﻿Otago Institute. 413 



Election of Officers for Year ending 30th June, 1872 : President 



His Honour Mr. Justice Chapman ; Vice-Presidents— R. Gillies, T. Hocken, 

 M.KC.S.E. ; Council— W. N. Blair, E. B. Cargill, S. Hawtliorne, M.A., 

 J. McKerrow, G. S. Sale, M.A., J. T. Thomson, F. KG. S., P. Thomson; 

 Honorary Secretary — D, Brent ; Honorary Treasurer — J. S. Webb. 



Fourth Meeting. \Wh Septemher, 1871. 

 T. M. Hocken, M.KC.S.E., Yice-President, in the chair. 



This was the first meeting of the Society held in the Otago Museum. 

 The objects necessary to illustrate the papers to be read had been gathered 

 into the Botanical Room, which being large, and containing no table cases, is 

 well adapted for the purpose of meetings. 



New members. — Mrs. Burn, Professor Shand, D. Ross, Mr. Jennings. 



1. "On Recent Moa Remains in New Zealand," by James Hector, M.D., 

 F.R.S. (See Transactions, p. 110.) 



Mr. J, S. Webb explained that this paper had been held back with the 

 view of getting additional information from a late discovery of Moa remains 

 in Otago, which, however, had not yet been obtained ; also, that some of the 

 matter contained in it had already been forwarded to a scientific periodical, 

 but that none of it had been read before any scientific society. 



2. " Notes on Moa Remains," by W. D. Miirison. (See Tratisactions, 

 p. 120.) 



Mr. Gillies mentioned, as a proof that the Moa had survived in this island 

 till a comparatively recent period, that old whalers, here in the early days of 

 the settlement, used to say that they had seen dogs gnawing the bones of the 

 Moa. The absence of traditions among the Maoris here on this subject could 

 be accounted for by the fact that those who lived here were slaves, were not 

 descended from the old inhabitants, and knew little or nothing of the country. 



Mr. Alexander Bathgate said that he was at Clyde soon after the Moa 

 neck, referred to by Dr. Hector, had been found. Dr. Thomson had,shown it 

 to him, and also a pelvis and sternum, foiind in the same place as the neck. 

 From what he could judge as to the size of the bird of which these bones had 

 formed part, and from the information given by the miner who found the 

 pelvis as to the height, from the floor of the cave, of the lower surface of the 

 rock under which he had found it, and under which the other bones had also 

 been found, he concluded that such a bird could not have got under the rock 

 easily. It must have either crawled in, or perhaps the rock might have after- 

 wards fallen upon it. The miner who found the Moa neck chanced to do so 



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