EDITED by C. ANDERSON, M.A., D.Sc
EDITED BY C. ANDERSON, M.A., D.Sc:.
Centenary of the Australian Museum The Largest Crab • • Franle A. MoNeiU Rare New Zealand Birds • - Mr8. Ptm~ Moncrie// Sharks • ... · G. P . Whitley Pottery W. W. Tlwrpe The Sawfish .. G. P . Whitley The Story of the Notot heria • H. B . Scott The Barrlnaton Tops District .. A . MUJJgrave a'IU/, T. G. OampheU
Vol. Dl. No. J. JAN.-MARCH, 1927. Price-ONE SHILLING. PUBLISHED QUARTI!RLY. THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM COLLEGE STREET, SYDNEY
BOARD OF TRUSTEES : President: M.!.JO:&-GBNilBA.L SIB CllARLES RoSENTllAL, K.C.B., C.M.G., D .S.O., V .D. Crown Truatee : JAMBS MoK::mBN . · Olftolal Trustees : Hts HoNouR THE CmE:r J usno:a. THB HoN. TH11 PBBBIDENT o:r THJD LEGISLATIVE CouNCIL. TR::m HoN. THB CoLONIAL S:mOBll71'ABY. TR:m HoN. THB ArroBNEY-GBNBBAL. TBB HoN. THE CoLONIAL TREASURER. TBJ: HoN: m:m SJCORBTARY J'OB PuBuo WoRKS .urn MINISTER BOB RAILWAYS 'l'HB HoN. m:e MmlsTJCB mr PuBLIO lNsTBU<71'ION. TH:m AUDITOB-GENEBAL. Tu:e PRJCSIDENT o:r mB N.S.W .u.ms MEDIOAL BoARD (T. STOBilll DIXsoN, M.B., Ch.M., KNIGHT 01' GBAOlil Ol!' 'l'Blll 0BDEB OJI' ST. JOHN.) 'l'uE SURVEYOR-GIDUUU.L AND Cm:m:r SURVEYOR. TR:m CRoWN SoLIOJTOR. Elective Trustees : J. R. M. RoBBBTSON, M.D., O.M. R. H. CAMBAGE, C.B .E., F .L.S. G. H. ABBOTT, B.A., M.B., Oh.M. GoRRIE M. ".SLAm. MAJ.-GEN. Bm QRARLJJ:s BosBNTHAL, 0. GoRDON MAoLEOn, M.A., M.D., Ch.M. K.O.B., O.M.G., D.S.O., V.D. G. A. WATE:B.Hous:m, D.So., B.E., F.E.S PRO:r. L. HABBJSON, B.A., B.So. F . S. MANoE. E. 0. AlmRBWB, B.A., F.G.S. OoTA. VIUS 0. B1WJ!I, F .R.H.S. HoN. F . E . WALL, M.D.,M.L.C.
Director: CJuBr.JDS ANDJDBSON, M.A., D.So. SeeretarJ: W. T. WEIU, A.I.A.V. SelenMo Staff : Wu.r.uM W. TlloBPB, EthMlogis•. J . RoY KlNGBOB.N, Zoologist, in charge of Birds, Reptiles, and .Amphibiam. ELLIS LB G. TBOUGHTON, Zoologist, in charge of Mammal8 and S leeletoM. ANTBONY MUSGBAVB, Entomologisl. F. A. MoNEILL, Zoologisl, in charge of Lower lnw rl4Wratu. T. BonaE SMITH, Mineralogist and Petrologut. ToM IR:mnALE, Ocmdaologul. GILBERT P. WHITLEY, Ichthyologist. Librarian: W. A. R~nmow . THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE
YoL. lll., No. I. CONTENTS .)an-March, 1927.
.-\ X t·: w ~l rs t .:tr ~L (:nout>- \YtLLOw GRO'GSI': IN TUJo:tR \\" 1XT tm HA ··r::; /t'rontispif'N'
EnrTORt.\t.- Ct·: ' TENARY Ol•' THE AusTRALIAN MusEUM =~
NOTW:~ :\ N D N t•;ws i)
TH.I!; L .·\.RUt~ST ('HAH- Jt'rank A. JlicNeill 6 R ..uu ~ Nm\' Z tMLA · o Bmns- .Mrs. PeT1·in e Jl1onc·riejf !)
'HARKs- U. P. ll'hitlc>y J :J
\YtNTER \\ " JL I'l' I ~N I~Sl:i. A "MLlSKVl\l GROUP 16
PoTTER'!·- 17 I!'. ll" . 'l'horpe ...... / Rl~ YI .E\\' :W
THE K\WFISJL - 0. J>. Wh itley :2 1
THE , 'TORY OF THE XOTOTHERIA- H. H. ~coli 2-!
\YJTH Tlu: R.A.o.r. To THE B ..rnRlNGToN ToPs Dts TRr REVIEWS ~l-t Pul.Jiished Quo.t·terly by the T rustees of the Australian Museum, College S treet, ::>ydney, in the months of January, April, July, and Octobe r . S ubscription 4/ 4, includin g postage. Communication s regard ing subscriptions. adver t ising rates. and business matters genet·a.lly in connection with THE A UST.H.A LIAN M U::>E Ul\1 MA<..: AZ I NB s hould be addr~d:>ed to t he Secr~ta. ry . A NEW MUSEUM GROUP Wi\\ow C r ouse. ln their wlnt('r hQunts. White the blrd on the lefl hn ~ not chnnJled rrom lcs uututnn plunutQc. the two oo th~ rl~IH bave a!lsumed the c omplete wlnu~r coot. {See I'Hl~C 16 1. Publi ·hed by the .d. u ·tralian JII useum C ollegP Street, Sydney Editor: C. ANDERSO~, l\1.A. , D.1 c. Annual Subscription, Post Free, 4/ 4 \"oL. nr., No. 1. J.\ X U \ RY -MARCH, l92i Editorial. Centenary of the Australian l\1useum. HERE i presumptive c\·idence that t he consent to t he appointment of a youna man Tinc<'ption of what is now the Australian to t hat particular duty, who has be~n re 1\Iu. cum dates from l 27. so that in t he commended to me as peculiarly fitted for it coming :vear its first century of history will and who -will, therefore, be immediately br eo m plrted. sent out to the CoJony in the capacity of In a. de ·patch from the Colonial Office, Zoologi t 'vith the same rate of salary and D owning ~.. treet, dated 30th lVIarch, 1827, al lowances as appear to have been given to Ea.r] Hatbw·st thus addrC'Rsed Governor Mr. l!~razer , the presrnt intrndant of the GC'nC'ra l Darling :- .Botanic Garden at Sydney:· •· It having been represented to me t hat The " young man " rdcrred to in t he jt would be n·ry de. irable W<'r<' the GO\-ern ck·patch was ~Ir. vV. Holmc , who was styled mC'nt to a fiord its aid toward~ the formation Colonial Zoologist, and who was therefore the of a Publick Museum at New 1 outh Wale· fi rst cu todian of the infant collections of the where it is stated that many rare and curious ·' Colonial l\Iuseum.'' t he original designation specimen<:; of Natural HiF~tory arc to be pro of the institution. cured, 1 do myself the h onor to acquaint H is not known with certainty when you th This extract indicates t hat. H olmes was ent husiastic ornit hologiRt, and GnJ vi n's as both urbane and discriminating, but ap sistance, t hat it shouJd be styl(·d ·- 'l'h e parently he did not long remain in the position Australian Museu m," and pla<·<'d undc· r thl· of Colonial Zool ogist, and there is some contr ol of Trustees." evidence that he died iJ1 1830. In t he E stimat es of E x pendit ure for U:3!~5 It is cJear from the rccOl'ds t hat a Museum (dated l 2th ,June, 18:34) is t he following was founded between t he years 1827, and item :- 1829, but for some time t he collections h'ad no ''Australian Museum-T owards t he sup . permanent home, and were .housed succes por t of t he Inst.itut ion . .. £200." • 'o t hat sively in various buildings where room ha.p t he Museum h ad r eceived its present name pened to be available. E arly in 1830 the in the year 1834-. .. Sydney Museum" was lodged in t he Judge In l 836 the Museu m started once more on Advocate's Old Offic e, which was sit uated in its travels, and was rem oved to Bridge what is now Loftus treet, at t he south -east Street, whet·e, wit h t he Librar y, it occupied corner of the existing Lands Office, a building t he house variouslyreferred to as theresidence pcrhap klwwn also afi t he Old P ost Office , of the Chief Justice (Sir F. F or beR) and t he Bent Street. In t he same yea.r the Committee Office of the Surveyor General. In 1840 of the AustraJian Sub cription Library and the l\lfuseum collections and t he ~·ub. cription Reading Rcom (now t he P ublic Libr ary of Library migr ated toget her t o, a building in New Wouth Wales) petitioned Govern or Ma.cquarie Str eet "well known to the old Darling for the grant of a town allotment : colonists as t he Surveyor Gener a l's Office." .. and suggested that t he n1useum, then This building, which h ad been lately vacated in an embryo state, should be combined by t he Surveyor Gener al (th e late 'ir T. 1. with t he Library." Mitchell), stood on t he corn er of King and On lOth October, 1831, the Governor gave l\1acquarie Streets, opposite to t he pr esent permission to the Committ.ee to select two site of t he Sydney Mint. N ext, t he 1\tiuseum allotments of ground in Hyde Park for the and t he Libr ary parted c'ompany, and in 1841 erection of a corn bined Library ar,d Museum. t he former was r emoved to t h e Court H ouse, Two allotments were selected jn Hyde Park, W oolloom ooloo, now the Criminal Court, but nothing came of the project at t hat. time. D arlingh urst, wher e it waR open f or public For some time prior to 1834 the co1lec inspection every W ednesd ay from ten t ill lcctions were contained in a room attached t hree. to the Legislative Council building, for in H ere the collections r eposed mitil 1849, Chm·Iton's "Parli amentary Government in when t he permanent building, n ow the Aus New South Wales" (Sydney, Govt. Printer , tralian Museu m , commenced in 1846, was 1924) pp . 56-57, we read:- sufficien t ly advanced t o r eceive t hem , and '· The next room housed various specimens on 24t h F ebl·ua.ry, 1849, M:r. W . S . V\Tall, who of native birds in glass cases, which were was then Curator , wa.s '· auth orized to under the care of the Messenger, William proceed with t he r emova.l of t he specimens G'lh-in, who received thcrefor a small extra of N atura.l History n ow in th e New Court all owance. In 1834 the Clerk of the Council H ouse, and to draw f or the amount necessary reported to t he Colonial ecretary that t his t o cover the expenses of t heir safe cony·eyance collection had so grown through the efforts to t he Museum. The su m not to exceed of a prisoner named John Roach, who was an Thirty P ounds." An important donation of T ongan handi· During the month of Octoh<'l', t lw R oyal work has_ been mad~ b:y lVIrs . Crosbie of;.; ustral a~i au Orn.it hologists · l n ioJl m~s Homebush. The collect10n wru gathered granted th e use of t.h C' Jcch.u·c hn.ll for 1hr11· by the late Rev. E. E. CroshiP, B.A., who ·· ~ ,rmua.l meeting . Many of i he m em l><' rs 1ook serYed as a missionary in the Group many the opport unity of inspcet inrr i he t't'l'll't' \' l' years ago, before genuine examples of native cdll ection of. biwl ~; k j n R. f> H~I iC' ul 11 rly the work had become :carce. rc(·ent ly actllllred C:nu1t ('oil\-('( ion. 'TB E A lJ~T HA L I AN l\1 USE UM !\lA CA ZIN g N otes and News. At tlw nweting hr ld on D ecember :~rd coll<'ct <'d at \Ya lpolc I la nd and wh o h <.ts :-iir ('ha rl<•s HmlC'ntha l. K .C.B.. C.M.O ., rec<' ntly had some int ere~ting and sometimes D.KO., \ '. D .. was 1'('-<'lccted to the office of thrilling <'X p <'ri<'nc<'s while travelling and Prrsid<• nt . • 'ir C'hn rlc:;;; has t a k <'n an adi,·r exploring ill 1 umatra, B orneo: Sou thern intr rel\t in )fus<'nlll affair·s, and is particula rly China, :\fa nc hnria and eastern Russia (w<' a r1xious to l-:!