( 176B ) 



NEW SOUTH WALES. 



(See Plan, p, 140.) 



THE following introductory remarks are taken from the special catalogue of the New South 

 Wales Exhibits : 



" The greater portion of the exhibits in the N. S. Wales Court have been liberally supplied 

 by the Trustees of the Australian Museum, at the request of the Commissioners N. S. Wales 

 Fisheries, having been specially prepared by the skilled taxidermists of that institution, the 

 Commissioners themselves undertaking, through their energetic Secretary, Mr. Lindsay 

 Thomson, the preserving of the tinned fish and oysters, and procuring from the various beds 

 the large and interesting collection of Oysters displayed in the Court, as well as the fishing- 

 boat, nets, and lines, the fish-oils, the photographs and oil paintings of the food-fishes, with 

 many other interesting articles mentioned in the Catalogue. 



" The notes appended to each of the different samples of oysters have been collated from the 

 reports sent with each to the Commissioners by the Inspectors and Sub-inspectors of the various 

 leased beds in the colony of New South Wales. 



" One of the most marked features in the fish-fauna of the Australian Seas is the almost 

 entire absence of the Cod tribe (Gaddidee), a family among which the Codfish itself, the Ling, 

 the Haddock, the English Whiting, the Hake, &c., supply such immense quantities of valuable 

 food, and afford so much employment to thousands of human beings in the Old and New 

 Worlds. This want is, howevei:, amply supplied by members of other families, such as the 

 Mugillidso, Sciamidso, and Carangidcc, which visit the Australian shores in vast shoals. From 

 among these, fisheries might be formed, which, if carried on under efficient management, 

 experience, and skill, with a comparatively small expenditure would in the future bid fair to 

 rival the largest and most important in the world. Unfortunately there are at present no 

 fish-curing or canning establishments in New South Wales. 



* With the exception of one species, Retropinna richardsonii, Gill, a species not used for 

 food, the Salmonidse are naturally absent, but this family has been so successfully introduced 

 into the Tasmanian water?, that it is highly probable, ere long, even Salmon will form an 

 important article of export. 



With regard to the Clupeidsc (the Herrings, Pilchards, Sprats, and Anchovies), the species 

 of this family arc very numerous, and occur in quite as large shoals as in any other part of the 

 world. 



" When the MugillidsD, the most valuable for canning purposes, but which only occur at a 

 certain season of the year, are gone, there are many other families the members of which are 

 also found in immense quantities, for instance, the SciamidiB : Scixna antarctica and Otolithus 

 atelodm ; the Sparida) : Cltrysophrys australis, C. sarba, Girella tricuspidata, G. simplex, and 

 Pagrus unicolor : the Carangidoo : Seriola lalandii, S. gigas, S. grandis, Temnodon solicitor : 

 the Scombresocida) : Hemirhamphus inter medius and If. regularis; the Scombrida), which 

 include the Mackerels : Scomber australasicus, S. colias Thynnus pclamys ; the Traohinidju : 

 Sillago ciliata, S. maculata, S. bassensis all of which occur at various seasons of the year, and, 

 being obtainable in large quantities, would afford lucrative employment to hundreds of men, 

 women, and children, and food for thousands. 



" Moreover, with more experience and knowledge of the proper trawling-grounds, still 

 further sources of supply will arise. 



" At present, a great difficulty is the proper preservation of fish after their capture for 

 transit inland and elsewhere. This arises from the heat of the climate, the scarcity of ice, and 

 the want of efficiently constructed and swift boats for transit. Doubtless such wants will in 

 due course be remedied, as the demand for fish-food is daily on the increase. 



