HISTORY AND OBJECTS OF THE MINING AND 

 GEOLOGICAL MUSEUM. 



The Mining and Geological Museum has been practically History, 

 co-existent ^vith the Department of Mines. The charge of the 

 Museum is one of the duties of the Mineralogist attached to 

 the Greological Survey, who is responsible to the Grovernment 

 Geologist. The Museum is open, free, between the hours of 

 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on every day of the year, other than Sundays, 

 Christmas Day, and Good Friday. 



The institution first occupied premises in Toung-street, 

 Sydney, and was opened to the public on 6th March, 1876. In. 

 1881 the collections were removed to the Exhibition Buildings 

 in the Inner Domain, and, when just ready for opening, were 

 entirely consumed in the Garden Palace fire on September 22^ 

 1882. Some fifty thousand specimens, including most of the Eev. 

 "VV". B. Clarke's invaluable collections, library, and manuscripts,, 

 were lost. A small temporary structure having been erected at 

 the back of the Geological Survey ofiices, 233, Macquarie-street,. 

 the nucleus of a new collection was got together and opened to- 

 the public in 1886. Up to this time, and till the end of 1892,. 

 tlie Museum was under the care of Mr. J. E. Carne, E.G.S.,. 

 to whose enthusiasm much of the success of the institution is- 

 due. In 189B an opportunity of obtaining the more commodious- 

 premises now occupied Avas afforded by the removal of the 

 Technological Museum collections from the galvanized-iron build- 

 ing, formerly used in connection with the Sydney Exhibition, 

 situated in the Inner Domain, at the back of the Sydney 

 Hospital. The accommodation provided is, however, still in- 

 adequate. An area of about 5750 square feet was partitioned 

 off for a Public Museum, the remainder of the building being 

 required for work-rooms. The Museum was opened in May, 

 1894, by the Hon. T. Slattery, then Minister for Mines. Mosb 

 of the collections are now registered, classified and neatly — if 

 temporarily — labelled. 