<'<' a b<'ginning ma d e in extending h o pt> he will d cscri be some of t h ese experiences t hr <'X isting buildings. in a. latt'r numb<'r) ; Mr. W. S. Brooks, The f oll owing stan d ing committees of t Jw J' <' (W<'sentin ~ the Museum of Compa rative Board ofTrustl'<'S ha'' <' b<'c n elected for 1927: Zoology, H al'varcl, Massachusetts, who is Hous<' :- 1\ [C'ssrs . ,Jas. McK ern and F. A. in A ustr nli a to collect r eptiles. and batrachia. Coghla n. Or . . J. R. l\1 . H obc•rtson, Dr. G. A. f or that in ·tit ut ion: Mr. A. M. Lea, Ento ' ' ' a terhous<', and Mr. F. E . lVIan ce. m olog ist of th<' South Australian Museum ; Financ<' and Publicitv :- Messrs . F . A. l\1r. Ahtn D odd , of the Commonwealth Coghla n . .J as. ) Jc K <'rn. 6. C. Bcale, R. H . Pric kly Pr·nr Hoard. Cambage, and t he Hon . Dr. F. E. \Ya ll . VVe hav<' often had occasion to refer to )I.L.C. the yeol'nan crvic<" in t he eau e of science &ientific and Pu blic·ation :- Pl·ofessor L. p01formed by 1 'urgeon Lieuten ant-Com H anison, Dr·. G. H . Ahbott , Dr. G. A. mander \V. E . J. P a radice, R.A.N., one of our Watc• rhousr, Dr. C'. Gordon ~IacLeod . H on orary Corr<'sp onclE'nts and a m ost en To fi ll ,·acancies on t h e Board eau ed by t husiastic natu rali ~t. Dr. P aradice r ecently the re:ignation s of ir \Villiam Yicars a.nci p re <'nted to t h e :Museum a large collec :\Ir. E. \Vuncl<' rlic h , t he H on . F. E. \Yall, t ion of ma rine animals obtain ed b y him in :\l.D .. :\l.L.C., a nd Mr. F . S. ~Ianc<' . -ender t h e:> Rir Eclward P ellew l qlanrls, Port 1 'ecrctary . D ep artm <'nt of :\line , w er e E'lect <'d D arwin , and other localities in the North in October . At t h e NO\~em bE'r meeting the ern T errit,ory. Several reports on this Prc> ident in w <'lcoming t h e n <'w t ru ·tees donation have a ppear ed. The reptiles r C:'fr rred to t he fact t hat Dr. W all'· gr a n d form<'d t he subject of a paper in the PTO· father wa. 'ura t or from 1845 to 1858. ceedings of the Zoological Society of London During t hi: pr ri od he prepared a descrip tion by Mr ..J. H,. Kinghorn ; Dr. H. Lyman C1ark of the s kcl<'ton of a sperm whale, a work of Cambridge, Massachusett s, h a.s dc•alt with which sh owC'd hirn to bc• a n accompHsh <'d t h e sta.rfis hcs and their allies, whllst th r o t eolog i: t. i:)ea- m ntH or m oss anima ls (Bryozoa) h avo ::\lr. . H . Gcorgin a H cdley has presented r rc<>ived t he attE-ntion of Mr. Arthur Living to t hr Museum in me mory of her late hus band, s tone. Cha rles H <'dlcy, his com prch<'nsive card Nearly three hundred specimens of fishe · index t o the litcrattu·e of m ollusca and hav<' n ow been r eferred to 127 differen t a n umb<•r of valua ble books a nd paper: from species. a few of w hich ar c n ew to. cience. and his lihra r·y. At th<' NovC'mber m e<:>ti ng a a rC'port on the m has been written jointly by I'C':iolution was pass<'Cl thanking ~lr . . H cdJ<'y D r. P aradic<' anci )lr'. G. P. Whitley. Field for this very g<'ncr ous d onabon. note's a nd sk <'tc hes, m ade from the living Among n•c<•nt vis itors to t h e l\luseum W<'rC fis h <'H, have bc<'n of valur in t he compilati oi1 )fr. Edgar R. \Va it<', Director of t h e f3~ut h of t his pa per . Austra.Jia n .i\luscum , Addaidc, w h o halS JUst The la,rgc eoll<'ction of crustacea is being returned from a visit to Brita i1 . and America; wri ttrn up by Mr. F. A . .M:cNeill and Dr. Colonel F tTdk . J . H aytcr of Cam bridgE', who P a ruclice, \vhilst t he remaining group· wiJI be is The Largest Crab. H I ~ \\TitPr onc:e rrad a most intriguing to T h e Giant .Japanese Crab t Kaentpferia i-. the lnr~e ... t uf ll vl n ~ ~· ru '< tn o · ••.t . l l' lh•lt~. I, , I ' I' ttl /1 , 7 'I'll E A U~' l ' H A Ll AN M liS ] ~ OM l\IAG AZlNE ndjnt'l'lll sen \\ Hl l'r . t hu:;; u ps<'tt ing t lw (jointNl inv <' r tc b r~t c t~n imal s). and ~wvc· t · btl lnn<.'<' of nnl ut'<' h~r causing abnorma l fails t o create <\ thn ll of mt ere~t when v1ewNl gm\\ l h in an t' r~ t while inoffen ::;iYe sh or e crab. in thr ex hibition halls of a museum . The· Now th<' a uthor of t lw a bon• wa n o doubt carapac<' or shell of this .giant often me~ !-> Ur<'l-> blissfully ignorant of how clo ·e hi imagina over twelve inchc in wJdth, and t he pmcer t ion a ppronched to fact. Like many ot hers. bC'al'ing Jim bs may . pan as much as eleven he was not a wa r<' t hat t h <' l'~ exists in actual a nd twr ln• f<'et when fully outstretched. lif<' a hug<' <' I'Ustaccan capa ble of inc;piring T he <' lat t<:>r may b<' fivP t o five and onr awe were it a ble to come ash ore on r aidinp: half feet in lrngt h. T he four succeeding excursions . Thi · is t he Giant Japane.·e pairs · of walking 1<"gs are proportionately Crab (Kannp.fnia l·ae.m pfe'ri ) which frequent. long, so t hat t he creature covers a remarkably the dcrp coasta] waters of J apan . L arge htrg<' ar<'a whf'n at n'st . ·' ---- -...-.... T he Giant Etiible T asm a nia n C r a b IP s e u docar cinus • is the r ival of K acmpfe r ia i n s ize. The body of t his s pecies is more ma<>s ive th an t h a t of its J apanese rival but Its timb'i are m uch s h or ter . Invariably an inhabi tant of deep sea waters it r arely a p proac hes s h ore. O nly on e a ut h e n tic reco r d of t h e o ccurre nce of t h is m ons te r a m on~ t he Inte r t idal rock s com es from South Aus t r alia whe re a s pecim e n twelve a nd a h alf inches wid e w as ois covered on the s h ore at tow tide in S t . Vincent' s G ulf. This locality possibly represents the m ost wes te rly ext ent of the c r ab's r an ~e. [P hoto.- r:. C. ('lutton. males of t he species would be strong en ough The Austr-alian ..\[useum fortunately pos to grapple with a child , were it not for the sc.·::;c · a fine examp le of the Giant J apanrsc paralysis to which they are ·ubj('ct when Crab, which i!' looked upon as a rarity. Our drawn suddr nly to t he . urlace an d so re s pecimen iH a little under recor d size, and lieved from the great pressure of water was handed to us in d esperation by a Sydney under which t.hey a rc accustom ed t o livf'. rcsid<•nt wh o.·e rclati ve had br ought it back Under t hese circumstances the cr a bs can be as a r·ar e souvcn idrom the Orient. T he speci handled w.it,h. j m punit y. men was found to be in a deplora ble condition, Kaent1~ fe'r ia belongs to t he big group of and t he m ass of fragm ents which cve nt u ~'l ll y , 'pidcr Crabs (Oxyrhyncha), and its great arri v<'d at th e Australi an Museum con spindly legs ar<' characteristic of t hese fonm;, sidC'ra bly darnped our ent husiasm . This It is n ot on ly tlw largest crust acean known , '· Chinrse p uzzlP" was h anded ov-er to t he IJU t is the larg<'st of cxistillg Arthropoda iPn.d C'r 111 <'1'Ci<'s of t h e t axidermist, ~ lr . H . 1-i. THE AUSTRALIAN M U~ Ji;U.M .M A(!AZIKE Grant. In the finished ex:hi bit now on monwea.lth Fish erjt·i-! I JI V(·Htigat i1m \'(· ~,.H· I view the most critical observer will fail to Endeavour on one of h c• r· Hout hc·r·11 c· r·1ri "'''" discoYer any trace of where t he missing sta.tcd that while t.. hP Hh ip wa~ tra.\\liug portions of thP crab's form have been cun eastwat·d of Bab<'l I sland , BRH~ f:i tJ ·1~il in ltingly restored by the modeller's art, and 60-100 fathoms, ea.c h ha ul of tJw net hr'IJught later tediously coloured to blend with their up one or more of this gia n t. <· rustac(·an. surroundings. Those speei mens that could be· s parC'cl Wl'l'<' There i only one other crab in existence eagerly sought by t h e c rew as ddicalc· which approaches anywhere uea.r the size n.rticles fot' t h e table, thc·ie ma!)R ivc li mh!i of th~ Japanese giant, and this is Australian. supplying an abundance of whitC' fic:.·h. I n The deep waters of t he eastern slope of Bass life the crabs were mottled or blotched with .~t rait harbours the great Edible Tasmanian a rich red colour on a porcelain white Crab (Pseudocm·c£nus gigas), which can ground. claim agt·C'ater bulk of uoclythanits Japanese Rare examples of the Giant 'ra. manian ri,Ta l. but has only the shOli. limbs of the Crab are trawled in southC'L'n New South conventional crab and therefore appears a Wales waters, which appears to b e the mo ·t le s awesome creatul'e. It is recorded that northerly extent of t he sp ecies' range. When t he carapace of Pseudocarcinus attains a these find t heir way to yclney they arc width of sixteen inches, and the crab may displayed as gr eat cmios in t h e fi hmongers' t tu'n the scales at 30 lbs. The larger of the shops, being tra.nsferr ed from one to the t wo pincer-bearing limbs (chelipeds) is a other until the conditi on of thC'i r flesh h as , tritcing feature of the species . The hand or deteriorated to the stage whC'n t h e suppli terminal pincer-bearing joint of this appen cations of the Museum a re accedecl to. The dage often reaches the amazing length of ]argest specimen in the A ustr alian 1\fnseum rightecn inches, and is sufficiently powerful measures t hirteen ineh e aero t he carapace, to crush a man's wrist. Pseudocarcinus, and the h and is seventeen and th.Tee quarter howevt'r, i · also subject to paralysis when inches long ; its weigh t wh en fre. h was :20 drawn up from its haunts on the sea floor , lbs. A slight1y smaller r epresentative of and Jj es practicaJJy inert. The late A. R. the species is .on exhibit ion in the l\Iu ~um McCull och, who accompanied the Com- Invertebrate Ga1lery. Notes and News By thr opening of the first sC'ction of the Wl'itten several papcr. on thC' ·o!our.~ of r rd city underground railway on Dec0mber 20th fi shes and other marine organisms. the Au tralian Mu eum has been brought Dr. T. Storie Dixson, who for a lengthy int.o clo er proximity to t he outer subw·bs period was President of the R oarcl of Trnstces. of •'ydney. ThC' .Museum Station on this has recently r ettu·ned from a.n C'xtcncled trip section i · but a few mi11utes' walk distant, to Europe and America. Dr. Dix~on has ~~~ and it is anticipated that upwards of 100,000 ways been zealo us for t h C' ad vanccm<>nt nnd pas. cnger will be discharged daily at this improvement. of the ins titution. and during point. In the unavoid able ab.. cncc of the his tour he took the opportunity to visit President of t be Board of Trustees of this various muF:eums and colJ cct idras nnd data,. l\IusN1m, Sir Charles R osenthal, the insti part icularly with refC'l'C'nee t o rupt h ocls of tution was rcpre f'ntecl by lVIr. Vv. T. ·wells, exhibition and educational fca tur<'~ . . 