MUSEUM OF NATURE

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32880, 1 April 1972, Page 12

MUSEUM OF NATURE

Centennial appeal needs helpers

(Contributed by the Canterbury Museum)

Having become so interested in the museum’s onehundredth anniversary appeal that I find myself in the office of general gifts chairman, I address this appeal to my fellow citizens at large to assist in the most direct way possible. This is by enrolling in the team of 500 helpers each prepared over the 12 weeks of May, June and July, to make one call a week, and possibly two, on prospective donors already listed in our hopeful cardindex of museum benefactors.

The best way to help is to offer yourself as a commit-tee-helper and following a thorough briefing, to make your person-to-person calls. Do not be worried if you lack experience; if you are sincere and eager to help, you are the person the museum needs. Many of our helpers will assemble at the museum for the appeal-launching function on Monday, April 10. The appeal organiser (Mrs M. G. R. Gurnsey) or the director (Dr R. S. Duff) would be happy to hear from you if you cal] or ring the museum, any time from now until the end of April. Close association

There must be thousands of New Zealanders and visitors from abroad who have been favourably impressed by the quality of service and display afforded them by the Canterbury Museum. As someone who was born within a few yards of the museum’s front door I have been fortunate in having more opportunities than most to be closely associated with the museum and its staff. Boyhood visits, during which an innate nervousness was allayed by the firm grip of a parental hand, were succeeded by an all too brief period, as a visiting training college student, of teaching primary classes. Then came the 1950 s and a residential move back to the environment of the museum and the chance to be a regular visi-

tor. I have often wondered why treasured things are so frequently ignored by those to whom they are most easily accessible. I was no exception. , However, the seeds of interest. sown bv parents and kind relatives, and cultivated in the 1930 s by George Guy, then the Museum’s Education Officer, have recently blossomed. This has resulted largely, I feel sure, from the stimulating advances made in the art of presentation. I doubt whether many local citizens fully realise the outstanding artistry and skill demonstrated by those responsible for the display of the museum’s treasures. And now, following the full flowering, comes the harvest Once again good fortune has

attended, this time in the guise of Roger Duff. His has been the inspiration which encouraged me to seek a more intimate part in museum affairs and to agree to help prepare for the 100th anniversary appeal for funds. More recently still, a month's work as a relieving custodian, brought me into close contact with the present staff, a privilege I shall long treasure, for. in many respects. they indeed are the museum and deserve out full support. The target of $250,000 is attainable. The museum's wonderful past record and future needs will, I feel certain, offer a challenge which Canterbury, and particularly Christchurch, will be proud to accept.—A.P.G.