ILLUSTRATIONS STILL HIDDEN IN BRITISH MUSEUM.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18548, 23 August 1928, Page 8

ILLUSTRATIONS STILL HIDDEN IN BRITISH MUSEUM.

HISTORIC DRAWINGS FROM FIRST VOYAGE OF CAPTAIN COOK. Wljen Captain Cook made his first voyage to New Zealand, Banks, who accompanied him, took a staff of three artists whose sole work was to make permanent records of the plant life and other natural features met with on the voyage. In delivering the annual Banks lecture at Canterbury College last evening Mr W. C. Davies, of the Cawthron Institute, told his audience that in all some SOO beautiful copper plates were prepared of the specimens collected on the Endeavour expedition, approximately 200 dealing with the plant life of our own country. After remaining in the archives of the British Museum for 130 years, the Australian plates were rescued from obscurity early in this century and published through the efforts of the Government of New South Wales. The New Zealand plates Still remain in the custody of the Museum authorities, but a few sets of the prints found their way to New Zealand some years ago, and Mr Davies was able to show lantern slide reproductions of them last night.