DECEMBER 15, 1962 Regi~tered at the General l>o'lt Office. Sydney. for transrnb~ion by poM a~ a periodical VoL. XIV, No. 4 PRICE, THREE S HILLINGS THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM HYDE PARK, SYDNEY BO A RD OF TR STEE PRESIDENT: LMERITUS PROFESSOR A. P. I LKII'., M .A. l'h.IJ CROW TR STEE: F . B l>PE C I-I{ OFFICIAL I'RUSTEES: T il E liON. Tl·l l::. C HI EF J U TIC I::. 'I H E HON. T i l E PRESIDE T 01- TI-l E LEGI SLA'IIVE CO UNC IL. Til E liON. THE C HI E F SECR ET A RY. !"H E liON. T H E ATIOR EY-GE ERA L. ril E HO . T H I::. TREASUR ER. 1 H E HO . Ti l E t.IIN ISTER FOR P U BLIC \\o O RKS. TH E HON. T ilE 11 1 ISTER FOR EDUCATI0 ' . T H E A UDITOR-GE E RAL. 1 11 E PRESI DE T 0 1· TH E NEW SOUTH WALES t.II::.DICA L BOARD. TH E SURVEYOR-G E ERAL A D C HIEF SU RVEYOR. THE C ROW SOLI C ITO R. t:U:CTI\' E TR STUS: 0 . G . VIC K ER Y. B.E .• M.l.E. (Ausl.). FRA 'K \\ . I Ill L. LMt:.RITUS l'RO I-l::.SSOR r\ . P I LI-..It-., M.A , (,, A. JOH 0:--. P h.D. PI{O F ESSOR J . R. A. lllct.IILLA:--. , 1\l.S., F . McDOWE LL. D.Sc.Agr. R. J . NOBLE, C.B.E., B.Sc.Agr., M.Sc., Ph. D. E. A. J . II YDE. E. J . K ENN Y, M.Aust. l.M .M. I'ROFI-.SSOR 1{. I . C ROCKLR, O.Sc. F. L. S. BELL. M .A .. F.R.A. I. S. H AVILANIJ. C B.E. DlR.ECTOR: J . W. E ANS, Sc.D. DEPUTY D IRECTOR: H. 0 . F LETCH ER. M .Sc. SCIE TJFI(; STAFF: B ~rd.: H. J de S DISNEY. M .A. Curator. Roptiles and Amphibian.: H. G. <.OGGI R . M .Sc. <.uratnr Mammals: B. J . M A RLOW. B.Sc .. Curator. Fishes: G. P. WHITLEY, F. R.Z.S., Curator. Insects and A rachnid•: C. K SM ITH ERS, t.l.Sc .. Curator: D. K. J\lcALPI, E. J\ l.Sc .. Ass,;tant Curator. Molluscs: D . F . 1\tcMICH AEL, M.A.. Ph.D., Curator. Crustacea and Coelcmeratcs: J . C YALDWYN. M.Sc .. Ph.D. Worms and Echinoderms: ELIZABETH C. PO I' E. M .Sc .. Curator. Minerals and Rocks: R. 0. CH ALMERS. A.S.T .C .. Curator. Fossils: l-1. 0 . F LETCH ER, M.Sc .. Curator. nthropology: F . D. 1\lcCARTHY, Dip.Anthrop .. Curator. EDITORIAL SSISTANT AND P BLIC EDLCATIO:\' OFFICER: RELATIO ' S OFFICER PATRIC IA M . i\lcDO,ALD. B !.c .. D •P cd. PETER COLLIS. EXHIBITION OEI'ARTI\IENT, A l{'f A D OESIG ' SECTIO : F. J . BEEMAt-.. LIBRA RIA PHOTOGRAPH E R AND VIS AL A IDS OFFICER: \>I ARY DAV II- ~. B c L.A A H. J-I UG III' !.. A R.P. H O O I(ARY SCIEo TIFIC STAFF: Zoolo~i>l>. E. A. BRIGG . D.Sc. JOYCE A LLAN. 1-. R.Z.S. 11. LE IG I-ITON K ESTEVEN. D . c .. M.D. J . COPLAND. M.Sc. J\I ELBOU I{, E WARD. F.R.7 .S .. F.Z.S. FLLIS TROUGIITO'. C.M.Z. l OJ\1 IREDALE. A. A. RACEK. Dr.rer.nat. (Brno). A. J . M A I{SIIA I L. D .Sc .. D.Phol. F A. J\Jc:--.I:: JLL. I'.R.Z.S. Ornithologis t. l' hlhllelist. 1-. A. III N DW()()I>. C. F .A.O .. I R .7.S. I RA 'JK W. Hil l . 'Pbooe : 61 4284 A. A. LAWSON PTY. LTD. Process Engravers SPEcr LISTS l N SCIE TlFlC WORK VICTORIA BUILDINGS, 9 WILMOT STREET, SYDNEY NEAR WATER AND SEWERAGE BOARD o~oc:==~o~oc:==~o~oc:====~o~o 0 0 0 0 o The Natural History of Sydney 0 An account, in non-techni cal language, of much of the land and ma rine fa una. topogra phy, geology, fossil s, na ti ve pla nts and Aboriginal a rt of the Sydney area. 0 This well illustrated, 64-page book contains the articles that 0 appeared in the December, 1960, special "Natural History of Sydney" issue of "The A us1ralian Museum M agazine", 10gether D 0 with two articles that have appeared in other issues of the 0 magazine and two new articles. Price 5/ - (po ted 5/ 6) Obta inable from the Australian Mu eum 0 0 o~oc:==~o~oc:==~o~oc:==:=~o~o December, 1962 (i) 0 UT D 0 0 R S M EN throughout Australia have learned to TRUST Paddymade Camp Gear. In remote places where equipment must do its job in all weathers and under adverse conditions you will find experienced men and women using Paddymade Camp Gear. In the Antarctic, South-west Tasmania, the dense scrub of Victoria and the windy