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March 1909: This month last century

30 March 2011 – 9.53am

102 years ago: Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward announces that New Zealand will gift a ‘first-class battleship’ to the Royal Navy (22 March 1909).

Prime Minister Ward was positioning New Zealand as a loyal and active participant in the defence of the British Empire. This was a time of increasing naval rivalry among the world’s leading nations. There was great anxiety in Britain and the Empire about emerging threats to the Royal Navy’s supremacy.

HMS New Zealand, 1910s, New Zealand. Te Papa

HMS New Zealand, 1910s, New Zealand. Te Papa

The New Zealand government borrowed heavily to pay for the war ship (pictured above) which visited New Zealand in April and May 1913. Huge crowds turned out to greet the new battle cruiser, HMS New Zealand, described by one observer as a ‘grim and formiddble fighting machine’. Many gifts were presented to the ship’s crew, including a pair of silver kettle drums (or timpani), one of which is seen here.

Kettle Drum, 1913, Hawkes and Son (1860–1930), London. Te Papa

Kettle Drum, 1913, Hawkes and Son (1860–1930), London. Te Papa

HMS New Zealand was ready in time to serve in the ‘European War’ which began in August 1914. The ship participated in the Battle of Jutland, an important sea battle in the North Sea near Denmark. The 1916 battle is commemorated in the embroidered picture shown below.

Embroidered picture ’Victory for the Allies’, 1916, Maker unknown. Purchased 2007. Te Papa

Embroidered picture ’Victory for the Allies’, 1916, Maker unknown. Purchased 2007. Te Papa

The ship’s duty was done by the 1920s. It was decommissioned and scrapped in 1922. But the debt remained and the country was still paying off the loan at the end of WWII.

See more objects related to HMS New Zealand in Te Papa’s collections.

See a model of HMS New Zealand and read about its role in imperial relations, on the Slice of Heaven minisite.

Posted in Collections Online, Exhibitions, History, Slice of Heaven: 20th Century Aotearoa | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

Dame Judith Binney 1940-2011

11 March 2011 – 9.43am
Boots, woman’s, 1973, Maker unknown, Menorca. Gift of Judith Binney, 2005. Te Papa

Boots, woman’s, 1973, Maker unknown, Menorca. Gift of Judith Binney, 2005. Te Papa

This pair of boots belonged to historian Dame Judith Binney, who will be remembered for her monumental contributions to New Zealand history over the last four decades through her writing, research and teaching.

These boots were the historian’s favourites, and had a colourful history of their own. The question is: who will fill them now, after her untimely death last month?

Judith Binney was an important figure in my own pursuit of history. In 1994, I was a student in a history paper that she taught at Auckland University. The course was about colonial encounters in Mexico and Peru. Her lectures were totally absorbing; the entire class was transfixed by Judy’s charismatic presence and presentation of the past. She did not chronicle conquest but highlighted survival, resilience and individual agency. Her approach opened new historical vistas for me and, as a result, I was hooked on history.

Tomorrow, Te Papa will commemorate Dame Judith’s life and her significant contributions to New Zealand history.

Further details about the commemoration are on Te Papa’s website.

Read more about Judith Binney’s life in a blog on Te Ara by Jock Phillips.

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February 1950: This month last century

23 February 2011 – 5.48pm

Empire Games are held in Auckland, 4-11 February 1950

1950 Empire Games commemorative cup, 1950, Crown Lynn Potteries Ltd (1948–1991), Shufflebotham, Ernest (1908–1984), Auckland. Purchased 1998 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. Te Papa

1950 Empire Games commemorative cup, 1950, Crown Lynn Potteries Ltd (1948–1991), Shufflebotham, Ernest (1908–1984), Auckland. Purchased 1998 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. Te Papa

The cup above was produced by Crown Lynn as a souvenir of the Auckland games, which 590 athletes from 12 nations attended.  

New Zealand came third in the medal tally with 54 medals: 10 gold, 22 silver and 22 bronze. Golds were won in boxing, lawn bowls, rowing, swimming, weightlifting, and athletics.

Yvette Williams won a gold medal in the long jump. Two years later at Helsinki in Finland, she became the first New Zealand woman to win an Olympic gold medal.

The Empire Games were first held in Canada in 1930. Since then they have been held every four years, although there was a 12-year gap gap after 1938 due to the Second World War. They are now called the Commonwealth Games and sometimes ‘The Friendly Games’.

