THE NEW MUSEUM.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20271, 3 June 1929, Page 11

THE NEW MUSEUM.

WHANGING THE EXHIBITS. A LARGE UNDERTAKING, /' ■ - BUSY TIME FOR THE STAFF. » > PROGRESS OF DISPLAYING. // '/ Faced with a heavy task in reclassifying and arranging tho exhibits in their new cases, good "progress is being made . by tho staff at present working at the "War Memorial Museum to bavo tho building in readiness for its opening. It is thought by tho curator, Mr. Gilbert iArchey, who is in charge of tho work, that tho exhibits will all bo in place, arranged in their permanent positions, relabelled a:r:,d properly described by the end of November. When tho task is completed it will be for tho Citizens' . Committee t'o docido tli6 dato of the - official opening of tho museum. At present many of the cases have yet to bef unpacked, and thousands of specimens are lying packed in tho same state as when they were romoved from tho old building. Others bavo been placed temporarily in tho old show-cases to allow them to bo classified after they bavo been reconditioned, whilo a certain number has been placed in permanent positions. Now that tho interior of tho building is finished except for tho provision of itaor covering, it is possible to gain some idea of what-, tho displays will look liko j when tho work of arrangement is completed. From tho main doorway ono ; enters tho memorial hall, lofty and imposing, lined with classic pillars, and reaching upward to tho roof of the building. On the first and second floors gal- ■ j lenes run round the ball, from which two rharblo stairways, lead upstairs at each / sido of tho entrance, while a passenger lift is also provided. " Fine Maori Specimens. , The remainder of. tho ground floor is given over to anthropological exhibits, pride of placo naturally being given to tho very fine Maori specimens. On tho left side of tho main hall is a court in which Pacific ■ exhibits aro being ar- _>■ ranged, while tho corresponding court on tho other side of the building is devoted to general anthropology. At presentsome of tho exhibits have been placed in these two sections, many cases being in • position in tho general section. / The two courts at the rear corners of the building are. now being arranged with the Maori curios they aro t to contain. Running between them is the Maori hall, along which arc small bays for special exhibits of native life. None of these is arranged'vet. Tho main work now being earned" 'out is the erection of the large Maori house from Thames, presented by the Ngatimaru tribe. This stands in a cross ball specially built to hold it. The bouse, which is about 80ft long, has had to be completely reconditioned. All the timbering is scraped of the old paint, after patterns of the designs have been taken, and tben the wood is treated /with preservative. A new coat is then applied, and tho designs aro painted on again from tho patterns. As there is the ridge polo 80ft. long, tho fine entrance carvings and carved lvntels, and 20 carved posts supporting the roof along each side, some idea of tho task involved can bo gained. In addition thero is tho work of renovating the strlo panels between the sido carvings. In / some of theso the dye used by tho Maori craftsmen has rendered tho material brittle and liable f.o break away, so that the designs have been carefully inspected Hurl many parts renewed. A skilled Maori is at present employed in weaving new material into tho panels where repairs aro necessary. Sew thatching is laid out to,dry nearby. The Birds' Section. Flanking tho largo house arc two smaller houses, and the « ime work ol renovation is being carried out on them. Tho long canoe, which is to stand im the hall ; in front of tho bouses, has also been carefully , renewed, hiving been painted and adorned with new lashings and fittings, care having been taken to equip it iu the manner in which the natives were accustomed before tho coming o tho white roan. , „ „„„ . At tho rear of _ the graund floor are situated tho administrative officers and . the laboratory and workshops. C&rpenters aro at present busily _ employed m<v injr new mounts for exhibits. At piesent they are working on the bird section, and somo of the specimens ■ winch have, been reconditioned an 1 set up ■ the admirable manner-m which is being done. J here are . ..j t,iKit in this-section alone to bo ueatea, ol tho'tijk ljcloto tho museum author™Tby' S IS,S 'A. F* The bird, are being placed in tho new - cases and inaneed "in a picturesque manner rouns of, birds of kindred species. Al-. though a' number has been mounted the lS and descriptive matter have not yet been placed unoer tiiern. Big Game Fish Specimens. To the rear of the bird 'section is the "New; Zealand natural history exhibit, com nmi'mr natural fauna and fish. A nu Lr of lino specimens .of big-gamo now being prepared for exhibi , in this -section being carried out by Mr. Ym T. Griffin, tho assistant cuiatcr. Nearby isS the display of shells, which -S being arranged by Mr. A. W. B. Powell, who is also in charge of the palecmtolo^y section. A number of shells has b eei selected, from the material available, and. tho work/of labelling and displaying them in the cases is well in hand. , ' In a crbs«j corridor running to the otner side of-the building is tho collection o Europeans art objects, which are nearly all in position in their cases, A featare ot this display is a series of models of ships of tho line of tho British Navy,_ ranging from the sixteenth century warship Great Harry down to the Victory. These stand in cases in the middle of the passage, where they can be examined in detaill. In tho 'rear court on the left ol the building are the larger animal groups, which make a firto showing in their new positions.; They were removed in their cases direct from the old museum and immediately set up on marble bases speci- / ally built in for the purpose._ Further to the front are the paleontblogical exhibits, . which have been arranged to make a living story of the rise of man and the animals from tho first evidences of life in the primary ago to tho present day. Close ' fit hand are the geological specimens, which are at present "being classified. War Memorial Section. . The top floor, which is not in the bands Of tho museum authorities,_ comprises tho war rneir/orinl section, including the shrine. In the centre is tho gallery running round the edge of the main hall below, and at tho front of tho building opens a recess along which aro placed panels containing coloured maps of the zones in which tho New Zealand troops fought during the war. At tho foot and the top of the maps, which are practically completed, are rows of the Dominions, colonics and allied nations, while the staiped-glass skylight in tho centre 5s bordered by the regimental badges of New Zealand and British units. Facing • the maps across the gallery is the shrine, Mantling,'on a, raised .'marble platform in a Access composed of stained glass windows. The shrine itself, which consists of a flat-topped memorial, is of black marble, very finely veined, with white, standing/,on a fluted base on a grey marble floor. Opening off the gallery to the left is the war memorial museum itself, a spacious hail, in which no exhibits yet been unpacked. On the opposite sido of the building is to bo tho library, jalso us yet. empty..