MUSEUM AQUARIA 



EDGAR R. WAITE, F. L. S. 



Director, South Australian Museum 



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When I came to Adelaide three years 

 ago, one of my first unofficial moves was 

 to take steps to inaugurate an aquarium 

 in the Zoological Gardens, but the out- 

 break of the war put an end to the pro- 

 ject, at any rate for the time being. 



Having been an aquarist for many 

 years, I therefore next turned my atten- 

 tion to introducing "parlor aquaria" in 

 the museum itself, and having obtained 

 the necessary authority, I installed twenty 

 large electric accumulator jars. Ten win- 

 dows were available, and below each sill 

 a neat baseboard was bolted to the wall. 

 To place two jars side by side on a carpet 

 of felt was a simple matter, but some- 

 thing more than this is required in a 



public institution. 



In aquaria houses built for the pur- 

 pose, the vessels are quite shut off from 

 visitors, but in a museum, where the 

 glasses are as available as at our own 

 homes, some arrangement must be made 

 to prevent kindly-disposed people from 

 feeding the occupants with biscuit, lollies, 

 matches or tobacco. A statement as to 

 how this was managed may be of service 

 to others similarly situated, and perhaps 

 not unwelcome to some private owners 

 who find it difficult to say "please don't 

 touch." 



A light picture frame was made long 

 enough to just slip over the two vessels 

 placed side by side, but three inches more 