The countries that compete in the games are members of the British Commonwealth, previously known as the British Empire. New Zealand, as a member of both, has been present every time the games have been held.

Empire Games medal, 1934, Phillips, F. England. Gift of Douglas Crump, 2009. Te Papa

Empire Games medal, 1934, Phillips, F. England. Gift of Douglas Crump, 2009. Te Papa

The bronze medal above was awarded to swimmer Noel Crump at the second games held in London in 1934, when he came third in the 100 yards freestyle event.

New Zealand hosted the tenth Commonwealth Games in Christchurch in 1974. These games were televised and reached a wide audience who enjoyed colour on their tv sets for the first time.  There was also an official Games pop song, ‘Join Together’, which reached no. 2 on the pop charts.

Coasters, ’Xth British Commonwealth Games’, 1974, Maker unknown, New Zealand. Gift of Jan Sammons, 2008. Te Papa

Coasters, ’Xth British Commonwealth Games’, 1974, Maker unknown, New Zealand. Gift of Jan Sammons, 2008. Te Papa

The distinctive games logo was created by Wellington designer Colin Simon. It cleverly referenced NZ, X (the Roman numeral for 10), and the Union Jack (Britain’s flag). The logo appeared on official team uniforms and souvenirs alike.

Auckland hosted the Games again in 1990. These were New Zealand’s most successful, in terms of the number of medals won.

The 1990 games were part of New Zealand’s sesquicentennial. This was the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, which saw New Zealand become a colony and part of the British Empire.

Read more about New Zealand and its relationship with the British Empire in Slice of Heaven: 20th Century Aotearoa. 

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Out with the old … Conservation changes in Enriching Fashion

10 February 2011 – 4.41pm

Yesterday seven items were taken out of the cases in Te Papa’s exhibition: Enriching Fashion: an eye for detail on level 4.

In the photograph below a jaunty two-piece playsuit from the 1960s is removed from a case and replaced with a one-piece bathing suit that is almost a hundred years old.

Bathing suit changeover, 10 March 2011, by Te Papa staff. Photograph by Kirstie Ross

For some reason the frill around the waist of the pair of togs now on display (below) can be removed – a very curious feature.

Edwardian bathing suit ready to go on display in Enriching Fashion. Photograph by Kirstie Ross

These replacements are necessary because some of the garments and accessories have been on display and exposed to light for their allotted time.

Textiles are light sensitive so Te Papa’s textile conservators recommend that they are displayed for limited time periods. This precaution means that garments have the best chance of being preserved for the future.

Waistcoat, circa 1780, Maker unknown, France. Bequest of Mrs Alec Tweedie, 1946. Te Papa

Waistcoat, circa 1780, Maker unknown, France. Bequest of Mrs Alec Tweedie, 1946. Te Papa

This richly embroidered man’s waistcoat (above), which is 230 years old, has been replaced by an even older embroidered child’s bodice. It will be on display in Enriching Fashion on on level 4 until June.

Another replacement item is a beautiful lilac wedding dress (below left) that was made in Italy in 1909, which has taken the place of a delicately ruffled day dress made for a London department store about 1900.

1909 Wedding dress (left) replaces 1900s day dress (right) in the Eyelight gallery. Photograph by Kirstie Ross
For more garments and accessories see Enriching Fashion: an eye for detail.
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January 1957 and 1958: This month last century

25 January 2011 – 4.30pm

53 years ago – Sir Edmund Hillary reaches the South Pole (4 January 1958)

54 years ago – Scott Base opens in Antarctica (20 January 1957)

Having reached the summit of Everest with Tenzing Sherpa in 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary completed another extreme feat in January 1958. Early in the New Year, as New Zealanders were soaking up the summer sun, Hillary and four others were freezing at the South Pole.

Hillary’s party was the first to reach the Pole overland since Captain Scott’s tragic expedition in 1912. (The picture below commemorates the tragedy.)

GH006842 Embroidered picture about 1912 embroidered by Private A Cridge. Te Papa

Hillary and his team had travelled there in modified Massey Ferguson tractors and were the first people to reach the southern-most point on the globe by motor vehicle.

Sir Edmund was in Antarctica as the leader of the New Zealand section of the privately organised Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1955-1958. The overall leader was Dr Vivian Fuchs, a British explorer.