'rcrctarv. at the official trial. Through the reprC'F>Cntations of Rir CJ111rk:-: Dr. " '· H . Longley of the Carnegic Insti R.osenthal. Pn>sj d<'nt. of t he l~mu·d of 'f rusl<'<':" tution. Wa hiugton, l. S. America., spent of t his Mwwum, Mr. G . M. Sandy. of l\1 \·..,~ r:-:. srYeral days at t he l\Iuseum recently consult .Jas. Sandy a nd Company, L~irnit c d. l1ns ing the fish collection and ]chthyological presented a quantity of lwn·IIN I piHI i.' gln~s literature. He was greatly impressed by thE' she I ving. .Mr. •-a ncly'::: gr n C' rosi 1y hnl' en a hll'd work done by the late Allan R. ?i'l cCu1loch. 1h e Trustees to gi vt" r ll'<'c t to n. long- dt·~ irl'd H (' has now ieft for }lacassar, where he will alteration in C'x hi bit ion arrnn n'( 111 <' 111 ~. ft ' r study fitih e. in their natura.] ha.unts uy des mcrly prcc lud<'d hy lark of fun< !;,, nnd (11 hi 111 (•('nd ing in diving dr<>ss. D r. Longk y has t hanks tU'<' du<' for his pu bl it· s piri!l'd :wl i~>lt. THE AUSTRALIAN M USE UM MAGAZL.l';E Rare New Zealand Birds. Bv MRs . PJ ~ RRTNE MoNCRTEFF. N spite of t,h(' la.rge number of skins taken existed until comparatively recent times . I in t he past and the ext ensive literature Besides the Moas this list contain.~ one dealing with New Zealand birds, it is of the smallest species! namely, the Native surprising how little has been recorded con Quail ( Goturnix novae-zealandiae). This bird cerning their habits and life history, espec is somet imes reported as being still extant., ially in comparison with wha.t. is known of but. invariably the supposed Native Quail the birds of Australia.. To-day it is difficult turns out to be an introduced bird. to obtain data. as to the habits of our rarer birds, for many have been driven back and back until t hey now cling to life in the most THOSE UEPORTE D TO BE EXTINCT. inaccessible spots, where to l'tudy them one requires much time and a,n iron constitution, Some sm·prise may be felt that theN otornis both of which are useless without an element is included here rather than in the preceding of luck. It is a. question whether these rare section. The last recorded Giant Rail was types will become extinr.t before their life killed by a dog in the vicinity of the Milford histories have bPen elucidated, or whether Sound track, and was said to have conta.ined they are st ill holding their own. There are eggs. One was reported from near Lake signs of a serious desire on the part of the Te Anau in 1913. I have several times public t o give t he birds adequate protection, received information from surveyors ancl and it is pl ea~ ing to note that there has been ot.hers of a huge Pukeko or Swamp H en a slight increase amongst most of om· rare ( Po ON THE VERGE. Alt hough the Huia (Hetem locha acutirostris) is generally placed on the list of extinct birds, it is by no means certain that they do not stiH linger . Reports continue to come to hand of their having been seen in the rough hinterlands of the Rimutaka and Rua hine ranges . A government expedition sent out in HH3 did not find the Huia, but ca.me acr oss bore holes made in timber which might be ascribed to t he bird. That they were there in 1920 is probable, for a compani on of some .Jiaori , who Wf're searching for them at the time of the visit of the Prince of vVnlr:, reported that h e had seen them. The plumage i. black except at the t ip · of the tailfeathers, which are white, and these are a sign of ra.nk amongst the Maori. The bill of t he male is st raight and strong, whne that of t he fr ma le is long, cuTved, and plia.nt. The male wit h his . trong bill rips the t i mbe;: and the female then digs out t he grubs. It r an safely be said that the Huia was The Huia ( H eteraloch a acu t iros tris ). F r om a g r oup in the Aus tra lia n Mus eum. persecuted out of existence by h uman [ Phnto.- 0. f '. C/11/lrm. beings, for it was plentiful in the days of the earl y settlers, though remaTkably vanished from the Bir d ~ anctuar y at ColJin little . cems t o be known of its habits. It ha-s wood. Th is is a case wher e some other recently bee11 suggested that t hey were reason than th e encroachm ent of :=;ettlcment aberrant Birds of Paradise, for in their m ust b e brough t f oTward to account for ha bits so far as known they seem to have the ext ermination of oul' native birds, rescmblrd the fascinating family of Para for t here are vast expanses of f ore ·t ]and disridae. An obl'ierver who saw a p air in the ~ou t h Island, where uch birds should as late as 190 6, in bush now mmed, des thrive. cri bed t heir fli ght a similar to t hat of a Hycatcher, for they darted up into t he air like a fantaiJ, ret urning to the tree from BIRDS TH A1' APPEAR TO Bl': S'l'AT!ON ARY. whence they had flown onJ y to dart upwards aga in in pmsuit of insects. This observer The Blue Duck (Hym t> nolaimus mala also tated that they flew higher than h ad crn-hynchus) is becoming incr·cas ingly diffic ult been generally supposed , the birds he watched to see. B eing a t ame bird it is <' asil y slain, ascending (as far as he remembers) a bout yet on the Sout h lsland 1 a.wn,y from the twenty feet,. ha unts of m en , it st ill exists in con:;idcr tt bJ e The Routh Island Crow (Callaea(; cine1·ea) nu mbers. mu t be included in the list of fast vanishing The same applies t o t he K aka,po or 0,\·l birds, in spite of the fact that it may stm P arrot (St,ringops habropt1:lu.s) , which , though be found in the south \iVestlands, and that long extinct in t he North ! F;Jnnd, still exi~ts :Mr. vV . 0 li ver reports it as being seen on jn numbers in certain localit ies in t h t> ::-l(HII h . tewart Island ; it seems to have disap Island. In t h e Em11, vol. xxi , ... 1H:.?-1- . pp . peared from the NC'Json Province. Occasion 1 4 ~-1 44 , Mr. A . F . o·Donoo-huP hn:4 gin'tt ally gold prospectors come acr oss a pair, an int er esting account of tl w~c q unint nnd but very seldom, and it appears to have lovable birds, which dwC'JI in c o l on i ( '~ under t hl' T HE A USTH.ALf AN 1\IUSE UM MAGAZI NE I 1 roots of becc h trees. Be ing flight.lt>ss thf'ir great encmie::; an:' dogs, which delight to chase them. It is the only known bird hav ing large wings which does not usC' them for fli ght. It is very owl-like and also re sembles the owls in being noctm·nal. Its plumage is predomina.ntly pa.lf' moss green, but, like most parrots, it exhibits colour \rariation, a sp ecimen in t he Bull er col1 ection, Can t er bury ·Museum, Christchurch, being a bea.utiful canary-yellow, \\"':ithout a single green feather. There 1s no obvious r eason for the scarcitv of the Laughing 0~1 (Sceloglaux albi(acies) in T he Kakapo, or Owl Parrot (S t r ingops h a broptilus \ . J;r om a group in t he the South Island, a recent A us t ra1ia n M useum. article having disproved [ Photo.- 0 . C. ('flilfon. the hypothesis that j ts dis- appearance was due to the scarcity of its calmly away, not in the leRst bit ruffled , 11atural food th e native rat, for the writer yet the k erosene t in was mor e than half pointed out that the bird exil3ted in New Zea full of foa.thers . land long before t he advent of the Maori, The Native Pigeon (Hemiphaga, no?·ae who introduced t he rat. It is apparent. that seelandiae) is still numerous ':vbercvrr the the bird is not quite so scarce as wa..c; bush is plentiful. But it has many enemies believed, but like many New Zealand birds, a.nd it j s often eaten on t he west coast of thE' it is nocturnal and so escapes notice, though South Island, though , like the rest of ou r anyone who h ea.rs its eer ie shrieks cannot native birds, it is protected. fail to detect its presence. Saddlebacks (Oreadion ca r'unc~tlat?ts) and Though in all probability the B r·own Stitch birds (Notiomystis cincla) have prac Kiwi (Apte·ry.r austral-is) wiJJ shortly cease tically disappeared from th e mainland, al to exist except in Bird Sanctuaries, the t h ough until the count ry h as been "combed ., more fortunate Great Grey Kiwi '(Aptery.c n o on e can say with certainty tl1 at a frw haasti) is still plentiful in certain localities, pairs have not been ov<'rlook ed, th e former where its stl'ident whistle is often heard. bf'ing recently Teportcd from the northern In the Nelson Province th ese bird~ dwell mainland, whilst th e latter is alleged to be in districts where they can b or e in th e soft living in the Nelson Provincr. The Stitch earth for t he large worms which compose bird has alway been considered to be a. purely their diet. Should their biJJs become injured North Island bird, therefore, unless ddinitdv t hey die of starvation. seeing that they can pToved to frequent t he wild Karamia district, no longer Locate their food. A peculiarity it must be held to exist only on cct tai11 of these bird'5 is the ma.nner in which they isln.nds off th e northern mRinland. 'l'he can shed their feathers without their appear , a,ddlebaek, though for some myRtC'rious ance being in a.ny way affected. In rel ea~ing r eason (probably to do with food) found 011 a. kiwi from captiv ity I placed it in a certa.in outlying isJandR but not. on others, kerosene tin to prevent it doing itself is fairly plentiful in t he localiticR it fc'l V0\11'1' . damage. On bPing Ji berated the bird walked [?jt·e is its gr eatest enemy. J 2 D LRDS ON THE INCRJ•~ASE. 1 'ev-eral birds must be placed in this category; though unfortunately it only means that from being on the verge of extinction the birds have shown definite signs of re-establishing them- elves. Conspicuous among them is thC' North Island Crow (Callaeas wil- 8oni ), or Blue Wattled Crow, which is undoubtedly on the increase. Crows appC'ar to prefer the mountain ridges, where they can be h eard noisily flop ping in the trc€' tops, uttering their call note, a plaintive sigh ; their real ::;ong contaitlJ rich orga.n.]jke notes. Littlr is kn own of their habits. In appearance thf'y closely resemble the Austmlian Apostle Bird (St1·uthidea cinerea). [n certain area · of the South Island there has been a noticeable increase in thr YeliO\r-fronted Parakeet (Cyanm· hm,lphus auriceps) during the past year or two. An allied species, the Rfld frontrd Parakeet (Cya.norhamphus noNu-zela ndiae), ·which was also close to extinction. has not r ecovered with t•q unI ea e and is still very sca.rce in tbt• Nelson Province, where the Ycllow-fronted .. pt•cies js qujtecommon in certain a.rea. . The birds, -which are much alike on the wing, ca.n be dintinguishecl The Kaka (Nestor mericlionaUs ). From a group in the by the fact t hat t he Australian Museum. latter i. larger and ha, a distinctive [ Pltoto.- G. C. Clultml. cry of ··pretty click ."' Tht· Kaka (S e ·tor meridionalis) is also that vVoodhens had quite disappeared. on the increase in part~ of t he South Lr;land. This y ear t he traveller wjJL mret with Lil Sharks. By G. P. " 'RITI.EY. H E origin of the tPr_'~l shark, li!