NEW ZEALAND HALL

Wairarapa Times-Age, 27 February 1939, Page 8

NEW ZEALAND HALL

AIM OF AMERICAN MUSEUM. MATERIAL BEING GATHERED. It is the intention of the American Museum of Natural History, New York, to prepare a “Hall of New Zealand/’ according to Dr William K. Gregory, head of the departments of fish and comparative anatomy at the museum, who has been in the Dominion gathering material for this purpose since January 20, and who has been visiting Christchurch. He intends to remain till March, and is engaged, he stated, in obtaining ideas rather than actual specimens, although he is securing some of these as well. The intention of the museum, according to Dr Gregory, is to illustrate every phase of New Zealand life and history from its geological origins to its present social and political significance, in seven stages. “It will afford Americans a great opportunity of getting to know New Zealand better,” he said. “It will enable them to take a keen interest in the country, and it may be the means of inducing more of them to visit the Dominion. “The matter has been receiving very favourable attention from the Government officials in Wellington, and they have given me very valuable advice and assistance.” SEVEN STAGES OF DOMINION. The hall will take several years to prepare, but when it is finished it will give a very complete picture of the Dominion. The seven divisions of the exhibition are called chapters, and they aim to give a connected story of New Zealand to the visitor. The first chapter deals with the geological origins of New Zealand, showing in simple terms how the land was formed, the sediment deposits, and the volcanic eruptions which moulded the country into its present shape. The second chapter will deal with the early development of plants, birds, ] and the tuatara. The third will show , the coming of the Maoris, with attention to the places from which they came. Chapter lour will illustrate the colonisation of New Zealand by the European, and will show the early struggles and the methods by which the country was brought to its present state. Chapter five will deal with the “Wars of New Zealand,” treating of the Maori War and the part played by the Dominion in the Great War. The number of war memorials in the Dominion will be used to show the deep impression made. , ' i The sixth chapter is to be entitled “The Age of Peace and Plenty,” and it aims to show how, although man has to a large extent wasted the natural resources of the country, science has come to his aid in agriculture and industry. The seventh chapter will be called “The Place of New Zealand in the Family of Nations.” It will deal with the relation between New Zealand and Britain and the Empire. It will also show the contributions made by New Zealand to progress such as improvement in social conditions, her political contacts, and other aspects of her relationship with the rest of the world.

Dr Gregory is also studying deep sea fish while in New Zealand in association With the American scientific expedition under Mr Michael Lerner, which is now working at Mayor Island.