THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. 



THE SCOPE AND WORK OF THE 

 AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. 



By THE EDITOR. 



A museum may be broadly defined as a 

 repository for objects illustrating the works 

 of man, past and present, the natural his- 

 tory of living things, and the structure and 

 composition of the earth's crust ; in short, 

 it is a storehouse for the works of art and 

 of nature. In practice, however, it is found 

 convenient to sub-divide this vast field into 

 various smaller domains, and, in Sydney, 

 for example, we find these collections dis- 

 tributed between the Public and Municipal 

 Libraries, the Art Gallery, and five 

 Museums, each with its appropriate 

 contents. 



Omitting the historical and numismatical 

 sections, which are more limited in extent, 

 the collections stored in the Australian 

 Museum fall into four main groups : — 



1. Zoological Exhibits, illustrating the 

 animal kingdom as it exists to-day. 



2. Palreontological ; the animals and 

 plants of bygone ages (fossils). 



3. Ethnological ; the life and works of 

 prehistoric and primitive races of man. 



4. Mineralogical ; the naturally occur- 

 ring inorganic substances. 



In each of these groups special promin- 

 ence is given to Australian representatives. 



The question may be asked : Why should 

 we wish to assemble and preserve these 

 objects? The answer is twofold. In the 

 first place, they form the subject matter on 

 which present knowledge is based, and the 

 material by use of which future workers 

 may still further extend the bounds of 

 knowledge. Secondly, when properly dis- 

 played, they contribute to the wonder, plea- 

 sure, and instruction of the public. These 

 two sentences epitomise the whole aim and 

 object of museums and museum work; it 

 now remains to show how our institution in 

 particular tries to fulfil its mission. 



If natural history objects are to be of 

 any scientific service, they must be correctly 

 named and classified. For this purpose the 

 various branches included in the work of 

 the museum are placed in charge of 

 specialists, most of whom have had many 

 years' training and experience in the 

 museum itself. These experts form the 

 scientific staff, on whose ability and indus- 

 try the success of the museum as a scien- 

 tific institution largely depends. Then 

 comes the work of preserving the speci- 

 mens for future reference, and cataloguing 

 and storing them, so that they may be 

 readily accessible for purposes of studv. 

 Most natural history specimens are perish- 

 able, and special materials and methods 



* A more extended account of museum work 

 in general, and of the scope and work of the 

 Australian Museum in particular, will be found 

 in an address by the President. Dr. T. Storie 

 Dixson, delivered June 10, 19 ig (printed by order 

 of the Trustees, iqio). 



must be used if they are not to degenerate 

 into useless rubbish. For it must be 



rememi)ered that these collections are not 

 for today only, but for posterity also, and 

 that the museum holds them in trust for 

 the whole scientific world. 



I would emphasise the importance of 

 museums as places for the acquisition and 

 diffusion of knowledge, for, to the casual 

 visitor, the exhibition galleries are the 

 museum, and the uniformed attendants, 

 performing their useful and necessary 

 tasks as caretakers and cleaners, are the 

 staff. It may surprise many to learn that 

 the collections stored away are, perhaps, as 

 extensive as those on exhibition. The 

 needs of the student are different from 

 those of the ordinary museum visitor, who 

 would but be confused and dismayed by 

 the display of row after row of specimens 

 showing apparently little or no variation. 

 To the student and the specialist, such 

 series are invaluable ; without them he 

 would not be able to unravel the many 

 intricate problems of evolution and varia- 

 tion, of geographical distribution, seasonal 

 changes, and the relationship of species. 

 When not employed in routine work, the 

 members of our scientific staff are patiently 

 engaged with microscope, dissecting knife, 

 and test-tube, endeavouring to elucidate 

 the structure, form and coinposition of the 

 objects under their charge, and the results 

 of their researches are issued in the 

 Museum publications, or in the pages of 

 scientific periodicals. Then, too, one will 

 often find in our workrooins some kindred 

 spirit, who is not a member of tlie staff, 

 and may have come froiu some neighbour- 

 ing State, or from overseas, to consult our 

 collections and our library, which contains 

 a fine assemlilage of works and journals 

 on natural history and ethnology , with 

 special reference to Australia. A foreign 

 so7'ant journeys to our shores, and expects 

 to find, and does find, the type specimens 

 and records which he wishes to examine 

 in connection with his special researches. 

 The scientific workers in other institutions. 

 such as the Lhiiversity, gladly avail them- 

 selves of the treasures stored in College 

 Street, and the Museum authorities as 

 gladly place these treasures at their 

 disposal. 



Scarcely a day passes which does not 

 bring several callers, or letters, seeking in- 

 formation. Answering such enquiries is an 

 important and essential brancli of museutu 

 work, and, although the museuiu is. in the 

 first instance, a purely scientific institution, 

 many of the subjects on which information 

 is sought touch on matters of economic 

 importance, and may relate to insect pests, 

 the habits and specific distinctions of fishes 



