THE LATE DR FULTON.

Otago Witness, Issue 3662, 20 May 1924, Page 32

THE LATE DR FULTON.

HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO SCIENCE. Very naturally the opening meeting for the year of the Otago Institute, held on Tuesday, was made the occasion for a fitting tribute to the late Dr Robert Fulton. The president, Dr W. N. Benson, before delivering his presidential address, called the attention of members to the very •evere loss which the Institute and indeed the city had suffered in Dr Fulton’s death. It was scarcely necessary there

among those who knew him, he said, to refer to his many activities outside the practice of his profession, such as his interest in athletics, his enthusiastic support of his old school, the Otago Boys’ High School (of which tho most successful jubilee celebrations owed much to his unflagging energy), or to his valuable contributions to the history of Otago in his series of biographies of the pioneer band of physicians of which ho was so worthy a successor. But they should recall with great appreciation his services to science in connection with that Institute, which he joined in 1898, and on the council of which he served for the last 19 years, during which he held the position of secretary for one year, of vice-president for four years, and was twice elected president. It was chiefly as a bird lover that Dr Fulton’s scientific fame would last. From the time of his first presidential address in 1907 on the disappearance of our native birds, he had continued to lead the activity of the Institute in endeavouring to obtain adequate legal protection for New Zealand bird life. As a further attempt to preserve for science all information concerning birds, he presented to the Institute in 1905 the most complete collection of eggs in the dominion, which is now housed in the Museum building. Unsparing of self in his devotion to whatever work he had in hand, he went out to meet his end in c-aring for the health of another at the risk of his own. He moved that the meeting record its deep appreciation of Dr Fulton’s services to science and its heartfelt sympathy with his relatives. Dr Benham, in seconding the motion, said he would like to say a few words in support of the president’s remarks. He had mentioned that Dr Fulton joined the Institute in 1898. In that year the speaker came out from England, and he had had the privilege of knowing Dr Fulton ever since for a quarter of a life-time. Apart from the work that he did in the Institute whiere he was a constant exhibitor of interesting specimens of natural history, Dr Fulton was a very frequent visitor to the Museum, bringing specimens of birds and always ready to give information about the native birds in which he had taken a life-long interest. He was not only interested in birds, but in botanical work, and he was successful after many years in getting the native mistletoe to grow upon some of the trees in his garden. He was very active at one time In attempting to get the protection of seals continued and to get the Government to take active steps to protect the birds, especially in such seaside resorts as Stewart Island and elsewhere. He could only support the president in saying how deeply they regretted his loss and how much they felt for his relatives. The motion was carried by members standing in silence.