Haast. — On the Early History of the Canterbury Museum. 605 



minerals, of which some were of great rarity and beauty. On 12th August 

 of the same year (1862) the cast of the skeleton of Palapteryx ingens arrived 

 from Europe, which I also presented to the Museum. It was constructed 

 and purchased from Dr. Jaeger, of Vienna, an eminent German palaeon- 

 tologist, from bones dug out in a cave in Nelson. 



Although we possessed at that time already a small number of moa 

 bones, mostly collected in Nelson, we were then greatly rejoiced at obtaining 

 this cast, and we little dreamt that a few years later the Canterbury Museum 

 would be able to boast of possessing a collection of moa skeletons unrivalled 

 by any other museum. I also remember, when I visited about that time 

 Mr. E. F. Gray, at Avon-head, and after much persuasion, in which I was 

 assisted by the Rev. Canon Wilson, he gave me some leg bones of Dinar nis 

 maxinius, that I felt very proud of their possession, and thought that we had 

 obtained a real treasure. 



Besides the geological specimens obtained during my journeys, a large 

 herbarium and a number of bird-skins and invertebrates were collected, so 

 that a fair beginning was made. 



I find in looking over my notes that the first presentation to the Museum 

 was made by Mr. C. J. Tripp, of a Nestor notabilis, in August, 1861. The 

 next two of which I can find a record are a bird-skin (a shining cuckoo) by 

 Mr. 0. Dunnage, and a polished stone implement found under the root of a 

 large tree in Wellington, presented by our member Mr. George Hart, then 

 hving in Wellington. 



The first exchange was made with Mr. W. L. Buller, on 28th July, 1862, 

 of a kea {Nestor notabilis), of which I had obtained a series during my 

 journey to the Mount Cook region, for the skin of a Mantell's kiwi [Apteryx 

 mantelli). In the session of the Provincial Council in 1863, the attempt was 

 made to obtain a vote for the building of a museum, but without success. 

 I then made an arrangement with the Provincial Government to give up 

 the two rooms hitherto occupied, if the funds necessary for the fittings of a 

 museum could be obtained. The Provincial Council voting £300 for the 

 purpose, I vacated my offices for those formerly occupied by the Commis- 

 sioner of Police. 



Mr. R. L. Holmes, the Meteorological Registrar of the Province, was at 

 that time appointed clerk to the Museum, and all my spare time was devoted 

 to the arrangement and classification of the collections. Catalogues were 

 prepared, and all seemed to promise a speedy opening of the Museum for 

 daily public inspection, when the Provincial Government, being in immediate 

 want of accommodation, requested me to give up my new offices and return 

 to the former, and thus the opening of the Museum was unavoidably post- 

 poned. The show-cases obtained for the £300 consisted of a number of 

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