\:C that of s mface with its dorsa l fin , or l-ihoot ing like a. Tmany .. h ouseh old words, ls JlOt de mdeor a:'> it clea.vcs a wnve-crc.c;t in pursuit finitely known. 'I'll<' word seems t·o of a lea.pin g sch ool of fi .-h. In snr h cir have been introduced bv the Railors of c umstances and a,t n r espectful :. :.)IA'K -E.I\TEH.' .·• About eighty different .- pc'cics of :-; h~l rJ-c s arc known from Australi an waters and of t h r~e New South \Val<'s can boaRt t hir' ty-two, the Ghost Sharks (Ohimrwra, and G'al/o rhynchu.<>) bdng <:>xcl u.ded. Le!-l~ t.han on<' t.hil'fl of our ::;h arks are h armful to man, the majority being ~m <:dl creatures which p rry A flne s h ark caught b y Commander (:. S truhe n , R.N., on fishes, crust acea, and oth <:>r m a l'ine Jife. near Auckl a nd, N ew Zealand, a locality famous fo r big Superficiall y, sharks appear \'ery mut h a like ~a me fis h es . and their sp E>cific differencE's become a.ppnrcn t [l'ltot o.- ./. Jf. G~>u/t{.~ ,;• i(h. only when they are studied in d et.a il . ~o many sharks a.re loofo;ely r eferred to as motion , though bia:.;s<'d in one's opinio11s "Nurses," " 'Vobbegongs," and "1\Ian by it!') evil r ('putation. eatC'rs , tha.t t heir identification feom the The White Rha.rk or ' .Yltite Pointer (Ua.r descriptions of ca:sual observers is well-nio-h charodon cr(}'thm·ia s) is the man-eater wn· impossible. Neither is it practicable to e.l·cellellce , t.he mo~-;t ferocious monst('r of na.me a sha.rk as it is seen noiselessly cruising th<' s<-'as. wit h 1'0\VS of la rge t ria.ng ula.r teeth. ;dong a beach, occasionally breaking the a. ~tr ong swiftly-moving bulk up to fortv feet. in lt'ngt h, and nn l'xt.r <> mcly voraciou·l'l appetite, bl•ing t·a tXl hlt· of RWa l1 owin o· n ~ 14 man whole. Th is sprcics indrcd ha· brrn 'J'It c• T i!!('r Hhurk. 1111 irl\'t•lt·rftlt• {'11\l•rr rr credited with the di j)Oi'al of the prophrt nlxo displnys ~ tnl.. irrg ''' .tfility in 1}1l. ,Jonah. .Apropos of it voracity, Htead ~ R<' IC'otion of it ~ 11 11'1111. .\ ,;pl·l·r rrl''ll nunriru·rl ha. tated .. A Whi te Point(:'r takrn in hy t ht' l ~ll<' A . H. ~ J ('(' ull riC' Ir nt H1mdi Xt·\\ Port ,JackRon had in its stomach hu.Jf a. Rouih Wai<'H, had dc·\'cn ar('(l n full-g,·o" 11 ham. several legs of mu tton, the hind quarter :-; pn nit'l w it h a <.:o ll nr 011 , I·H·\ t·ral srrt·hi,.rJ, of a pig, the head and for<'l egs of a bull -do~ and a mass of fish : t h( · :-.1 omac·h ahHJ c·r111 • with a rope round it· nrck (thr stone had tairwcl a porpoi:·w·H skull :11HI Uw s pine-:, 11f a hrrn chewed off, I supposr). a quantity of porcupine· fish . hou:•flesh. a pit'ce of ~ack ing. and a ship' · Though not da ngt·r ous to m an. unlbs l,v . era per,'' whiH 1IcCoy3 ha. written of thr arcidrnt a wad c·r 's l<·g or a rm c·onH· J\l·ar it. \\'hitc Shark in \'ictoria, ·· A specimen thr \\' o bb egom~ or ( 'ni'J H't • 'hark ( Orr-tlolol)// ,q hrtween 15 or 16 fret long had bE'en obRervt'd maculatus) has a l'<' fHatation for :-:;nn ppill~ up for . r,·eral days . wimming round the lad its' unconsidcr<'d tri fi<'H. AH long ago The Hnmmerhead Shark rSphyrna blochii: has its <'yes s ituated at the ends of thl' lohes of Its r em arkable hcl\d. The purpose of this developme nt is not known I \ llt'r Fruu•i· /)11'1 madr :o a~ to k€-ep thr rope out of rrach of Watts, and i ~ suppo:-;<'cl to hr full a:; Yomcimh his tedh and thi · bring baited wjth a l.ct-rgr· as any of the grntrH, in proportion to jts si~ l': piN·(· of pork, made to look as much like a for haY j ng Ja in on t h <' cl et: k for two hours pi<'c·e of a Jady as po. si hie, was f'wallowcd :ermingly quirt. on 11r. \\'utt, ·::: dog pn:;sing grrrclily: and then. with the aid of a crowd bv t hc> hark ~ f > rur w unon it with nil th l' ""' l""\ t' of hrlpers. the morder was got on shore. f<'roc ity jmagiHa bl<'. and H<'ized it by the On oprrling the :tornach, amongst a load of leg ; Jl(ll' could th<' cl og ha\"(' di~<'ll!! ll the ft rsh. Winter Whiteness. A KF:"' )fli~EU.:\I GROl. P.* N DI AL. · \\'hi(' h habitually . lin• in cold that the hair or f<.:athC' r appt · ;u ·~ wl1i tt• for r c•g i on ~-' , wh rrl' tbe snow liei:' cle<"p the .-ame r<>a sou that foam ~uH I :-;JJow do. Athroughout the \\'h ole or tb<" gr<'a.t<'r One of the- tin<':t exam pJ<·s of this sea ·onal pnrt of tiH· y('a r. are not infrequently '""hitr in c·hange of covering is :=dford<·d by the \\'jllow c·olour. ~onu· northern animals. such a~-; the Grou::;e. or wmow Ptarmio·a n (1.- Pottery , an Ancient Art. BY vv. w. 'I'noRrE. J-'o r in t he ~{arket. -p l ace one D usk of D a Y. 1 watc·h 'cl t he Potter Thumping his ,,-et. Clay : And with its a 11 o bliterated T ong ue 1t mw·nn11r'cl - ' ' Gently, Drothe1·, gen t ly, pl'ay ·• - 0111f'l r J(hrt yy :~nn . NE of the most useful invent ions of Pottery or ee:\,rthenwarc, Is distinct from Oearly ma.n was pottery . That t he art porcelain . The for mer it> composed of of making }Jot.tery is ancient there can potter 's clay mixed wit h lime a.nd other be no doubt , for t he earliest stages of bar proper ly pr oportioned ingredients, while barism saw its introduction. From the porcelain is ma.de up for t he most part of a earliest times it was made i n Egyp t , and one ver y hard mat erial k nown as silex: and can trace the development of this plastic art vessels made of this su bstance are usually t ra,n.<;lucent . The question might now be asked how did man arrive at the art of W ine bottle, or a m o bo r a, of t he A n cie nt Greeks. T his vessel s t ands a bout t h ree feet h i ~ h and possesses a pointed b ase adapted for s ta n din ~ i n the sand o r soft earth. L-a te Ptole maic t i m es, or e arly Roma n (332-30 B .C.) F r o m H issayeh , E~y pt . [ Photo.- 0. ('. (•tnftoll. Earth(' nw are J a r. D atln ~ hack to pre d y n as tic t i m es, B.C. :\400, this is o ne of t he ear liest pieces of p otte r y known . F r o m A b yd os , Egyp t. [ Phof o.- 0. r•. r•tu/toll. t hrough t he centuries to the Cf'r·amic pro pottery ma.ldng. Jt is trn.cea ble in rna.ny ductions of t.o-day. Its vogue was worlc l case ·, and p r'oba.bly att ributa bl e in a ll , to wide and, generally ~ peaking, it is only t he pra.ctice of covering wooden or plaited amongst t he most primitive folk t hat W<' fail r rceptacl<"s with clay to r <' n<'lcr t hem fire to fi nd pott ery manufactured. The P oly proof. )fan did not take long to discover t hat nesians, howevc->r , are an exception , for t hey m ould<'d d ay served t he same purpose cook in open fires or ground ovenR, and drink wi thout a lining of other material. At first and eat h om gourds, coconuts, and wooden c lay pots wer(' sun-dried, bu t subsequent ly vessels. The very nat w·e of pottery pre t hey were fire- baked as they are to-day. cluded its use by noma d ~, and accordingly 'I'h<' art of glazing, or covering the vessels it was restrict,ed t o t h o~c peoples wh ose life w it h ::;omc Yitl-eous material, was i mT<:>n ted in wafS m ore or 1ess·sct t ]e(l. E gypt a bout B.C. 1:200. I t is interesting 18 THE AUSTltALfAN ~IU HElD J ~lAOA~I~io: to obse·ITe that the natin• Fijian,-: han· a In Fiji. n l'0 \111<1 s lnlll' i'-4 ll <· ld in..; idl· lht: form of ·· glaze .. compo~ecl of knuri o·um coilt'd c h\Y. and tit<' o 11t ~ icl1· pa1t(·d \\ilh a ~ 1:' ' which is . m<'arrd on•r the \ "(': ~ €' l w hile hot spatula whiC'h oblitPral<•x all 1 t'!H'('S of lht· from the fire-baking. The potter's whcE'I, spira l nature of it ~ c onstrudion. 'l'hil-1 morlt· although of resp('ctn hie a ntiq nit y . 'ras n ot of hnildiJlg-up E11 er-like Vessel in hlack cla'i, made by tl>e Awemba Tribe, ~orthern Rhodesia, Africa. : Pltoto.- G. C. ('lntton. Three Lekythl, u sed by the l adie5 of Ancient Greece for holding 0 11 or perfumes . These were presented [n .\ncicnt Egypt m Pn made the pottery, to the Australi an M u seun1 by l\lr. Ernesr Wundertich, tht• potter being considered an artisan, and F.R.A.S. From the Dipylon , Athe n s, Greece. hiH c l as~ wa~ a numerous one. The cJay [ rJiotO. (: . ('. ('{lltf1J I1• was oftrn kneaded with the feet, a nd after hring rf'nrten•d suffici<·nt ly pla ·tic was plac<"d \Ye ba.-e he<'n able to lC':u·n a g r<'a t dral on the wh t>el. and a~ this machine was r c about Egyptjan potter.v from t h<' cnstom of ''oh·ed by onr hand thr pot was forn1Nl with burying f'arth<'H\Val'(:' , ~<"~~<' ] ~ with th<· dead. thr fingers of the oth er. Handles, jf re Ostc·nsibly these and ot he r forms of tomb quired, were added a{terwanl and the vessels furnitur<" wer e for the Uti(' of t hC' ch'ct>aRcd in C'Hrrir rl on tra vs to thr ki In. an after life . T tH• hierog ly phs ha n' al~o lt i!-4 reco~ded in Chinrse annals that helped u s in jdentifying t h e me th od ~ followrd pottt'r~r wa. manufactured as early a. ~690 )n pottery m aking. Pott<' ry h nd but ;t H.C'. The in n·ntion of porcr la.in cam<:' s hort. vogue in Ha.by1onia. t h <' ('h ;1ldt' rLeJt) Quaint lncan Orinkin~ Vessel in the form of a human hea d. T h e purpose of t hese was to hold liquid r efre'>hment for the spi r it of tbe departed. F rom Cayalti, near Port E ten, P eru. t Ri~ht l Ea rth~nware Bottle, made bv tbe Mound Build ers, who o nce lived in P o insett Cou"nty, Arkansas, l) nite d States of America. f Photo.- G. ('. ('htlo11. P0rhap::~ the quaintest pottE:'ry of all wer<' the Yessels mad<' by t h E' ancient. Incans of P <' ru. Th e plac ing of modcll<'d figures of Po0tsherrls or frag m e n ts of earthenwa r e vessels dug up on the sites of ancient villages. T his ware is far s uperior animals . bird~, and caricatures of m f'n on to that produc ed to-day. From Collingwood Bay, Papua. ea.rthenware n :>s::;el · if3 n ot known from a11 y [ Photo.