XXXV111 



INTEODUCTION. 





divergent spurs and the intervening wooded valleys. The white-tipped tail-feathers of this beautiful bird 

 have been from time immemorial the chief adornment of Maori chiefs as head-plumes ; and an incident 

 connected therewith, in ancient times, led to the adoption of the name by the great ancestors of the Ngatihuia 

 Tribe. As Ministers are aware, when selecting a Maori name for my infant son, to commemorate his New 

 Zealand birth, I was induced, for several considerations, to give this name the preference over all others sub- 

 mitted to me ; and I should therefore accept it as a compliment to my family if Ministers would exercise the 

 power they possess, and throw over this bird the shield of Government protection. I ask this the more 

 readily on the ground that I have been moved to do so by the chiefs of the Ngatihuia Tribe. At the public 

 function at Otaki, on the 12th September last, when I had the pleasure of presenting my son to the assembled 

 tribes, a number of very complimentary speeches were made by the leading chiefs, and one of them, in 

 referring to the name, said, " There, yonder, is the snow-clad Buahine Eange, the home of our favourite bird. 

 We ask you, Governor, to restrain the pakehas from shooting it, that when your boy grows up he may see 

 the beautiful bird which bears his name." The Huia loves the deep shade of the forest, and as its home is in- 

 vaded by the settler's axe it would, if protected from reckless destruction, simply retire higher up the 

 wooded ranges, till it finally took refuge in the permanent forest reserve, which embraces all the wooded 

 mountain-tops within its natural domain. Under vigilant protection, therefore, the Huia would have every 

 chance of being preserved and perpetuated. 



This earnest appeal from Her Majesty's representative happily proved effective, and a procla- 

 mation at once appeared in the New Zealand Gazette, extending the provisions of the ' Wild 

 Birds Protection Act ' to the Hnia. 



As to the island-sanctuaries, the original proposal was not merely to protect the birds 

 already existing on the two reserves, notably the Stitchbird and the Whitehead on the Little 

 Barrier, and the Notomis, the Kiwi, and the Kakapo on Kesolution Island; but that many 

 other birds then living on the mainland, although becoming scarcer every year, should be 

 systematically trapped from time to time and turned loose upon the islands. In addition to a 

 further supply of Kiwis and Kakapos, the birds specially marked out for these attentions 

 were the Huia (Heteralocha acutirostris) and the Blue-wattled Crow (Glaucojns wilsoni) in 

 the North Island; and the Thick-billed Thrush (Tumagra crassirostris) and the Orange- 

 wattled Crow (6-laucopis cinerea) in the South Island. As pointed out, this could be done then, 

 and at comparatively trifling cost, but that every year it would become more difficult. 



All over the scientific world the action of the Government in this matter has been applauded. 

 The efforts now being made, whether in the end completely successful or not, will in any case 

 save us from the reproaches of posterity. If they should prove successful, as I believe they will, 

 I venture to think that this service to science will bring credit and praise to the present 

 Government when many of their more ambitious schemes and projects have been buried and 



forgotten. 



I regard with extreme satisfaction this gradual awakening to the fact that we have animal 

 and vegetable forms of life indigenous to the country which ought to be protected and cherished, 

 that we have bush scenery of matchless beauty that ought to be preserved, and that, new as our 

 record is, we have sites of ' pas ' and other places of historic interest that ought, at any cost, to be 

 handed down unimpaired to those who will come after us. That this growing feeling is becoming- 

 part of our national life must surely delight every true lover of New Zealand.* The various 



* To show that I am not overstating the scenic attractions, amongst others, of the .Colony, I quote here from an article 

 that appeared in the ' British Empire Keview ' as recently as November last : " At this season ib is well to call attention 

 to New Zealand as a country which is unrivalled in the variety of its attractions and advantages to those who are con- 

 templating going abroad for the winter. The months from September to May comprise the spring, summer, and 

 autumn seasons in that country. Possessing as it does a brilliant climate, sunny, yet invigorating to all born and bred 

 within the temperate zones, it is a land of beautiful and varied scenery, containing Alpine ranges, with great glaciers, 

 volcanoes, forests, river-gorges, lakes and fiords. It now affords first-rate sport to anglers and deer-stalkers. Its spas 

 and thermal-spring baths are unsurpassed in health-giving qualities, and excellent medical advice can be obtained by 



