THE CANTERBURY MUSEUM

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22429, 16 June 1938, Page 9

THE CANTERBURY MUSEUM

»o Tin editob or rax press. Sir,—l should be grateful if you woUld allow me space to draw attention to the inertia which appears to have overtaken the project for the reconstruction of the Canterbury Museum. As chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Carnegie Corporation of' Museums in New Zealand, I recently made an informal visit to the Canterbury Museum. I was most favourably impressed by the ability and enthusiasm of a staff which I consider is second to none in the museums of Australia and New Zealand. The active educational work which they are undertaking, particularly among the school children of Canterbury, is of outstanding merit, and deserves every encouragement from the community The physical resources of the museum afford a striking contrast to the quality of the staff. It is five years since the Markham report drew general attention to the inadequacy of the accommodation of the museum. Though some of the criticisms levelled at the museum in this report may have been unduly severe, it is impossible to dispute the contention that “a new museum building is an Urgent necessity.” It is most disappointing to find that in the interval no active policy of reconstruction appears to have been embarked upon. Apparently a new museum has been made the official centenary project, but no funds have been collected, no plans drawn, and no committee appears to be actively at work to implement the scheme. This apathy is particularly obvious during a period of great constructional activity in roads and buildings throughout the province In 1939 Mr Falla, the Curator, is to receive a travel grant from the Carnegie Corporation to visit the museums of America and Europe, and in making this grant it was the hope of the Foundation that during Mr Falla’s absence the new building would be erected.

The _ educational and recreational potentialities of a properly-housed and adequately-endowed museum are - so great both to child and adult, that 1 suggest that this matter deserves the active support of the people of Canterbury as a whole. May I propose that , a istroifg, ad hoc committee representative of the. local authorities, the educational institutions, and the people generally, young and old, of Canterbury* be set up without further delay with the object of securing a museum building worthy of the past • traditions of the Canterbury Museum, to be ready before the close of the centennial year of 1940.—Yours, etc.', • C. E. HERCUS; Medical School, Dunedin. Dunedin, June 14, 1938.