EARLY SETTLERS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3860, 6 March 1928, Page 17

EARLY SETTLERS.

THE MUSEUM COLLECTION. The Otago Early Settlers’ Association •was formed in 1898, and from that date to the present time articles innumerable have been forwarded to its office in Dunedin for preservation and exhibition. So numerous are the exhibits received by the association that for some time many of them have been stored, owing to the want of space to show them, but within the last year the association has come into possession of the hall formerly occupied by the Dunedin Art Gallery Society, with the result that, with the addition of space at its disposal, every photograph and every article sent to the association is now displayed. It is satisfactory to be able to state that there is still plenty of space available for exhibits that may yet come to hand. As a matter of fact, every week the association is in receipt of articles of interest, and as they come to hand they are displayed in the quarter assigned to them according to their dates. With another hall for its collection, the association was faced with the huge task of reclassifying every article and every photograph. This work was undertaken by Mr W. Paterson (secretary of the Otago Early Settlers’ Association) and Mr W. H. Ferens (chairman of the Museum Committee), while Mr James

Frown (late of the National Bank! has prepared a catalogue of the photographs, 1000 in number. These gentlemen have * carried out their tasks faithfully, and for their valuable services they are entitled to the thanks of the association. Four large halls are now used by the association, giving ample space to allow the public to walk round and view everything with comfort and pleasure. In No. 1 room photographs and exhibits are shown which belong to the period between 1836 and’ 1855; in No. 2 room the period covered is from 1856 to 1860; and in a third room are exhibits belonging to the term between 1861 and 1868. There is a fourth room, which is devoted to the collection of the late Mr A. Thomson, consisting in part of photographs of early settlers and old homes, and views of the Flat and other parts about the city, as well as relics of early Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch. In addition to the photographs, the general exhibits may be numbered by thousands, and as displayed in cases, on tables, and on the walls they are often inspected by large numbers of the public with the keenest interest. A few of the articles may be mentioned :— Model of Dunedin city, harbour, and district, embracing portion of Taieri Plain, Blueskin Bay, and the Peninsula. Iron box used by gold escorts from 1861 onward. Figurehead of ship Surat, wrecked at Catlins on New Year's Day, 1871. Oil painting of steamer Aldinga (Captain John M'Lean), making for Bluff Harbour. Port Chalmers in 1862. South Dunedin and Anderson’s Bay (in the distance) in late ’seventies. Chain with which Mr C. C. Kettle did his measuring when surveying Dunedin and Port Chalmers in 1846. Plaid worn by the Bev. Dr Stuart. View of house in Pitt street, erected In 1847, and occupied by Dr Purdie. Old-time still, found at Powder Creek, near Whare Flat. First flourmill used on the Taieri Plain, erected about 1852 by the late James Fulton and driven by water power. Steering wheel of the Harbour Company’s Golden Age, which carried on a regular passenger service from Dunedin to Port Chalmers in early 'sixties. Dunedin in 1876, and Dunedin from Upper Stafford street in 1924. Account sales of the first shipment of frozen meat despatched from New Zealand to Londpn by the ship Dunedin (Captain John Whitson) in 1881. Models of a number of the early ships. Photo of Dunedin city tramways in 1879. Incomplete file of Otago Witness, back to 1851, and copies of Otago News of 1849. Table made in 1848 for Dr Burns by John Hill, first cabinetmaker in Dunedin, from timber grown at Anderson’s Bay. First engine used in the gasworks, at South Dunedin. Chair for the first judge bf the Supreme Court. |F Bell which originally belonged to one > of the Botany Bay convict vessels; bought by Mr John Jones, and placed on the Magnet, an early trader between Sydney and Waikouajti, and afterwards set up to give time to the residents of Dunedin, thus giving Bell Hill its name.

