42^ 



THE TANNA SPEAR-BECKET. 



By R. Etheridge, Junr., Curator op the Australian 

 Museum, Sydney. 



At a recent meeting I exhibited and described the Spear-beckets 

 of New Caledonia and the New Hebrides, and referred to the 

 use of these implements on the Islands of Tanna, Aneiteum, and 

 Efate in the latter group. At the same time I exhibited a 

 dravi'ing of the Tanna becket copied from the Rev. G. Turner's 

 illustration,* and another of the Aneiteum implement taken 

 from one kindly lent to me by the Rev. J. H. Lawrie. 



I am now able, through the kindness of Mr. W. R. Harper, to 

 exhibit an admirable example of the Tanna becket, received by 



him from the Rev. Dr. Macdonald, of Havannah Harbour, Efate, 

 who, in a letter to Mr. Harper, dated June 26th, 1899, says : — 

 "The becket or spear-thrower is, I believe, not known in Efate or 

 to the north. I wrote to Rev. W. Watt, of Port Resolution, 

 Tanna, and he has very kindly brought me a good specimen from 



* Nineteen Years in Polynesia, 1S61, p. 81. 