- (:. C ('lotton. oth*"r part of the world. They wer e humour- iets in thf'ir way . and t lt eir' war·e rt ntedates the tohy jug by many hundn'ds of y<"a rs. Onf' form of water bottle inls sn construct C'rl as to emit n musical note wh0n the liquid wa. pouro:l. ont. The ca,vc-dwC'll ers and otl1 f' r Indian,.; of Nort !1 America c nga~·<'cljn pottery decoratio11 ro a r<'ma.rkable extent, showing to t he " ·orld tFHtt t hey p ossessed aesthetic qualities of no m ean order . H ere a!!ain we find conclusive evideJI CC' that. pottery-is derived from basket ware. Exampl e~ hav~ heen found wjth ha~ket struct m·e jmpressious on the exterior of pots showing that the custom of maJ king the ,-e>sel with textile patterns ~ un·i yed l ong (Left! Conknl Cookln!! Pot, the Ullper walls decorated afte1· t he ba~ket was abandoned as a. support w ith an Indented patte rn. From Buka. Solotnon G roup, South Pacific. jn t he construction of th(;' pot. ( Ri~ht ) Cookin~ Pot in terra cotta c lay. with a n arln ~ Some of the Papuar. womrn are ex-pf'rt rim a nd d a ubs of lime below, anrt an Inde n ted m edian rincture. From E <; plrltu Santa, New H ebrides, South pottery makers. At a vill age near P ort Pac lfk. [ J>IJOt~ o . - 0. r. C'/11t1ou. J\Ioresby it i ~ quite a local inclust r·y. and from. 20 THE A USTHALJAN M 08 1 ~ Ul\1 f\TAC:A%1 :\E Papua, a v~w i cd ftH'10d m<•nL of v t·!it·H·IH ~~~·r· made to-day. a nd on t he site'!-; of vaniNiwd villages in this area, potshf•rds of supr·rior workmanship have be<"n recc·nt ly uncarth,·d. In one island only in the New HPbridc•l! p0t tery is now made, na mely E spiritu ~anto. but traces of this culture have been found nt Malekula, whet'e t h e a.rt has long brcn abandonE:-d. A symmetrical pot with a conical ba~e is ma nufa.ctured in t he Admir alty Group, and t he n ort h <:·rn Solomon Islands. The n ee:ro t,ri bes of ~ outh Africa a lso make a variet y of eartht•nware utE'mil: . Ll'fll Cooking Pot of ve ry dark clay, decorated with a series of chevron or z i ~zag lines. From Waniger a, Collingwood Bay, Papua. Pottery is one of the most brittle wmks of ( R l~ ht 1 Globular Pot, decoratecl in white on dark r ed background. Astrolabe Bay, Mandated Territory of man, but is also one of the most endnring, :-.lew Guinea. and after lt r ac ~ hn.s disappeared tbe broken [Photo. - a. C'. C'l'l(tton . potsh erds bear mute witness to an industry once practi~ed by h ands t.hat a.re n ow at rest. time immemoriCJl this fictile ware has been mad<' and tradt'cl westward to the Papuan Examples of pottery-ware from all the: Culf wlwl'c it iR bartrrPd for native sago. locaEties cited h1 this article m ay be seen At ('ollinr;wood Bay on the north coast of in t he Museum galleries. Review. The ll'ild Animals of Australasia. Ey A. S. It is t he illustrations, h owever , which L~J , 'onw, H. BURRELL and E. LE G. mak<=' t he ~trong popular appeal, couplE'd TROUO H'fON . George Harrap & Co., Lon with t he fi eld n otes, many of "·bich ar€' don , 10~6. original, pr eceding t he various ections of .-\dmirabl.v produced, t his hook is a.n a nimals . Ogilby's Catalogue contained o nl~· importa11t and long delayed step to-wards six woodc uts of .·lmlls. and Lucas artd Le Souef's mammal sectiou was mai nly iUus the compkti on of a. nrYey of thE' mammals of t rated with photographs of mounted spcc· i :\m;tralia. while the popular appeal to t hose d!':;irous of becoming fully acq uai11 ted with m ens . The new work contains 104 life. study photos, a.nd nine teA.t fi gures of sprcial llwir rxtraordinary \'ariety and habits, is f eatures which sh ould c oJUm('nd the book uncl~'niab i P. to all. Its usefulness to naturalists, whrtiH·r· Hitherto thr only works attempting to in museums, or E>ngaged in field ,,,. ork. i ~ 1\~s!'mhlc out' mamma ls jn on<' ,•olume were beyond doubt, while i nfon nab \' C chapters. Ogilhy'. Catalogue in J, !.):2. which listed :209 including an a.uthcnt.ica.tcd accoullt of t·h(· spc•('i(' ', Lucas and Le 1 'oucf's ·' The Animals birth and development of ma.rs upials, t~n· of Australia." \Yhich included reptiles ancl amphibians and omitted somr species barely of v<'ry great genera l i ntcrcst. nwntionrd maHy ot her~, and Lydekker·s Australian 1Vfuscum activitiC's nr(· r0pre .. "J[ar npials and :JlonotTernes" which in sented by a pa,rt dealing with t lw bat:; nf tludcd ..-\m<'rican :\[at• upials . These works Australia and N cw 0 n in€'a by K L<' (:. nrc now obolete: the number of species Troughton, illu::tra.t<.'d with i ntcn·:-:t ing lifl'· has almo·t doubled since Ogilby's Catalogue study ph The Sawfish. BY 0. P. \ VJ:IITLf:\". y L)~ f1~ t folk dou btl<'ss reeoll ect the R. PrendPrgast, aml \V. Donald, all of the: Sf'n wfi:·dl wh i<·h tdn,r nw cl IJa.tJwn; at. Ma.nl v ~Ianl y Lif<'-~aving Club. bt·a~.: h h1~t October. l t i ~ ther<'fort' ;{t. t hr ril'k of relating<\. wC'Il -known story. t hat I TH 1•: CAI'TC HJ~ . pen thi:s ac-eount of that c- rC'<1tun'. though t;ome ma.n The sawfis h from Manly is here shown be low the uncoloured cast which is heing preparert for ex hibition. rt was s ixteen feet long. includinJ! the saw . [ l'ltn:n. -(:. ('. ('f11(/u11, En·ry su rfing n •:-;ort of i nq>Ortanel' in sinking it into till:!. e reaturc··K bac k . ' l'hi Ansh;llia has its hand of life-san'rs, y oung c-a.wwd t;hc sawfis h. for such it was then :-:ern men who YOiuntarily sacrifi cC' n1uch of t heir to 1><> . to h:t:h with frenzy nnd rn'n lrap into time and money to safC'g uard bather::- from thC' air, whilo;;t. t h e smf-boat and its ere" · \H'n· treaclwrous undC'Itows or jntrucling s ha rkR. pulled ri ~h t and left and appeared likC'I.'· to Th<' lifr-iH\. ,~e r ·s of Australia work iJl a n capsizc at any mi11ute. F or'tunntrly. h ow <'ntirely honora ry capacity a nd nonf' of t heir CV<'r. t·IH' sawfish did n ot attnck its a~ C lub~ <'tre in any way s llbs idi~,wd hy t he gr e:.:so r· ~, f or·, ha,cl. it don<' :;o. t hey would GovPrnment. probably have bc(•n cut. to pi(•ces. As it So, when what ~t ppoar<'d t o be n la rge wa~-' , the monster's iitrllgglc'> subs ided after a shark was seen in t lw br('ak ers }lt :\fanly on while aud it was <''.<'n t ll allv towed as horr. the Oc:tober day in question, an ahtnn was H<·rr was a g ift from thr gods inde('(l and givPn by t he lifc-l'a,·er·s a.nd s t11·h·rs lost n o the tnNtns of a windfaH fm· th<' d <>!-i<' JTin ~ tim<> in leaving the watf'r. w hilst the ::; urf hut d<•pl<>t<'d funds of tlH' )[anly Ltf<>-sa ,·ing: hoat <:n· w. a.rmed only with a har·poon. Club. The sawfish was placed in t h <• (')uh la um·hcd thc·ir c- raJt to in,·c:stigat(' t.h c in h ousc and a, sn'h\ll c ha,rg<' for its insp<'di~ll l t r ul·don. 'l'h(• 1w m es of t hf'st• mf'n a.rc· : was made. In IC'ss t ha n two d ays. £8-'- \\ ' H~ .J. Wu u ~dt , B . li'cwd , liJ . E. Bath, f-; . .l\ J. L larg <'- yolk<'d f,; ht·ll -lc·f.ls c•ggs. \\it hout _vourw occupied c•ach u t(·r·us. 'l'lw li " c·r \ntH a h11;. structurC' nearly four fC'<'t lonr;. whill-ll tJ 11• heart. ~ituat e cl near Uw t h roal, lllf·asurNI four in c h e~ i n Jength with ing loc:a l finn for th t· productio n of oil, lca th C' r, a.nd f C'1 tili~<·r. T he large, yolky, infe r till', eggs of the sawfis: h a re ex posed when the uterus is laid open. O n the rig ht is the other uterus intact; it is in this structure t h at the young a re developed. [Photo.- C. c. C:L· ltr.l!. nutside subscriptions so that a nf'w smf boat, the 8a1r(i h. is now an accompUnh<'d rrsult. THE SP IW IJ\'lF.)i". The monster was Jatrr presented to the .Uu sE'um wh<>rc it arr)vecl in excellent COIJ dition and wa immediately portrayed in rolours. It borr no signs of having been attacked by some marine enemy, as had ht'en . uggcsted to account for its unusual nc: cnn·ence, 111:ither rlid it appear disp,ased. Th C' sawfish wa sixtf'f'n feet in length, inelnding the . aw, which m t'al')ured fon r fr<'t trn and a. half inches . Its weight was not a. certainecl. Four • 'ncking-fishes (Echeneis naucrates) m·rr attached to t.hr sawfi !"oi h by t he suckers T he r oof of the s kull h as been rem o ,•ed to s how the s m :tll on hea.dR to enjoy bra in, indicated by a n a rrow, a nd t he I on ~ thick s pinal thejr ·which enahle t hem cor d leading b ack war d to t h e b orly of the saw-fish. fri' C' transport without effort. Sncldng-fisbes r l'hnto. u. (". 1'/il/lt.tl. mu:1t n0t be confused with P ilot-fishrs (.Yaucrales cluclor) which have no suckers on N.\'ft.:R.\ L H I!":>'I'O HY. thl'ir heads. and are fr e<' - ~ wimm ing, l)lum p er Many ha'" e ask eel t n what only orrn~ionn ll y being f ound as far south aR thrir Supcrintrnu<'nt, attacked an cnormouH :-;,·cllwv. Thi ~ ~awfis h l ives in estuaries and sawfh;h, which t lwy harpooned, and eventually h;who{u·. . ~omdi mrs C\'<'11 enterin g fr<'sh ~ ec u rrd at t hr ri sk of their lives. ThPy "·atrr. where. unlr::; feeding. it moves slowly pn's£'ntcd him with t he rostrum.'' · 1 Tfl.Q/11. .Joun1. Sot. ·"ri., \' Ol. iii. I RJ9. pp. :H but ha: a long toot hl r.·~ ~word with whic-h And Ill.). it piC'rC('S its Yict im ~ . An h t ... tor lcal portrait o r the Sawsh a rk l l 'ri. The Story of the N ototheri a. HE 1\ otot heria \\T I'<' ''ery q ucer marsupia 1 out. so that it i::; unsaf< · to say tuo lll\IC' h a hrntt Tanim Skeleton or ;-;otherium tas man icu m, Scott, foun d i n t he J\olow b r ay Swami>· north - w est Tas mania, and cxhlhited in the Queen Victoria Museum , Launceston. T hi <> a n i m a l was a s hu ge as a bullock. upper part of tlwit· nasa l ea\'itics was Aat , and thc·rc i: good rC'ason for t he British Assoc·iatioH for t he .\ dnuwclllt'lll ~ upposing that tlwy bad a na:al horn, of f.ic it'nce. H e i t wa:-; wh o eoitu·d tht" tt :facts was dre:twn up, and a special study of more easily understood, and Longman's i.he resultant data was made. Euryzygoma, a well marked and bizarre Briefly the conclusion arrived at was that genus of the nototherian group in which the Nototheria were creatures that linked the width of the skull is greater than its up the wombat family with the gigantic lengt h , created less surprise than it would extinct diprotodons and many of the bones otherwise have done. This Queensland s upposed to be those of Nototherium sup animal had evidently adapted itseH to ported this idea. This view of t he affu1ities special habits and environment, andLongman of the nototheres served as a working has suggested that it had cheek pouches 11ypothesis until the year 1910, when a nearly for the storage of food. ~om pl ete skeleton of a Nototherium was Let us now return to the Tasmanian f ou nd in Tasmania. Now it wa.s possible N ototheria. In addition to minor discoveries to check many of the conclusions anived at from the Pleistocene lake lands of North West Tasmania a second nearly perfect skeleton was found in 1920 and two lots of n ototherian remains were recovered from swamp lands on King Island. These King Island remains served the useful purpose of proving that a species, Nototherium victoria.e, named long ago by Owen but which Lydekker had thought to be merely a variety of the original specif's Nototherium mitchelli, is really distinct ; it has been found on King Island and in all probability in New South Wales and Queensland also. Such then is some part of the nototherian p uzzle, but much remains to be done before we can say with certainty how all fragmentary bones and disassociated elements preserved in various museums exactly fit in, for we must not forget that every species showed male, female, and immature characters and not all of these have yet been discriminated. Were it possible to bring together the col lections stored in various museums a com prehensive study and comparison could be made, but faiJing t his our best hope lies in the p ossibility that more skeletons similar Top view or the skull of Noth erium mitchelli, Owen, in p oint of completeness to those found in from. the Darlin~ Downs, Queensland. Note the ex the Mowbray Swamp at Smithton in 1910 l)~ns•on of the front «;~f the nasal bones and the great Wtdtb of the zygomatic arches, which makes the skull and 1920 may yet be discovered. -very broad in comparison with its length. Taking a broad view of the nototherian [Phot.o.