trawling properly charted. That a few sets of trawling apparatus
of the most modern kind be procured by the Government, and appli-
cations invited from the fishermen at the various ports for permission
to use these trawls, free of charge, under certain conditions for a
limited period. That the Government fit out a steamer for the pur-
pose of collecting and conveying to Melbourne the fish obtained by the
trawlers, the steamer to be provided with cooling chambers, &c."
A number of different matters were also considered, and,
in addition, it was thought that, in order to afford the
general public greater facilities for obtaining fish, the sale
should not be confined to the metropolitan market. It was,
therefore, recommended that stalls in the various markets
for the sale of fish by auction and otherwise should be
opened in the leading suburbs of Melbourne ; and that
the corporation officer in the metropolitan market, to whom
the fish was consigned, should regularly distribute to each
of these suburban markets such a quantity of fish as ex-
perience would show the particular locality demanded. To
a certain extent all this is very satisfactory, but unfortu-
nately select committees have arrived at very similar con-
clusions over and over again. All their recommendations
have never yet been attended by any practical result, and
an adequate fish supply for Australia appears to be as far
off as ever.
OUR PRIMITIVE METHODS OF FISH CAPTURE.
About the last place one would expect to come across a
really fine piece of delicate humour is amongst official
correspondence, and yet in a formal letter from Dr. E. P.
Eamsay, the Curator of the Australian Museum, to Sir Saul
Samuel the following passage occurs. Speaking of the New
South Wales exhibits at the International Fisheries Exhi-
bition of London, 1883, the doctor proceeds to remark : —
" People here, imagining that we must have already de-
" veloped extensive fisheries, from the large collection of
FISH AND OYSTERS— THETB FOOD VALUE. 131
" food fishes which we exhibit, were not less surprised at
" our very limited materials and methods of capture than at
" the immense undeveloped wealth of our iisheries and fish
" fauna." N"ow, I venture to say that a more unconsciously
subtle insinuation at the crude methods of fish capture at
present employed in our Australian fisheries was never
penned. But what makes it so keenly effective is that it
really hits the right nail on the head. In giving evidence,
also, before Mr. Frank FarneH's select committee of 1889,
Dr. Ramsay, upon being asked whether he thought our
fisheftnen were abreast of the times with regard to appli-
ances, replied : — " They are about 200 years behind the
times."
Page 92
Presented as published in 1893. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
trawling properly charted. That a few sets of trawling apparatus of the most modern kind be procured by the Government, and applications invited from the fishermen at the various ports for permission to use these trawls, free of charge, under certain conditions for a limited period. That the Government fit out a steamer for the purpose of collecting and conveying to Melbourne the fish obtained by the trawlers, the steamer to be provided with cooling chambers, &c."
A number of different matters were also considered, and, in addition, it was thought that, in order to afford the general public greater facilities for obtaining fish, the sale should not be confined to the metropolitan market. It was, therefore, recommended that stalls in the various markets for the sale of fish by auction and otherwise should be opened in the leading suburbs of Melbourne ; and that the corporation officer in the metropolitan market, to whom the fish was consigned, should regularly distribute to each of these suburban markets such a quantity of fish as experience would show the particular locality demanded. To a certain extent all this is very satisfactory, but unfortunately select committees have arrived at very similar conclusions over and over again. All their recommendations have never yet been attended by any practical result, and an adequate fish supply for Australia appears to be as far off as ever.
OUR PRIMITIVE METHODS OF FISH CAPTURE.
About the last place one would expect to come across a really fine piece of delicate humour is amongst official correspondence, and yet in a formal letter from Dr. E. P. Ramsay, the Curator of the Australian Museum, to Sir Saul Samuel the following passage occurs. Speaking of the New South Wales exhibits at the International Fisheries Exhibition of London, 1883, the doctor proceeds to remark : — " People here, imagining that we must have already de- " veloped extensive fisheries, from the large collection of
" food fishes which we exhibit, were not less surprised at " our very limited materials and methods of capture than at " the immense undeveloped wealth of our fisheries and fish " fauna." N"ow, I venture to say that a more unconsciously subtle insinuation at the crude methods of fish capture at present employed in our Australian fisheries was never penned. But what makes it so keenly effective is that it really hits the right nail on the head. In giving evidence, also, before Mr. Frank FarneH's select committee of 1889, Dr. Ramsay, upon being asked whether he thought our fishermen were abreast of the times with regard to appliances, replied : — " They are about 200 years behind the times."