Museum seeks funds

Press, 22 September 1978, Page 4

Museum seeks funds

A sub-committee of the Canterbury’ Museum Trust Board will be set up to study ways of getting Government finance for work of national importance done by the museum.

The Mayor of Christchurch (Mr H. G. Hay) said at a meeting of the board yesterday that under the Antiquities Act the museum received $4OOO a year for experimental and scientific work.

But this did not cover all expenses and ultimately such work, in many cases of national . importance, was being financed by Christchurch ratepayers. A board member, Mr G. Warren, said the museum’s archaeologist, Mr M. Trotter, being the best qualified in his field, had been asked recently to investigate Maori rock carvings in the Waikato.

This was an example of work of national importance and a case where expenses incurred outside the allowable grant should be met by the Government. The director of the museum (Dr R. S. Duff) said that another example was the museum’s obligation to receive wild birds which had to be stored in an already full freezer because the museufn did not have its own taxidermist.

The Government grant covered only on-the-sport work done by the curator, usually in his spare time.