The New Zealanders were charged with setting up a base in McMurdo Sound. The result was Scott Base, New Zealand’s permanent research station. It opened on 20 January 1957 to support the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition and New Zealand scientists attached to the expedition who were also involved in the International Geophysical Year (IGY)1957-58.  (Another base for the IGY was located at Cape Hallett – see the painting below.)

1958-0007-1; Hallet Bay, Antarctica; Peter McIntyre. Te Papa. Purchased 1958 with T G Macarthy Trust funds

Hillary’s team was tasked with laying out food and fuel depots for Fuchs’s party which was to cross the Antarctic continent from Shackleton Base over on the Weddell Sea to Scott Base via the South Pole.

But ignoring instructions, Hillary and his team kept on going, ‘hell-bent for the Pole – God willing and crevasses permitting’. They reached their target on 4 January 1958. Over two weeks later, Fuchs and his party arrived at the Pole.

The Commonwealth-sponsored expedition successfully completed the overland crossing of Antarctica, via the South Pole, on 2 March 1958. The journey had taken Fuchs 99 days.

Hillary’s independent ‘dash to the pole’ was criticised by some observers, who thought he put adventure ahead of other, scientific aims. However, Fuchs remained on good terms with Hillary, even though the Kiwi mountaineer had pipped him at the post. And Hillary remained an international hero, the conqueror of Everest.

CT.033011 Sir Edmund Hillary 1960s-80s. Photograph by Brian Brake. Gift of Wai-man Lau 2001. Te Papa

Read more about Hillary and his 1953 achievement in Slice of Heaven.

Read more about Hillary in Antarctica on NZHistory.net.nz

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Historic holiday snaps

6 January 2011 – 12.17pm

Some of my favourite social history images in Te Papa’s photography collection are of trampers taken by Leslie Adkin (1888-1964). 

B.020846 Early views Tararuas, 2 March 1930. Photographer Leslie Adkin. Te Papa

A man of many talents and interests, Adkin was a founding member of the Levin-Waiohepu Tramping Club, which was established in the 1920s.  This was one of the first tramping clubs to be formed in New Zealand

Adkin used his camera to record his own forays into the bush as well as many club expeditions. I especially like his portraits of trampers taken during tramps up Kapakapanui (1102m), a peak in the Tararua Ranges. Here are two examples: 

B.021005 Woman tramper: 'Ascent of Kapakapanui' 1-2 March 1930. Photographer Leslie Adkin. Te Papa

B.021003 Woman tramper in the bush: 'Ascent of Kapakapanui' 1-2 March 1930. Photographer Leslie Adkin. Te Papa

Back in the 1920s and 30s, trampers who ‘went bush’ courted scandal – especially those who went out in mixed groups. So in 1921, to keep things seemly, two chaperones were amongst the 60 men and women who scaled the summit of Kapakapanui.

The scanty and scruffy clothing worn by trampers also caused concern. On Kapakapanui, in the 1930s, Victoria University College trampers were pelted with dirt and debris by members of the Tararua Tramping Club, because some of the students were tramping without shirts!

These holidays I decided to follow in the footsteps of these depraved trampers, but to avoid any censure I made sure I kept my shirt on!

Kapakapanui is inland from Waikanae near Reikorangi. It’s a decent day tramp close to Wellington or you can do the trip overnight, staying in the hut built in the 1960s that is along the way.

Give way sign, Kapakapanui track December 2010. Photographer Athol McCredie

This tongue-in-cheek sign was near the hut and completely redundant as there were no other trampers on the track.

Kapakapanui trig, December 2010. Photographer Athol McCredie

After a night in the hut, I was up at trig on the highest point just as the morning mist was clearing. You can see that there is less vegetation on the summit – an accidental fire cleared it in 1903.

B.021001 View inland from Kapakapanui showing burnt stumps: 'Ascent of Kapakapanui' 1-2 March 1930. Photographer Leslie Adkin. Te Papa

The openness on the top meant there were unimpeded views inland and out to the Kapiti coast. It was a relief from the claustrophobic, stunted forest, which was a bit like mutant topiary, that I’d just walked through. The summit reached, it was a steep descent down to the car and a cup of tea.

Read more about Leslie Adkin on the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography website.

Search Collections Online for other Leslie Adkin images.

