork of Art, aud colonial progress is exemplified by the presence of Nelson wool and Kelson tweed. Cotton and silk production and manufacture are likewise represented in every stage, from the cocoon to the dress stuff, in all varieties. Next come timbers of New Zealand and Australasia, and in connection with this department there is one case of specimens which will be of practical value directly, viz., a collection of ) named cones secured iu America by Dr. Hector, and which will be useful for identifying in the future the peculiar varieties of conifera which are now being imported iu large quantities. In the centre of the Museum downstairs will be placed a type collection, including a description of animals, classified according to order and species for purposes of reference. The Maori house, no longer required for meeting purposes, is to be adorned with trophies of moa feathers, canoe heads, and a variety of articles, which will add to its antique curiosities. It may be added that the furniture and fittings of the Museum are of an ornate and valuable character, many of the glass cases having but lately arrived from England and America; and it is also to be remarked that there are at the present time three or four shipments on the sea for the Museum, which were selected by Dr. Hector when at Home.