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THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. 



Mui^t'uins as scientific institutions, the 

 exhibits specially selected and arranged 

 for the instruction of the public and the 

 advancement of knowledge, and, general- 

 ly speaking, sujDported by public funds, 

 ai'e comparatively modern. 



Now the iirst consideration in estab- 

 lishing a museum is that it should have 

 some aim, and the next is that ample 

 means should be forthcoming to enable 

 it to carry out. its services in a j^roper 

 and creditable fashion. Buildings, eases, 

 and exhibits alone do not constitute a 

 museum. A highly skilled staff, suitably 

 equipped, are an essential, for a museum 

 re(iuires constant and vigilant attention. 

 It cannot stagnate; it must either go 

 forward or decay, and the funds neces- 

 sary » to enable it to satisfactorily dis- 

 charge its responsibilities are rarely ade- 

 quate. Specimens, and series of them, 



are necessary to enable the naturalist to 

 unravel the story, or problems, connect- 

 ed with them. And then there is the 

 "man in the street" to be catered for. 

 Series, though of great value, possess 

 little interest for him, but for his es- 

 pecial benefit there are the gi'oup ex- 

 hibits displaying objects in their natural 

 surroundings, or habitat. Now the ob- 

 taining of these means money, and the 

 preparation of the groups more money, 

 but, thanks to the generosity and kindly 

 interest of friends, there will be several 

 new displays of this kind added to our 

 galleries before long. To us it is a 

 great satisfaction to find that our efforts 

 are api^reciated in such a practical 

 fashion, and we feel sure that the ex- 

 hibits thus acquired, besides conveying 

 so much \isual instruction to our visi- 

 tors, will afford keen gratification to 

 their donors. 



Notes and News. 



Mr. C. Hedley, Principal Keeper of 

 Collections, returned on 16th August 

 from a five months' trip to the Canadian 

 Koekies. He was fortunate enough to 

 get as far north as Alaska, where he 

 had an opportunity of viewing the mid- 

 night sun. 



.Mr. A. R. McCulloch, Zoologist, left 

 on August 29th to join Captain Frank 

 Hurley's expedition to New Guinea and 

 the Barrier Reef. The party is well 

 equipped for scientific work, and have 

 two sea-planes at their disposal with 

 which they hope to make an aerial sur- 

 vey of some little-known parts of Papua. 

 The expedition will be absent for two or 

 three months. 



-Mr. H. 0. Fletcher, of the Museum 

 staff, accompanied Mr. G. H. Halligan's 

 expedition to Lake Eyre, and was away 

 from 26th July till 22nd August. It 

 was the intention of the party to launch 

 a boat on the lake from the Frome River 

 and take soundings and collect samples 

 of the water, and the lake deposits, but, 

 unfortunately, the Frome was dry, and 

 as far as the eye could reach the lake 

 v.as covered with a crust of salt. Mr. 

 Fletcher, however, made notes on the 



bird life in the neighbourhood of Mar- 

 ree, and obtained a number of interest- 

 ing photographs. 



Mr.. A. F. Basset Hull, Honorary Or- 

 nithologist, accompanied by Mr. A. A. 

 Livingstone, of the Department of 

 Lower Invertebrates, made a three 

 weel^' visit to the south coast of Queens- 

 laud in the end of August and the be- 

 ginning of September, and secured an 

 extensive collection of marine inverte- 

 brates. 



In the end of August a party from 

 the Zoological Department of the Uni- 

 versity of Sydney, led by Acting-Profes- 

 sor L. Harrison, made a short biological 

 survey of the Myall Lakeg district and 

 kindly invited two members of the 

 Museum staff, Mr. A. Musgrave, Ento- 

 mologist, and Mr. W. Barnes, Assistant 

 Taxidermist, to accompany the party. A 

 number of interesting marsupials, ro- 

 dents, birds, and insects were obtained 

 for the Museum collections. 



Mr. Ernest Bryee, who has always 

 shown a kindly interest in our doings, 

 recently left on a world tour to places 

 off the beaten track. With characteris- 

 tic courtesy he has offered to render us 

 any service that may be in his power. 



