Jhe £mu 



(Dffirial ©rgan of the Jltistralasiait ©rnithologiets' Enion. 



" Bir^s of 21 featbcr.' 



Vol. II.] 1ST JANUARY, 1903. [Part 3. 



Australasian Ornithologists^ Union. 



MELBOURNE CONGRESS. 



The 1902 annual gathering of the Union (its second) was held 

 in Melbourne, the proceedings opening on 19th November with 

 a " Mutton-Bird dinner " at Miss Kissock's tea-rooms, Collins- 

 street. The well-served menu had for its leading item Short- 

 tailed Petrels ( Puffiu7is tenuirostris ) cooked in three different 

 ways. The reunion was in every respect a success.* 



After the dinner, Mr. A. H. C. Zietz, F.L.S. (South Australia), 

 one of the vice-presidents, took the chair. The minutes of the 

 Adelaide Congress were duly confirmed, on the motion of Mr. F. 

 R. Godfrey, seconded by Mr. G. E. Shepherd, and supported by 

 Messrs. A. Coles and A. J. Campbell, who alluded to the 

 necessity of reserves being proclaimed in the various States in 

 which native birds might breed. The hon. secretary read a brief 

 report of the work done by the Council of the Union during the 

 year, enumerating, amongst other items, the amendment of the 

 schedule under the Game Act in Victoria, so as to afford further 

 protection to the bird life of that State ; the endeavour to secure 

 better protection for the Cape Barren Goose ; and an effort 

 which was being made to have one of the islands of the 

 Family Group off the coast of North Queensland proclaimed 

 a reserve as a breeding place for the Nutmeg Pigeon. The 

 report having been received, the names of new members 

 since the previous congress were submitted and approved. The 

 hon. treasurer (Mr. Robert Hall) then read the balance-sheet, 

 which showed, after deducting amounts paid in advance by 

 members, the payment of some £60 for the printing of TJie 

 Emu, and a further sum for incidental expenses, a credit balance 



*Those present were — Mrs. J. S. Hutchinson, Miss A. F. M'Haffie, Messrs. E. L. 

 Barrett, A. Cole, A. J. Campbell, T. G. Campbell, F. R. Godfrey, R. Hall, H. 

 Kendall, D. Le Souef, C.M.Z.S., S. Le Souef, F. W. Littler, C. F. Ladwig, 

 E. H. Lane, A. Mattingley, J. W. Mellor, Morton, D. Macdonald, G. E. 

 Shepherd, A. Zietz, C.M.Z.S., R. Zietz. 