■ REOPENING OF MUSEUM. SPEECH BY MR W. DOWNIE STEWART. For about a month the Early Settlers’ 'Association rooms in lower High street have been closed to permit of a re-classifi-cation of the exhibits. The work, having been completed, the rooms were reopened last week by Mr W. Downie Stewart (Minister of Finance) in the presence of a gathering of members of -the association. The chair was occupied by Mr W. Nicolsbn, president of the association. The Chairman, in opening the proceedings, thanked Mr Ferens for superintend: ing the work of re-fclassification.—(Ap-plause.) Mr C. H. Hayward said he appeared that night in place joLthej Mayor, who had an appointment he could not break. Speak-

ing of the early settlers and their efforts to make history, he said there was no better monument to those old people than that shown in the hall. The early settlers of Otago had set an example to the rest of New Zealand, and to Australia, in the matter of an association of this kind.— (Applause.) On behalf of the City Council, he extended to the committee and the association the best wishes of the council, and expressed the hope that it might long continue to carry on its successful work. — (Applause.)

The Chairman introduced Mr Downie Stewart as a good friend to the association in many ways.—(Applause.) Mr W. Downie Stewart said that when he remembered the enthusiasm of the founders of the association he recognised that it would have been to them a matter of great joy to witness the splendid facilities now afforded for exhibiting the treasures the association had gathered. The association was unique in several respects. For one thing, it never asked for a Government subsidy.—(Laughter.) In that matter, the members exhibited the self-re-liance and independence of character inherited from the early settlers of Otago. The equipment and the collection were without rival in the Dominion —probably in the southern hemisphere—and were a valuable asset to Dunedin and to Otago. A feature of the association was one that could not be acquired by influence or by money: it was entirely a matter of a right to claim membership on the sole question of being an early settler or the descendant of an early settler. Another aspect of the society’s work was of great importance—that as they got further away from the first days of the settlement they realised the fine work done by the pioneers. Dunedin was fortunate in having started 30 years ago to bring together the collection now housed within the association’s walls. A thought that had come to him in regard to the association’s efforts was this: It was common nowadays to reproduce by means of moving films many events of the early days. It was a matter of expense, however, and perhaps not within the means of the association —certainly not within the means of the Government —(laughter) and yet, from an educational and historical standpoint, it would produce a record of immense value ‘o the rising generation.— (Applause.) There were not only the facts known to us in connection with the first settlers that might be filmed, but a good and effective background to such a picture could be found by going further back in our history. The history of the province of Otago, for instance, went back to the time when Captain Cook, in his ship, lay off the Heads and described the entrance to the harbour, though he did not enter it himself. Proceeding on his way, Captain Cook named Cape Saunders, Saddle Hill, the Molyneux River, and other geographical sites. These scenes might be the prelude to a picture which told in kinema form the marvellous growth of the province. The existing days of the whaling industry would be the basis of an interesting film, and incidents at the landing of the Rev. Mr Watkin on tne Waikouaiti Beach, the first missionary in the South Island, could be reproduced with considerable benefit to our young people. These incidents and others would form very interesting features of a consecutive film-picture depicting the early days of Otago. Passing on from these times, other incidents could be depicted, such as the visit of Mr Kettle and his surveyors who laid out the city, or the disembarkation of the passengers who came with the Philip Laing and the John Wickliffe and their first days ashore, when the barracks were being placed on the foreshore. Other events of stirring importance could be shown. It was in 1861, for instance, that the first gold escort came to Dunedin with 5000 oz of gold from Tuapeka. Right on through the years there would be found other incidents to form dramatic pictures of the history of the early settlement, and they would be much more interesting than n.any of the films shown from time to time in the picture shows to-day. Finally, the city as it appeared to-day could be presented. This would bring home to future citizens what a museum or books of memoirs could never show. The growth of exhibits in the museum showed that the association’s efforts were appreciated by the public, and that the museum was one of the most valuable factors in the community. It was fortunate that the association had obtained such treasures as had already been obtained, and so well set up, and it was hoped that not only would more funds be forthcoming for the purchase money of the hall, but that those who were able to secure records of the early families would sec their way to pass them on to the museum. (Applause.) He congratuv lated the association on the excellent rearrangement of its exhibits, and he tendered his best wishes for its prosperity in the future, — (Applause.) Mr Stewart and Mr Hayward were thanked for their addresses. The audience then scattered through the rooms and inspected the exhibits, after which refreshments were provided.