Vol. 



,go6 J Obituary 'Notice, I 79 



scientific literature. His work was always most reliable, 

 and some of the theories he put forward were a distinct aid to 

 science. It was our fortune to have him as second president of 

 the Australasian Ornithologists' Union, to which position he 

 was elected for the years 1903-4 and 1904-5, in succession to 

 Colonel Legge, who did for the birds of India almost similar 

 work to what Captain Hutton did for those of New Zealand, 

 and, one might almost say, of the Australasian region. 



His first important ornithological work was a contribution to 

 The Ibis in 1864 on "The Birds Inhabiting the Southern 

 Ocean," which was referred to by Gould in his " Handbook to 

 the Birds of Australia." It is a strange coincidence that the 

 late Captain should have died on the Southern Ocean. 

 Captain Hutton's last bird articles were those he was good 

 enough to write for The Emu — namely, " Penguins " (vol. ii.. pp. 

 1-9); "The Cormorants of New Zealand " (vol. iii., pp. 1-8); 

 and his presidential address — "Geographical Origin and Sub- 

 sequent Development of the Land Birds of New Zealand " (vol. 

 iv., pp. 93-102). The last was a paper which afforded much 

 room for thought. 



Captain Hutton was one of the delegates of the A.O.U. at the 

 International Congress of Ornithologists held in London in 

 June. His last letter to Mr. Mattingley was from England, 

 dated 15th June, in which he stated he was unable to attend all 

 the meetings (probably through illness), and that he had left the 

 Union's business in the hands of Mr. F. M. Littler, of Tasmania. 



From the obituary notice written for the Dunedin Evening' 

 Star, I 1 1/05, by Ur. Charles Chilton, of the Canterbury Museum, 

 where the late Captain Hutton was Curator, it is learnt that our 

 late president was born in Lincolnshire in 1836, and played 

 many parts, and played them well. When 14 he was a mid- 

 shipman on a ship trading to Calcutta, but he soon left the sea, 

 and became a student at King's College, London. Before the 

 age of 20 he received a commission in the 23rd Royal Welsh 

 Fusileers, and soon saw active service in the Crimea, and 

 afterwards in India during the Indian Mutiny, where he was 

 present at the relief of Lucknow, under Sir Colin Campbell, and 

 in other engagements. His bent for science was already showing 

 itself in various ways, and in i860, on his return to England, 

 he was elected a Fellow of the Geological Society, and gained 

 considerable practical acquaintance with that science. For- 

 tunately for New Zealand, Captain Hutton turned his attention 

 to what was then a new sphere for research, and, retiring from 

 the army, arrived in that colony in 1866. Soon he became 

 attached to the Geological Survey of New Zealand, and com- 

 menced a series of researches into New Zealand geology, which 

 lasted, with some breaches of continuity, throughout his life. In 

 1 87 1 he was appointed Assistant Geologist, and left Auckland 