- 0. 0 . Glutton. family we eau pictm·e them as gteat lumber ing animals combining in their structure by examinati:m of previously discovered characters now found in widely separated specimens, and it became manifest t hat groups and inherited by the nototheres many of the bones hitherto assigned to from still older and more generalized an .Nototherium did not really belong to that cestors. They were still evolving whe11 the .animal, and t hat the worn bat-like characters race was cut off, and we may say that t hey which Lvdekker had attributed to the Noto were in some respects tapir-1ike, and that the'rium V are not s~ important as he had certain branches, which were developing nasa.l thought, but are to be explained Tather as a armature, were working on to a more ag :survival from mor·e ancient generalized gressive stage and might ultimately have .ancestors. Thus the variations exhibited evolved into a rhinoceros-like type had ex by the n~totherian genera and species tinction not overtaken t he race in P1ei!'itocene (which have yet to he fully worked out) are times. 26 THE AUSTHALfAN M UHEUM MAGAZlN& 7 \\ ith the R.A.O.U. to the Barrington Tops District. BY A. MusGRAVE AND T. G. CA-r.'l:PB ELL. OME thirty miles west of St hp town of Dungog, lying north of Newcastle, ex tends a great mountain rampart wlllch form the southem boundary of the Moun t Royal Range . Though dense sub-tropical forests cloth e its base, its summit , tbc Barrington Top Plateau, i. a land of mist , where the srww.grass and the snow-gum !loul'ish. Tumbling do·wn the Houth and south-ea tern sides of t hP e. carpment aTe the ~ t rram g of the Paterson Allyn, \Villiams, and Chic hester~ whic· h plunge thl'ough den, e bnr hrs before finding their wny to the more open country and the sea . On the plateau it sell rises the Barrington River The R.A.o.u. Camp n~ar the Barring ton Tops road. meandcri ng through marshy LPhoto.-A. MtW)f111't'. meadow: before de cencling the mountain. t o it junction with the LIAN Mus·EUl.\'1 lVIAGA7.I)I"F.t has already indi Mmming Ri,·er. cated, but on former occasions, attention had been concent.rated on the l3arrington Tops 'l'o t hi ~:> delectable land some members and very little time had been devoted to of the Royal Australa ian Ornithologists' the rich life of the brush e. at. t he foot of the (tu on recently paid a 'reek' visit, and by Ranf?;e . During our stay the ornithoJogi&t good fortune the writer were of the party. a.ncl ent-omologist s paid but scan t attE-nti on Om· camp ·was e ta oli sh~d on t.hc beautiful to the Tops, making only day trips, but \Yilliams Ri vt'r near Cutler's Pass, some they t horoughly cxplor ed the cruh-:: in. l "'rnt y. ix miles fr om Dungog and harcl every clire0t ion from the camp. by the road which leads to the Top~ . and !>O mr dnzen lal'ge tents housed the thirt y-six mrn and women wbo had foregat.herecl for THE VE GETAT IOr . lht• purpose of studying the bird and insect organisation lift· of the district. The work of The vegetation in the vicinity of th0 cn mj) fl•ll on the boulders of l\Ir. Neville CaylE>y, consisted of typical euca ly ptu. fon' t. bu t local 'ccretary of t he R.A.O.U .. and he was only a short walk was nrc c~ ... nr.v to take us later elected prE'sirlent of the camp. Mr. into the scrubs . At t h e time of ou r ,·i:-it Alh('J't Edwards of Salisbury was the local it was very hot, t he merciii'.Y !li r ·tin ~ with guide and to the fri end members and thf' the cent m·j es and the district wa ..:: ~o parched constructor of the camp. Ours was not the first scientific party to 1Campbell - 1'he A ll . where some forest giant's trunk has beE-n hauled out. Along these logging tracks we made many a profitable wa.Jk. THE ENTOMOLOGISTS . Though the trip was undertaken by mcst of t he members to study the birds of the district, none the less seven er.tomologists were of the party, and being afflicted with strong entomological tendencies ourselves it is our intention to devote this article chiefly to the entomological aspect of the trip, leaving matters ornithological to be later dealt with by the birdmen of the party in t heir journal, The Emu. Some of our entomological associates had come from other States to attend the camp. Sout.h Australia was represented by its Museum entomologist., Mr. A. M. Lea, well known as a student of beetles. With him was lVIr. F. G. C. Tooke, an economic entomologist from South Africa, visiting Australia for the pur pose of finding a na.tura] ener'lly or parasite of a Gonipterus weevn , introduced into the · Union and defoliating the Australian euca M r . Erasmus Wilson collecting along the road to Bar lypts established there. rington Tops, which leads through the brush. From Victoria came Mr. Erasmus Wilson, LPhoto.-•.J. illusgravtl, another keen collector of Coleopt.era, or beetles. New South Wales was ably repre :and dry that even the brushes showed the sented by Mr. H. J. Carter of Sydney and Mr. want of rain. Notwithstanding the dryness John Hopson of the Allyn River, both inter. -tht:' visitors from southern states were able ested in Coleoptera, and both of whom ac -to gain some conception of a North Coast companied the two previous scientific expe brush. Perhaps the first feature that strikes ditions to t he BaiTington Tops district. Om· -the newcomer is the wealth of parasitic plants, two selves completed the magic number. with which the limbs and trunks of the trees .are laden, few trees being without a Bird's nest, Stag's Horn, or Hare's Foot fern, or even THE INSECTS OF THE BRUSHES . .a ll of these species, while nearly fifteen dis ·tinct species of epiphytic orchids were col The lack of moisture proved a big factor lected by Mr.3. A. Messmer, one of the most in limiting the extent of our captmes. .active lady members of t he party. Many of the Und.~r logs in t he brush, insects such as trunks of the trees growing on the banks of ants, cockroaches, and earwigs as well as ·the Williams R iver were particularly fav spiders, scorpions, and centipedes usually oured by ephiphytes and the climbing fern find refuge, and when a log is over-tnrned ·(Polypodium brownii var. atten~tatum) oc there is a wild scurry for sa.fety by the ·curred abundantly, sending down longriband numerous inhabitants of its undersurface, lik.;; leaves. Giant stinging nettles, (Laportea and unless one is quick they make good. t heir .gigas) grew plentifully by the road side, wild escape. But even log-rolling, usually so raspberry vines occupied large areas in open profit.able in dense scrubs, was attended with ·space.c; in the brush, while huge Blue Gums poor results, and many were r olled over with -towered over all. For years the district nothing to show for one's ent:'rgies . Despite has hoen the haunt of the timber getter, and the dryness sever!ll fine carnivorous ground 'the tracks leading through t he brush show beetles oe carabs were secured One of these 28 THE AUSTRALIAN MUSJ~UM MACAZfNE Chasing through th" da,l'k fl, i ~; I P!:S of th~ forest with 011e's gaze ri vcttc.l on the elusive• speck of light ahead was not w ithout acertain element of risk , and nast,v f able for insect life. On the water-worn boul ders in t he sunlight, brilliant blue-bodied dragonflies (Diphlebia lestoides), momentarily rested with outspread wings or skimmed swiftly up and down the river. Tranquil pools, mirroring stag-horn-laden branches, afforded ideal retreats for the whirligigs or G yrin id W a t.er-beetJ e~ (l via c1·ogy?·us striolatu.s ) The life his tory of a blepharocerid fly. Pupa {upper surface) s howin~ the two lameHar breathin~ or~ans ; l arva (unders urface) showin ~ suckers for attachment; a nd larva (upper surface). [Joyce K. Allan. del. and lower surfaces is approximately equal. The legs are flattened at t heir extremities, and moving rapidly backwards and forwards through the water, act as paddles. Perhaps the most interesting featurl3 of these beetles, is the formation of their eyes, each of which is divided into uppe:r· and lower portions. As the insects fl oat with the bodyhalf- submerged, t he lower portion of each eye is directed downwards and used for lmder-water vision, while the upper portions are for use above water. Whirligigs are thus able to detect t he presence of enemies both above and below water with equal facility. An adult blepharocerid. Along thA banks of the river, where sub [.Photo.--4. M1 1S.7ra:ce. merged sticks and leaves occurred in back waters, we found the interesting aquatic or semi-aquatic beetles of the family Dryopid~ who disported in considerable numbers. In order· to collect them, the submerged sticks When undisturbed t.hey swam rapidly around had to be removed from the water and on the surface of the water , their gyrations subjected to a close scrutiny, when the tiny fully justifying their name of " whirligigs." black beet les could be seen slowly crawling In order to secure specimens wit h the aid about. Great care had to be exercised in of a net, grea.t care bad t o be exercised in examining the sticks or bark, for the largest approaching prospective victims, for, at of these beetles did not exceed four milJimetres t he sJi.ghtest. suggestion of danger, they would i n length, while the majorit y were consider immediately dive below the .