REPOET FOE THE TEAE 1901. 219 



The Trustees having decided to fill a long-felt want by the 

 appointment of a special Mechanical Assistant to the Curator, to 

 relieve me of a large amount of necessary but tedious work, Mr. 

 W. W. Thorpe, an Attendant in the Museum, was in February 

 selected from amongst very many applicants, and it affords me 

 much pleasure to report that the Trustees' choice has been fully 

 justified by the cordial assistance I have received from him. To 

 fill the vacancy thus caused amongst the Attendants, J. C. Oullen 

 was promoted from the position of Labourer. This caused a 

 further vacancy, and to fill it T. Corrigall, who possessed strong 

 recommendations, was selected. It was, however, with feelings 

 of unfeigned regret that it became my duty to report to the 

 Trustees the death of Mr. Corrigall, on 8th July, from meningitis 

 supervening on typhoid fever. Although occupying but a humble 

 position in our service, Mr. Corrigall was worthy of far higher 

 employment, and had he been spared I have not the slightest 

 doubt he would have risen rapidly in the Trustees' service, for 

 which he was qualifying himself by hard study, in fact his 

 illness was intensified through this cause. The vacancy thus 

 caused was immediately filled by the appointment of S. H. 

 Minnis. 



The necessary funds having been voted by Parliament for 

 the employment of a second Mechanical Assistant, Mr. Allan R. 

 McCulloch, who for the past two years had been voluntarily 

 assisting Mr. E. R. Waite, was selected for appointment as soon 

 as the funds should be available by the passing of the Appropria- 

 tion Act. 



Another volunteer Assistant (Mr. H. L. Kesteven) afforded 

 very valuable and disinterested help throughout the year in the 

 Conchological Section. 



Structural Details. 



The two half-galleries of the new South Wing, as anticipated 

 in my 1900 report, were completed by Mr. J. Howie, Contractor, 

 within the specified time, and were handed over to the Department 

 of Public Works in March, and by the latter to the Trustees on 

 the 17th April. These half-galleries are each eighty -eight feet 

 long by forty-five feet wide, with an approximate height of twenty- 

 five feet. The lower is lit by windows from the side, placed at 

 such a height as to permit a clear run of wall cases to be erected 

 beneath them without recourse to the pernicious system of bays. 

 The upper gallery is lit from above on the lantern principle. The 

 north and south walls are of "Sydney Sandstone," the east and 

 west being merely temporary ends of brick. The first floor consists 

 of eighteen inches of coke concrete on the back of traegerioellbleck 

 iron, followed by encaustic tiles set in cement. The second floor 

 is formed by filling in with terra-cotta lumber, eight inches thick, 



