GLAMOROUS ISLE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 100, 29 April 1937, Page 9

GLAMOROUS ISLE.

RECORDS OP TAHITI.

IMPORTANT COLLECTION.

MITCHELL LIBRARY'S GAIN.

Described as "one of the most important collections to come to the Mitchell Library," a mass of documents on early South Pacific history is soon to arrive in Sydney from Papeete.

They deal largely with the picturesque story of Tahiti, sometimes regarded the most glamorous island of the South Seas.

The papers relate to shipping in early Pacific days, rebellions, visits of mis-1 eionaries, and other detail of the story of the "New Cythera," for whose delights Bligh's men dared the mutiny in the Bounty. In 1936 the trustees of the Mitchell Library sent the Mitchell librarian (Mies I. Leason) to Tahiti to examine the old records. Tahiti was originally part of territory administered by the Governor of New South Wales, and Mies Leason found that the records were of considerable historic interest. Under the Act governing British official records, however, such papers could be dealt with in only two ways— by 1 being handed over to the Public Record Office or by being destroyed. ' There was no rule by which British official records could be transferred to ' the Dominions, but, after hearing the ' arguments of the Mitchell trustees, the Foreign Office authorities approved of ' the request for transfer in this instance. 1 The Public Record Commissioners then made a new rule, that in special cir- ■ cumstances records might be preserved 'in other places besides the Public Record Office, if they were properly s cared for and made available to stu* r dents.

Tahiti records v re then offered to the [Commonwealth Government, which at first indicated the National Library at ! Canberra a "suitable repository

Mr. W. H. Ifould, principal Mitchell librarian, who was in London, cabled to the trustees urging that the Mitchell

Library was even more suitable, and thei Government agreed that the Sydney ii'.-j stitution should house the collection. Ai British official was sent to Tahiti to; record the documents for the British authorities. j