· urface and re ably small er. The lar vae of these Dryopid main on the bott om for some time, or else beetles, which occur in the same situa.tion, re-appear on the opposite side of the pool. are for the most part broad, slightly convex, The whole of their lives js spent in t he watet and elliptical jn outli1le, being not unlike and they have become admirably suited to some of the small loricatcs or chitons found their environment. Their bodies are more on t.he sea-shore. During our stay Mr. H. J. or less boat-shaped and pointed at either Carter secured many new species in the end, while the convex:ity of both the upper Williams and A.llyn Rivers. so THE AUSTRALI AN MOS J~UM MAGAZINE THE F MRIES OF THE FALLS . Even the waterfalls and cascades, in which it would seem that nothing could live, afforded 1He to the dainty net- veined midges known to natmR>ljsts as Ble pha1·ocerids . These re ·cmb]e the crane flies or daddy-long legs whjch occur com monJy in damp situa tions, and which look like some gigantic mos quito, but the blephs a~ we termed them, are at once clistinguished by the fact that when at rest, the wings stand out at right angles to The Rocky C ross ing, WUliarns River. At the waterfall in thie fore~ round were the axis of the body, secured larvae, pupae, and a dults of blepharocerids- net-ve ined midges. whereas in the crane- fPhoto.-A. JI11sgrave . . flies the wings li e along the sides of the abdomen. At t he Rocky though these do not correspond t o the true Crossing on the Williams River, some four segments of t he animal. On it s undersurface miles from the camp, was a sE>ries of cascades each larva is prov ided with six suckers, and here we secured the little black larvae rather similar iiJ form an d function to those and pupae and the adults. The two former on the arms of an octupus. By t he aid were taken in the rushing water, clinging of these suckers the larvae ar e able to adhere iirmly to the rocks like other members of firmly to the r ocks and a void being swept the family. away. The adults· wer·e captured whilst flying in The pupa,e are blackish in colour, ar..d the pray of the falls, apparently seeking somewhat oval i"'l out line ; the d orsal surface . favourable situations to lay t heir eggs, and is convex, whne t he ventral stn-face is flat and to catch them, even at a single sweep~ meant provided with t hree pairs of adhesive pad~, a wet and dripping net. Some of these falls with which t he pupae arc able to retain their are only about three or four feet high, ?ut h old in the rushing t umult of spray and even in normal time a considerable volume water. On t he prothorax are situated of water passes through t he narrow rocky the conspicuous breathing processes . The chan11els, so that the situation proves ideal adults cling to the surface of r ocks, with a.ll for the insect's life cycle. six legs spread widely apart, and depo it Perhaps even more interesting a.re the their eggs s~pa rat eJ y in places continua.lly quaint-looking larvae which are attached clrench E>d by the spray. Th0y aJ·e rema.rlw b.le to the rocks in the rush of the falls, where a for possessing a secondary net-veining JH continual supply of fresh water Rows over addition to the ordinary veins supporting their bodies to a depth of about half an inch the wings. This consist s of a. la.rgc nurnbc.>r of . or more. Apparently, in this situation t he fine creases cr ossin0O' t he winO'0 n1.em braJl('S in all larvae a,re ensured of a plentiful food supply directions, forming more or less of n nrt-work in the form of microscopic animalculae, and represent ing t he creases f world's most archaic forms ar e confined to t ennae. The greenish-coloured larvre South America, Tasmania, and Mount K os somewhat resemble the adults, but instead ciusko, New Sout h Wales. W e owe our of spiracles or breathing apertures, they are knowledge of this extraordinary group of equipped with tracheal gills along the first • 'l insects to the r esea.rches of Dr. R. J. Till five segments of t he abdomen. When ready yard 2 andl\1r. A. Tonnoir3, wh o h ave r ecorded t o emerge into the adult condition they ma.ny interesting facts about these insects in crawl up the sides of t he rocks for some few t he references cited. inches, where th e outside shell splits and t h e adult insect em erges. They are preyea on by various aquatic animals, and frogs which we caught at night som etimes haa t h e wings projecting from t heir mouths. THE BARRINGTON TOPS. One morning lVIr. Edwards, Senior, led a party of which we were members t o Edward's Hut on the Barring t. on . Plateau, some 13 miles distat;t from the camp. After leaving camp we found the r oa.d for the first four miles negotiable for a mot or-car and we could ride u.br.east., but it narrowed to a m ere cattle t rack for t he rest o£ the journey. On emerging from the " brush » the road suddenly ascended a spur between the vVilliams and the Allyn Rivers, and passed through open forest country. At 2,073 feet the junction of t he Salisbury Dungog Road wit h the Allyn River Road was reached, a sign-board announcing the fact. Empty larval shells of stone-flies clin~in~ to the stones, Then on and up, the bridle path in places Williams River. [Photo.-A . 111usurave. passing through beautiful forests of Box Cedar until " The Corker " was reached at 4,000 feet. This is one o£ the steep pinches STONE -FLIES. and h ere the path was na.rrow, with rocky banks on the right, and a steep descent int o The soft df\licate-winged stone-ilies or the valley on the left . The scenery here perlids occurred commonly in the larval was magnificent and compensated for the st at e in the Williams River, and the st ones . tiring trip, and as our panting horses paused frequently supported numbe~s of their empty to take breath, we saw away ah ead, Carey's larval cases. The adultinsect s wer e not very . P eak, a bold bluff, 5,100 feet high at the head abundant , and, though not active fliers, were of th e Allyn Va.lley and paRt which we had to :usually able to hover out of r each of a n et . traveL On the opposite side of the valley, Several species were secured , but the com rose the densely wooded hills dividing the monest form was a greenish-winged insect. AUyn from the Paterson River Valley. This species, like others of the order, h as a Then on to the Spring, 4,388 feet , where we soft integument which shrivels when dry, dismounted to rest our horses, for we had four very soft wings, and lon g flexible an- ascended near:y 3,000 feet in the last fi ve roil s. Above the Spring we came to the first 2 T ill yard-At~ stralian Blepharocerid ae (Order patch of Niggerhead Beech, Notlwfagus Dipter a) P t . I. D escription of New Species. Aus moorei, a beautiful tree occurring only at . tt·aliun - Zoolo(Jist, II. 1922, pp. 159 -172. alt itudes above 3,500 feet ; it is common 3Tonnoir- Anstralian B l epha • ·ocer ida~ , Pt. II, I~arvne and Pupae, op. c;t., Ill, 1923, pp. 47-59, on the Barringt on Tops. The grade here and pp. 135-142 . was slight and we rode on level pc-1tchcs 32 THE A USTRALIA.S M USE UM MAGAZINE A tvplcal scene on the Barrington Tops, near Edwards Hut, with tussocky s n ow-grass in the fo re~roun d, · and s now-gum covered hills in the distance. [PI1oto.-L raraliPr. until thr track again ascended and soon to take shelt er. Then sleet and hail fell brought us a.mong the snow-grass and snow covering t he ground with a glistening white gums of the Tops. A detour to the edge pall, which lasted f or some hours and dis of thP precipice, gave us an oppor appeared only when the sun rose. During the tunity to see the wonders of the Allyn night t he wind which blew over the icy-cold Valley. Ca-rey 's Peak was now on our right ground whistled t hrough every crack in the a-nd rlose at hand. 'rhen we descended old hut. Fortunu.tely, one of the party to the foot of the low hill~ which encircle the with a knowledge of Dorrigo Mountain eon wide marr:hy plains tluough which the ditions, h ad laid in a p lentiful supply of tributaries of the Barrington meander. firewood, and t he fire in the hut was kept The c marshy plains are entirely devoid of going until morning, though the occupants trees, but the hills surrounding them are were alternately toasted and frozen back covered with snow-gums and other eucalypts. and front before morning broke, and they The fore ts of snow-gums are monotonous, and the widE' expanses of brown meadows ·oon made us long for the green of the brushes. Upon the ground, under the snow-gums, lny ma.ny dead branches, and these, our guide pointed out, had been broken off by the weight of the winter snows. After a mile or two had been traversed, we at length arriv~d at the hut. Edwards' Hut, and ~ 'axby': Hut some miles away, are the only habi tations on this wide and blE-ak plateau. Near Eclwards' Hut ri es the Middle Barring ton tri bnta,ry, at an altitude of 4,800 feet. During the winter months t.he Tops are a wa ·te of snow, but in the summer, during droughty periods, the cattle men drive thejr ·tock up from the lowlands, for here there i alway a.mple wa.ter and pasturage. ome of the party had come with the intention of spending the night at the hut a.nd walking down to the camp the next day, and blanket· had been brought up. Five accordingly spent the night on the Tops, inchtd.ing one of the writers (T.G .C.), and some insect collecting was done before a heavy mist came down comp<'1ling them T h e Mldrtle Bnr tlngton trlb utar~· · R~trrhl~ton 'f()!IS• l l'hotn. .1. .1/1111!/ fll''r. THE AUSTRALIAN M USE Ul\1 l\IAGAZINE 33 ...... ~~.· A panorama over the Allyn River Valley, and the dis tant hitls whlcb s eparate it from the valley of the Paterson. [Photo.- L. Cavalier, were able to get breakfast and depart from the chilling heights . INSECT LIFE ON THE BARRINGTON TOPS. As t he season was not far enough ad vanced at the t.ime of our visit, and the effects of t he rigorous winter were still apparent insect life was somewhat scarce. At lower alt itudes j nsects are usually most abundant during November and D ecember , but on the Tops January and February appear to be t.he favoured months . Plant and animal life remains morE' or less dormant at such an altitude, and does not awake to its full vigour until late in the season. As little insect life appeared on t he wing wf' spent the few hours at our disposal in t urning over logs. When the logs were removed many of the insects appeared to be in a state Two ear:--wi~s. T itanol abis colossea (lt>ft ) ; an inhabi of stupor, making it en.sy to secure them, a tant of the brushes, a nd Apachyus aus tra !iae rightJ, marked contrast to their more a.cti ve brethren w hich occurs on the Barrington Tops and t he Dorrigo P lateau. of the lower brushes . One of the most [ Photo.