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 M USGBAVB, 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<T - A. JhJsgrat:e and T. 0. C'am1Jbell 26 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 <tt . alth ough I feel a difficulty in H olmes arrived in t he Colony and assumed authorizing the commenc<' mcnt of any t he po. t of Colonial .Zoologist, but the follow­ Building for t hat purpose, until an estimate ing c·xtract from the S.t;clney Ua-:ette of 3Jst of t he expc•nse shall have been fit'st submitted Augu ·t, 1830, shows t ha.t he was in charge of to my consideration, yet 1 am disposed, in a. collection in that year:- the mPantime, to allow a, , um, not exceeding .. The public arc not genC'J'ally aware that a £:200 per annum, to be disbursed for the beautiful collection of Australian curio. ities, pw·pose of assisting h1 the accomplishment the p r·operty of Government, is deposited of t hi !$ object; and, as one of the first st eps jn the old Post Office. 'l'his Museumjs under towardB C'nsuring its s u ccc~;s seems to be thC' superintendence of l\lr. Holmes, who, t he st•ndi11g out some proper person to assist between t he hours of ten and t hree, politely in colk<:ting and ar1'al1gi11g s uch specimens, shows the same to any rcsprctablc individuals as it may he possible to procure jn t hat who may think fit to call. It is well \VOrthy <1 uartc•,·, l have been further induced to in:-~pcct i on .'' 4 THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE 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.