ranges of Kosciusko you will find men using P ADDYMADE CAMP GEAR lt will serve you well wherever you may go in the bush. Illustrated Catalogue and Price List free on request Paddy Pallin Pty. Ltd. 201 Castlereagh Street, Sydney . Telephone 26 2685 AIJ$T~ALIAN ABO~IqiNE$ An illu trated boo klet on the everyday li fe of the Abo rigine - their art a nd crafts, hunti ng, m usic, dancing, games, etc. Of special interest to school children Price 6d. Po ted 1/- Obtai1table from the A ustralia1t Museum (ii ) Australia11 Natural lli.1Wrv This issue is devoted entirely to the A ustralian Museum and its activities. CONTENTS Paf(e T ilE TII EM E OF TilE AUSTRALIAN M USEU M 105 Til E N E\V W1 G-1. W. E vans 106 T 11 E TRUSTEES-A . P. Elkin 108 AN OPEN EXIIIBIT 110 T il E FIRST H UNDRED Y EA RS-G. P. Whitley I I l STORI ES B E lli D T il E M usE u M 's COLLECTIONS-R . 0. Chalmers 1 16 B ooK R EVI EW 120 B Elli D T ilE SeE E 12 1 FIELD EXPEDIT IO s-H. 0. Fletcher 122 B EAUTY A D T ilE B EASTS-B . J. Mar/ow 127 OBITUARY : WI LLIAM B AR ES 132 OTES A D EWS 133 EDUCATIO SERVICES-Patricia McDona/d 134 (Photography, unless otherwise stated. is by Howard Hughes.) -= • FRONT COVER: The Australian Museum, with its new seven-storey wing at left. The fine new building will house staff, collections, exhibits and a restaurant for the visiting public. The drawing is by Oavid Hac, of the Museum's Exhibition Department. VoL. X LV. o. 4 DECEMBE R 15. 1962 NEW AUSTRALIAN BOOKS DESERT PEOPLE by M . ) . Meggitt This is the first full-l ength study of a n Aboriginal tribe to be generally published since 1937. Dr. Meggitt li ved for more than a year in clo e contact with the Walbiri tribe of Central Austra li a. Hi wife also took part in the inve tigation. gathering informati on not ea ily available to a man about the women's attitudes and acti vitie . ln addition to covering history, economic, political and rcligiou life, sexual attitudes and cultural institutions. the a uthor examines the a simila­ tion question. Illustrated. 52/ 6 ( post 1/ 3) CHARLES HARPUR : AN AUSTRALIAN by ) . Normlngton Rawllng The story of Cha rles Harpur. Australia's first poet, is at once the record of a rema rka ble ma n and a part of Australia ·s litera ry and national hi story. T here is much interesting materia l on the truggles for self-government a nd the franchise, and among the men who figure in the book a re Henry Pa rkes, J ohn Robertson, D. H . Deniehy, N. D. Stenhouse and Henry Kenda ll. 45/ - (post 1/ 3) THE WINNING OF AUSTRALIAN ANTARCTICA by A. Grenfell Price An account of Mawson's B.A.N.Z.A.R.E. voyages, told principally by extracts from Mawson's journa ls, with introductory comment and concluding chapters a nd a commenta ry by Dr. Price. Illustrated with many photographs. mainl y by the late Frank Hurley. and maps, evera l of which are Mawson's own work. 50/ - (pot 1/ 8) At all bookseller ANGUS & ROBERTSON LTD 89 CASTLEREAGH STREET, SYDNEY Australian arural H /story AUS IAN NATUR I STORY Published Quarterly by the Australian Museum College Street, Sydney Editor : J. W. Evans, Sc.D . A nnual Subscri ptio n, Posted, 14/ - VoL . XlV, No. 4 D ECEMBE R 15, 1962 The Theme of the Australian Museum T i-US i::sue of Australian Natural History T he text o n the other side of this no tice commemo rates an event of the greatest reads as follows :- importance in the lo ng hi sto ry of A us­ The Theme of this Museum is tralia's oldest and largest natural histo ry The fll tcr-relatiollship of all Livi11g Thi11gs. museum. Its M essa!(e: This event is the completio n of a new Co11serve, Do11 ·1 D estroy. wing. which is described elsewhere in these pages. and wh ich is the first majo r additio n The Animals and Pfallts of Australia are our heriW!(e 10 be held in trust for future to be made to the M useum in over half a f.!enera tiOIIS.