Haast. — On the Early History of the Canterhury Museum. 507 



tion of Echinodermata, both recent and fossil, had been forwarded, and it 

 arrived in the latter part of that year. We also received a little later, for a 

 small cgllection of New Zealand bird-skins, a fine series of European skins 

 from the late George von Frauenfeld, the Director of the Imperial Zoologi- 

 cal Museum, Vienna. 



Thus, whilst accumulating material fi-om New Zealand and abroad, I 

 continued with the work of the geological survey in my old office, where 

 the walls were lined with cases, receiving here many visitors, who took an 

 interest in the collection hitherto brought together, or who wanted informa- 

 tion of various kinds. In August, 1864, when the first account of the con- 

 tents of the Museum was rendered to the Provincial Government, 5,860 

 specimens had already been catalogued. 



In the Intercolonial Exhibition of Otago, in the beginning of 1865, the 

 Canterbury Museum exhibited a large number of specimens both geological 

 and botanical, together with the geological section of the railway tunnel 

 between Lyttelton and Christchurch, as far as the work of construction had 

 advanced at that time. This section was illustrated by a number of rock 

 specimens ; this being the first instance that a tunnel was made through 

 the wall of an ancient crater, great interest was manifested by the scientific 

 visitors of that first New Zealand Exhibition. During my stay in Dunedin, 

 I made some excursions to the Otago goldfields, and brought a series of 

 specimens back with me, which still illustrate the rich localities where the 

 first rushes took place. During a journey, lasting about six months, in the- 

 newly discovered goldfields in West] and, which was then a part of Canter- 

 bury, I also collected in every direction, and besides a large series of geologi- 

 cal specimens, brought back with me a number of bird-skins and plants. 

 At my suggestion, the Provincial Government at the same time gave in- 

 structions to Mr. George Sale, their Commissioner at Hokitika, to purchase 

 samples of gold from the several principal claims, and to obtain with them 

 the wash-dirts from which the gold was derived, so as to have a record of 

 the rich ground then worked by a large number of miners, who had flocked 

 there from all parts of New Zealand and Australia. Having now obtained 

 a considerable quantity of New Zealand bird-skins, I looked out for a taxi- 

 dermist, whom I might entrust with setting them up. The late Mr. F. 

 Fuller having offered his services, I procured, not without some trouble, a 

 grant of ^625 from the Provincial Government on 3rd August, 1865, to make 

 a beginning. Fuller went to work with true enthusiasm, so that by December 

 25th he had already set up 130 specimens, and as a further sum was 

 granted to me, and the Philosophical Institute gave some help, I could also 

 send him out collecting, so that, at the same date, already 80 duplicates were 

 available for exchange. 



