A GREAT CAST.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 10, 12 January 1940, Page 5

A GREAT CAST.

ENVY OF ANGLERS.

REPLICA OF BLACKFISH.

DESTINED FOR MUSEUM. •The one that got away was the same •fee." That 5s what anglers will probably •ay to their wives when they visit the Auckland War Memorial Museum in the near future and gaze at the plaster-cast replica of Auckland's famous ' killer whnlo" that died an inglorious but natural, death in the harbour a few weeks ago—and was later identified as a blackfish. The envious 'boasts of anglers will be given opportunity for expression because of the skilful and, at one stage, unpleasant work done by Mr. C. W. Dover, taxidermist at the museum. When a reporter visited him this morning he shook hands, leaving a quantity of plaster of paris with the.newspaperman, and said, "How would you like to catch a fish like that?" The object he indicated appeared to be something like an island canoe built by a shipwright with a futuristic turn of mind. Closer inspection, however, revealed that it was certainly the likeness of a fish —or rather, half a fish. The cast was hollow and was supported in the interior by substantial struts of wood and is destined to be hung above the heads of the public in one of the great hulls of the institution. Would Deceive a Blackfish. As he talked Mr. Dover worked busily with plaster of paris and sisal hemp, stiffening tip the frame of the sea rover. Later, when the cast }nis dried properly and after Mr. Dovei returns from his holidays, the blackfish cunt will lie painted in such a skilful manner that any ordinary blackfish who knew nothing about what taxidermists can do would never guess the •Twwer. Mr. Dover said that taking the cast was a, na.sty job, and the limitations of time had made fast work essential. The

cast had been taken in three sections, each section haying to be removed before the next one was completed. This was made necessary because, owing to the fact that decomposition, had set in, the outside skin had peeled off, and blood was oozing through the plaster; The whole job had to be done between tides, as it was impossible to remove the creature to some more convenient position, and the work had been completed within 2J hours. Whereas the original blackfish was estimated to weigh between 2J and three tons, this life-like half-section, when finished, will tip the scales at about 2201b. So, when you see the plaster cast in the museum, remember that a taxidermist's life is no bed of roses.