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Only 1 percent of the Canterbury Museum’s collection is on display at a time. As part of a special series, reporter LEE KENNY and visual journalist JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON went behind the scenes to uncover the hidden treasures found in their vast archives.
“The elephant in the room” is an idiom rarely used literally.
Its origins go back to the fable of 1814 The inquisitive man, in which a visitor spends three hours in a museum and although he sees many birds and insects, he cannot see the elephant.
Today it is most commonly used as a simile to describe a problem that is deliberately ignored.
The elephant in the Canterbury Museum room is a real elephant. In fact, it would be more accurate to describe it as the elephant in the attic.
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The large plush display has been in Christchurch for almost 150 years.
In some places, it remains incredibly realistic, with back hair and thick lashes.
But it has also suffered damage. It lost its fangs and part of its trunk in earthquakes, and more recently a possum was discovered nesting in its straw fill.
JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON / Stuff
The elephant in the attic. The animal’s skin was shipped from France to New Zealand in 1876.
Those old enough may recall seeing the male Asian elephant on display alongside other large mammals.
Due to lack of space, it was relocated to the “mammal attic” in the mid-1990s, where it cannot now be removed because it is too large.
Natural history curator Dr. Cor Vink recalls seeing the elephant as part of the exhibits.
“When I was a kid there was a gallery with a rhino, an elephant, a bison, a polar bear … all great great mammals,” he says.
JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON / Stuff
Natural history curator Dr. Cor Vink says that the elephant cannot be removed from the attic.
“He moved into the attic and floors were built around him, so we have no way of getting him out.
“This is a historic building, so we can’t take it through the roof.”
The elephant arrived in New Zealand in 1876 from the National Museum of Natural History in France, in exchange for moa bones.
It was shipped as a “flat, salty skin” and mounted in a wooden frame by renowned Austrian taxidermist Andreas Reischek.
“They didn’t want to ship all the bones, so they made the frame underneath. They built the muscle on top to hang the skin, “says Vink.
“When the skin is salted, it shrinks a bit, so its legs are a little shorter than they would be.”
Reischek was brought in by the founder of the Canterbury Museum, Sir Julius von Haast, and in total he created animal exhibits from 30 fur chests during his time in Christchurch.
JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON / Stuff
The hole in the elephant’s skin where a possum entered and made its nest.
“He did quite an amazing taxidermy,” says Vink.
“Modern taxidermists would have a hard time doing such a good job.”
Plans are underway to rebuild the Canterbury Museum, at which point the elephant could be on display again.
“People will remember him and wonder what happened to him,” says Vink.
“If the museum remodel continues, this could be something we present. It needs a bit of affection and tenderness, but there are people who could fix it. “
The items listed in this article are not currently on public display.
