70 



Industrial Research did materialise, and in 1947 my new life 

 started. At first I had only one room, then more space was made 

 available, and eventually the University agreed to have a separate 

 Department of Ichthyology. This is now housed in one of the 

 original military buildings, whose present contents would cer- 

 tainly startle those who lived there first. This is a curious and 

 probably unique department, whose chief support comes from 

 the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. 



At the time now described (1946), we had little in our heads but 

 the growing 'book', but although this was more than enough to 

 occupy our full time, the Coelacanth was never out of our minds. 

 With the passing of the active phase of the war, from all parts of 

 the world odd letters had begun to come in — Coelacanth I 

 Eventually, in October 1946, I wrote to the President of the 

 C.S.I.R., and said that as interest in the Coelacanth was reviving, 

 it was inevitable that a search for more would be started, and it 

 was naturally expected that South Africa should take the initiative. 



He replied by return, expressing approval and suggesting 

 immediate steps to further the project. I submitted a more 

 detailed memorandum, and eventually a small committee was 

 nominated by the C.S.I.R. to go into the matter. 



In March 1947 the following notice was issued to the press: 



LATIMERIA CH ALUMNAE 



The discovery of a living Coelacanthid Fish in South African 

 waters, off East London, at the end of 1938, is an event still in the 

 forefront of the minds of biologists. The published account of the 

 mounted animal is as exhaustive as the material permitted, but all 

 zoologists desire information about the soft parts of the creature 

 which in this case were lost before they could be examined. The 

 outbreak of war put a stop to preparations for expeditions to seek 

 further specimens of this remarkable fish. 



Now that the war is over, general interest in this project has been 

 shown in various countries and in South Africa in particular. The 

 South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research has 

 appointed a committee to consider how best to organise a marine 

 expedition on a considerable scale. This expedition would aim not 

 only at securing more Coelacanths, but would also explore and 

 accumulate data in various fields of science in the relatively poorly 

 known region of the Mozambique Channel. 