-11 . M usgrflVP. intere~ti ng finds was a large, ftat-bodied " ear-wig " Apachyus a~tslrrtliae, a handsome NumProus ants, beetles, and cockroaches species measuri ng some one and a half were found below logs, while a small thicket inches in length, marked with reddish of eucalypt seedlings yi.elded plant-bugs, brown, black and creamy.white markings. beetles, and fli es of various kinds . Another This species has been recently described interesting, though by no means rare find , and figured by Dr. R. J.. Till yard in his was a " pig " or "snout " beetle. Leptops book on The Insects of A ustTalia and New gladiafoT, one of the true weevils . This Zealand, in which he states that it occurs insect mf'asures from one-half to thre<' in the for cc:~ts of the Dorrigo and J3anington quarters of an inch in length, its shiny 'Tops. body being glossy black in colom·, with a, 34 THE AUSTRALIAN :\I USE Ul\J t.lACAZlNE broad creamy-white band down the centre simila,r to that of Mount K osC'i u ~k() <·~t n.b o£ the back, and similar markings a.t t.he lished for the benefit of UH' r<'sid <•nts of nor. sides of the body. This beetle occurs during the.rn New South Wales. 'l'hat. t his route iR a somewhat lengthy 8ea.son each yaar, as closer to Sydney and Nowca~t l e than the specimens ·were recently collected during alternative one on th~ other side of Lhe range, October, while others W('re secured by t he from Scone via Moonan Flat, nobody would authors on two dHferent expeditions in the deny, and its natural beauties greatly excel months of December, Ja.nuary and February. those of the more gradual, but l<~ss in.C)piring ascent from the Scone side. The ascent from theAllynRiver sign board toth(' summit CONCLOSlON. however, is so steep that to construct a road The people of the Dungog district were capable of taking motor car traffic would extremely hospitable to us during our visit, undoubtedly be a colossal and extremely and every facility was put at our disposal. expensive undertaking. In t h e futur<>, some The Barrington Tops League has jts head thing of t he kind will doubtless he accom :q uartcrs in Dungcg, and its m em hers are very plished, for t.he area would afford a fine :keen to see a road constructed from the natural winter-playground ,and a cool retreat Dungog side to the Tops, and a health resort from t.be heat of the plain"3 in summer. Reviews. Featherecl 1Vlinstrels of Australia. By A. H. the study of ethnological problems, a.ncl CJHSHOLl\I and N. W. CA YLEY. (Simmons both psychology and ethnology have gajnecl Limited, Sydney, 1926). Angus & Robert thereby. Eqnipped wit h a thorough scien son. 2j-. tific tra.ining, particularly in neurology and The first series of t his little work has just psychology, he was also an adept at col been issued; three succeecling parts are lecting and sifting data., and drawing logical promised. It is a praiseworthy attempt to couclusions therefrom. rescue our birds from the undeserYed repu Professor G. Elliot Smit.h, ~who contriLutes tation for songlessness which some thoughtless the preface and a, valuable introrluction, writer fastened on t hem in the long ago. tells us that the volume is the outcome of a In truth our bird YocaJists can challenge promise made to Dr. Rivers to collect and comparison with those of a.ny other con publish in book form a series of his scattered tinent, and in mimicry they excel any. memoirs on ethnological subjects. The se Each booklet will treat of seven species lection has been well made, and we are of birds, the principal songsters of the Aus presented with som~ of the a.uthor's most -trauan bu. h. The letterpress is contributed important ideas in a.ntbropology, sociology, by the accomplished writer and naturalist psychology, and psycho-medicine. As the lVh-. A. H. Chisholm, and the illustrations essays and addresses are not all of the same are by Nlr. N. W. Cayley, well known a.s a date we are enabled to trace t he evolutioli bird artist. The first series includes a Lyre of the author's t h ought, and to understa.nd Bird, Magpie, Grey Thrush, Golden Whistler, for instance, his conversion to the ·• dif Sihrereye, and White-throated Warbler. fusionist " point of view, uam<"!y the , ~jew There is a fine coloured frontispiece de that similar cultural features ha ,~e not picting the male Lyre Bil·d on its dancing evolYed independently in different areas, mound. but are the result of contact and infiltra.tion. Admirably produced, the booklet reflects The t·elation between psychology and great credit upon authors and publisher ethnology is complex bnt intimate. lt is for .a.like. t he psychologist to enquire into t he moth·rs which have prompted and guid<'d humnn Psychology and Ethnology. By W. H. R. thought, and, on the oth el' hand. tiH' eth RIVERS, F.R. . (Kegan Paul, Trench nologist, by his study of raciRl em~toms twd Truhner artd Co. Ltd., 1926). From beliefs, provides mn.tm'ia.lfor th<' psyehulogisl. Dymock's. Dr. R.ivet·s, by his. t rainiug an.d his <'Xl<'n~i\'<' The late Dr. Rivers was primarily a. experience irl. fie-ld stndi<'s, whieh hP piH'S IIt'd psychologist, but circumstances led him to in Tones Strait, l~gy pl , Jndin., !\klnnr: and other places, was enabled to make im physical strength. Unfitness was regarded portant contributions to both sciences. by the ancient Maori as little better than a. His paper on " The Problems of Australian crime, and the maintenance of phy~ i cal Culture ' (pp. 158-166) is of special interest fitness was r ecognized as a personal and to us. . A general belief in the simplicity of national obligation. Australia!~ ~ulture had led to the assumption When the Maori arrived in New Zealand that abongmal c~toms have originated in, t hey found t he islands occupied by t he and grown out of Ideas and sentiments of a MoriOl'i, a peaceful and apparently slothful race un~ss isted by, and independent of race, careless of physical wellbeing and sani external mfluences. Dr. Rivers shows that tation. According to the authoress the this belief is erroneous, and that there is Maori tool< upon themselves to exterminate far more community between Australian the Moriori so as to prevent their own de and Melanesian culture than had been sup t erioration by inter-marriage. " The Maori posed. H e .demonstr~tes that the diversity considered it a r eligious duty to substitute of fl;meral ntes prae~1sed by the aborigines their own cultur e." But that affords no forb1dR the assumption that their culture excuse for the invasion of the Chatham is really simple, f or there ar e few areas in Islands (where the Moriori r emnant had the world w·here so many cliffer eht modes of obtained r efuge) by ~L Maod war party in disposal of the dead are present. 1835. Finding that after a thousand years of settlement these island~ were onJy sparsely The fact that the Tasmanians wer e unable populated, t.he warlike and pro1ific Ma.ori t o co~stru ct sea-going canoes has been urged considered that this " justified the exter as evidence that they must have crossed to mination of the Moriori as sinful people who TaRmania while it was still a peninsula of had neglected health and race cult ure .'' Australia. But Rive1·s, in his instructiv e essay " The Disappear ance of the Useful The views concerning the origin and mi Arts '.(PP: 190-216), shows t hat knowledge grations of the Ma.ori, as set forth in this work ~ of nav1gatwn and of canoe-making may be will not, we feel, be accepted readily by l o.c5t , a~1d has been lost in at least two plac e~ in anthropologists. According t o the legends Oceama. . P erhap ·, therefore, the T asmanians of the New Zealand lVIaori, mankind (Maori) crossed to Tasmania after the formation of was divided into four races, the Brown, the Bass Sha.i t . Y ellow, t he Black. and the White Maori. The Maori originat.ed in Assyria, the tradi tional descent being from I-Haka (Isaac), who was the son of A-Pa.ra-Hama. (Abraham) ll!ao-ri 8yntboz.ism . B eing an A ccount of the and the son of I-Haka was Ha-K opa (J acob) . Origin, .Migration , amd Oultu're oj the Comment is unnecessary. New Zealand jl!Iao,ri a.s reco-rded in ce1·tain 8aored Legends. By ETTJE A. RouT. The Br own Maori , from whom the N cw (K egan P aul, Trench Trubner & Co. Ltd., Zealand Maori arc rlescendcd, emigrated L ondon , 1926) . From Dymock's . across EuTope to P ortugal, ·whence they sail ed to America, settling in Mexico (Hawaiki Miss R out, who has resided in N cw Zealand mu), and afterwards in Peru, fi nally em for thirty years, has d one good service by barking on the long western voyage to Nc,~ collecting the legends of the Maori in t he Zoaland by way of E aster Island. One book befor e us . T he evidence has beeH may be pardoned for doubting whether supplied mainly by H ohepa t e R aka. , an Maori legends can give any reliable in Arawa noble, but the authoress has en formation of events pd or to the arrival in deavoured to record corroboration wherever New Zealand of t he seven canoes with t bcil' possible. eight hundred passengers. One of the most interesting feat urE's of the The work forms a fine tribute t o a noble book is the deta.iled account of health prac race, but Miss R out is sometimes inclined tices bv which the Maori maintained their t o lose th(' sense o£ proportion in hrr intense ph ys ic~l fitness . Maori cultivation of the admiration of the Maori " the bravest of all body by games and dances is claimed t o be an traveJlcrs, the greatest of all discover <'rs, ordered system o£ ph ysical education, de and the most enduringly successful of rut signed t o imp1·ovc and preserve hea.Jth and nation-builders ... 36 THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MA GAZINE The Insects of Australia and New Z ealand. The othel' groups a rc dea lt with in like BY R. J. TLLLYARD, lVf.A., Sc.D. (CANTAB.), manner. In t he · hngo ordc·r Colcoptf'ra, D.Sc. (SYDNEY), F.R.S., ETC. (Angus and Chapter xx. (a group whic h W<' pr<:vious.ly Robertson, Ltd. 1926). £2 2s. learn from Chapter i . , page 8 , i ne 1u