Club says tusk only gifted to museum
An African elephant tusk, once a ceremonial baton to mark the taking of office at a young men’s club, could once again see the light of day.
The silver-mounted tusk, originally gifted to Round Table New Zealand by their peers in Empangeni, South Africa, has been languishing in storage at Canterbury Museum since 2011.
The 1.5-metre ivory tooth was given each year to the chairman of the Round Table annual convention, but was considered too politically incorrect in 2002.
Canterbury Museum records show that Round Table gifted the tusk to Canterbury Museum at that time, but some Round Table members claim the tusk was only meant to be loaned to the museum.
Plans for a new Round Table museum, possibly in Marlborough, could see the tusk dusted off and loaned back though.
Round Table national president Julian Butterlin said he would ‘‘eventually’’ like to get the tusk back as an artefact for the Round Table museum.
‘‘I always heard that it was given on loan but that it was to be on display,’’ Butterlin said.
The tusk was on display at Canterbury Museum until 2011, when it was put into storage after the 6.2-magnitude earthquake.
Canterbury Museum senior curator of natural history Professor Paul Scofield said the museum had more than 2.2 million items in its care and not all could be on display.
Scofield said it would be easier for the museum to loan the tusk back to the Round Table, rather than enter discussions around gifting it back.
A letter from an Empangeni Round Table member said the tusk was given to the South African club by sugar cane and cattle farmer Norman Isabelle in 1965.
The elephant was shot by Isabelle in the Zambezi Valley, a common boundary between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The other tusk was still at the Isabelle farm, the letter said in 2002.
New Zealand Round Table representative Derek Wedekind, from Timaru, was visiting Empangeni on his way to an international Round Table conference in Turkey in 1965 and the tusk was handed over as a gift of fellowship.
When Wedekind returned to New Zealand the tusk was earmarked as one of Round Table New Zealand’s national trophies, with the condition that contact be maintained with the South African club.
Former Round Table member, Rick Hill, of Christchurch, said the tusk was ‘‘useless’’ and difficult to transport to the various meetings around New Zealand.
‘‘Most people would only ever stick it under a bed,’’ Hill said.