292 



THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. 



Hoisting the canoe — a difficult task. Tlie window 



opening only allowed about an inch clearance on 



either side. 



[Photo. — A. Mitsijrare. 



tinguishable, so much would they re- 

 semble the island reefs. The marauders 

 dearly loved to take a village by sur- 

 prise at da\Mi and, ]iosting sentinels 



at the exits of each house, thej" 

 would tomahawk their victims as 

 they attempted to escape. Or 

 ])erhaps they would engage in a 

 friendly transaction mth the in- 

 habitants, trading or bimng 

 slaves, and then suddenly turn 

 upon their hosts. In this manner, 

 whole villages were occasionally 

 destroyed. These slaves, generally 

 speaking, were well treated ; but 

 when a sacrifice was required to 

 celebrate the launching of a new 

 canoe, or something equally im- 

 portant, they supplied it. 



Special houses were constructed 

 in which the canoes were kept, and 

 they were regarded as '"tambu," 

 or sacred, and reserved for men 

 only. In them were also kept the 

 heads of the poor unfortunates who 

 made the sacrifice. 



As raiding and head-hunting 

 expeditions are now sternly dis- 

 countenanced by the authorities, 

 the need for these war-canoes is 

 fast disappearing, and the time 

 is not far distant when they 

 will be no longer manufactured, and 

 the art of ship-building in the Solomons 

 will die with those who, living to-day, 

 alone understand it. 



Prize Essay Competition. 



Mr. George A. Taylor has generously 

 presented five guineas to be a\\ arded as 

 a prize for the best essay by a pupil of a 

 New South Wales school, the subject 

 being " A Visit to the Australian 

 Museum." The competitors, who must 

 be between the ages of twelve and 

 sixteen on 1st March, 1924, may select 

 any department or may write a general 



account of the whole institution, the 

 essay to contain 1500 to 2000 words. 

 Teachers are asked to select the three 

 best essays by pupils of their s.hool and 

 forward them to the Director of the 

 Australian Museum on or before ]\Iarch 

 1st, 1924. The successful essay will 

 be published in The Australian 

 Museum Magazine. 



