170 



THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. 



l)osetl of to Messrs. Beaumont and Wal- 

 ler, who maintained a menagerie at Sir 

 Joseph Banks' Hotel, Botany Bay. One 

 of the understandings was that the ex- 

 hibits at death reverted to the Trustees. 



From time to time the Trustees were 

 favoured with varying amounts to en- 

 able them to extend and equip the build- 

 ings, to which since the year 1849 addi- 

 tions had been made. The western wing, 

 fronting College Street, was Imilt dur- 

 ing the 'Sixties. 



On tlie retirement of Mr. Wall in 

 1858, Mr. S. R. Pittard, M.R.C.S., was 

 appointed in his place. He took up his 

 duties in 1860, but his service was short, 

 for lie died in 1862. The question of 

 appointing his successor gave rise to 

 much argument. Both the Government 

 and Trustees claimed the right of ap- 

 pointment, which was eventually con- 

 ceded to the Trustees, and in 1864 Mr. 

 G. Krefit't was appointed to be followed 

 in 1874 by Dr. E. P. Ramsay. 



In 1877 the late Mr. Thos. Walker, of 

 Yaralla, made the generous donation of 

 the llargraves Collection of Shells. 

 Other notable gifts have been the Egyp- 

 tian Mummy case presented by Sir 

 Robt. Lucas-Tooth, Bart., and Mr. Dan- 

 gar's referred to below. 



The year 1878 saw many changes. The 

 galleries were made available to the pub- 



lie on Sunday afternoons and on week- 

 day forenoons also. The groundwork 

 for the establishment of the Technologi- 

 cal Museum was laid. In 1882 the in- 

 stitution suffered a, heavy loss in the 

 Garden Palace Exhibition fire and the 

 entire exhibit of ethnology, together with 

 the nucleus of the collection intended 

 for the projected Technological Museum, 

 was reduced to ashes. With great dili- 

 gence the Tiiistees, ably assisted by Dr. 

 Ramsay, applied themselves to making 

 a fresh start, and so successful were 

 they that additions had to be made to 

 the museum, and the Technological 

 Museum was opened to the public at the 

 close of 1883. 



In 1894 the late Mr. R. Etheridge, 

 Junr., was appointed Curator and it was 

 during his earlier years that so much 

 attention was given to the collecting of 

 Cook relies and documents. In referring 

 to this, mention should be made of the 

 generous donation from the late Mr. F. 

 H. Dangar, of Cook's M.S. Journal, 

 which fonns one of the institution's pro- 

 minent exhibits. In 1897 the building of 

 the South Wing was begun, and by its 

 completion in 1910 that useful and ne- 

 cessary adjunct, the lecture theatre, was 

 made available, and space was also pro- 

 vided for the proper display of the in- 

 teresting and instructive ethnological 

 and osteological collections. 



His Excellency Sir AValter Davidson, 

 attended by Mr." G. F. Blandy, A.D.C. 

 was present at Dr. J. V. Danes' lecture, 

 "Travels in North Queensland," de- 

 livered in the Museum on August 31st. 

 The lecture was illustrated by a superb 

 series of slides, coloured and plain. 



Sir James Barrett, K.B.E.. M.D., 

 F.R.C.S., lectured on "National Parks 

 and Memorials to Explorers" on Sep- 

 tember 13tli. The lecturer explained the 

 work of the Victorian National Parks 

 Association and its efforts to perpetuate 

 the memories of explorers and pioneers. 

 I'he values of a national park as a re- 

 serv'e for our indigenous fauna and flora 

 were also dealt witli. During the lec- 



ture a fine cinema film was shown, de- 

 picting birdlife in Bass Strait. 



By the death of Mr. Charles Robin- 

 son on July 13th last this institution 

 suffered the loss of a link connecting it 

 with the times of fifty years ago. The 

 deceased was secretary here from 1874 

 to 1879, then being appointed by the 

 late Sir Henry Parkes as secretary to 

 the New South Wales Commission of 

 the Philadelphia International Exhibi- 

 tion, and later selected to organise the 

 Parliamentary Hansard staff, whicli he 

 commanded until a few years ago. It 

 was our pleasure to receive him a few 

 weeks before his demise, and conduct 

 him through the institution with which 

 he had been so intimatelv associated. 