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December 1953: This month last century

19 December 2010 – 5.09pm

57 years ago – Queen Elizabeth arrives in Auckland, becoming the country’s first reigning monarch to visit New Zealand (23 December 1953)

The Queen and her husband, Prince Philip, arrived in New Zealand just before Christmas in 1953 for a 39-day tour. In the past, only sons or brothers of monarchs had visited the country, such as the Duke of Cornwall and York who visited in 1901. The Duke was the son of King Edward VII and grandson of the late Queen Victoria.

GH009568 Invitation to the hui at Rotorua put on for the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York, 1901, by Benoni White. Te Papa.

 New Zealanders had been waiting patiently to see a reigning royal in their homeland. At long last, over the summer of 1953-1954, we had the opportunity to express our loyalty to the Queen and the British Commonwealth.

It was as if all our Christmases had come at once. Altogether about three-quarters of New Zealand waved Union Jacks and craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the newly-crowned Queen Elizabeth II.

A.008487 The Queen at the Basin Reserve, Wellington, 16 January 1954 by Leslie Adkin. Te Papa

Finally, the Queen was face-to-face with her subjects. Her Christmas message, broadcast from Auckland, touched on the importance of this:

‘I want to show that the Crown is not merely an abstract symbol of our unity but a personal and living bond between you and me.’

Elizabeth and Philip had sailed south to New Zealand after visiting Fiji and Tonga. Brian Brake took personal photographs of this leg of their tour, while he was covering it for the National Film Unit.

CT.045267 Fiji - Royal Tour 1953 by Brian Brake. Gift of Raymond Wai-man Lau. Te Papa

The Queen’s first port of call in New Zealand was Auckland. According to one newspaper, the day she arrived ‘was the best day in Auckland’s history’.

While they were in New Zealand, the Queen and Prince Phillip passed through 46 towns and cities from the Far North to Bluff. And after the Queen and Prince Philip sailed off in the Gothic, the Prime Minster Sid Holland proclaimed that ‘New Zealand has known nothing like this before’ – and probably not since.

GH13242 Beer tankard made as a souvenir for the 1953-54 royal tour. Te Papa

Many New Zealanders made or bought souvenirs to keep the memories of the royal summer alive. There were tour souvenirs to suit all tastes and budgets. Regardless of a souvenir’s cost or quality, all were treasured keep-sakes of a glorious royal summer.

Collections Online has a selection of souvenirs from the 1953-54 royal visit and the 1953 Coronation.

Visit the Slice of Heaven: 20th Century Aotearoa mini-site for more about these topics.

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Advent adventures

17 December 2010 – 9.47am

CT.033480; Japan Series Tokyo Department Store 1960s-80s by Brian Brake. Gift of Raymond Wai-man Lau. Te Papa.

I’ve enjoyed searching through Te Papa’s collections to find items related to Christmas for this year’s advent calendar.

Advent calendars developed from a 19th century German Lutheran tradition of counting down the 24 days before Christmas. An advent calendar has 24 doors that you open each day from 1 December to Christmas Eve to reveal images or small gifts.

With our Collections Online calendar, we add a new collection item every day up to 24 December. Make sure you check each day to see what’s new.

Christmas cake decoration, about 1950. Gift of Annette Baier. GH4855-27. Te Papa

My favourites this year are the Christmas cake decorations, like the one above, that were donated to the museum in 1996.

I was also pleased and surprised to find some Brian Brake photographs with a Christmas theme. The one at the top of this blog is another one of my favourites. There are more Brian Brake photos on the Brake minisite.

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Curious curios – all is revealed

11 November 2010 – 7.49pm
Yesterday I posted three mysterious objects from Te Papa’s history collections on the blog. The answers are below. But here’s another item to think about. 
Mystery item 4, 1900s, GH002794, Te Papa

Mystery item 4, 1900s, GH002794, Te Papa

If you’re visiting Te Papa, you’ll see other curious curios in the area covered with astroturf in Slice of Heaven: 20th Century Aotearoa – an exhibiton about New Zealand last century.

There are plenty of mystery objects in the grass room – but plenty that you will recognise too. And there will be more treasures and curios on Saturday at the event on the Marae at 12 noon – Antiques: You Show, We tell!

Astroturf roof of Homegrown. Photographer Kirstie Ross

Astroturf roof of Homegrown in Slice of Heaven: 20th Century Aotearoa. Photographer Kirstie Ross

Mystery object 1 is a child’s rattle. It was donated to the museum by Mr Graeme Pebbles.

Mystery object 2 is a candle wick trimmer. It’s made from brass and was donated bo the museum in 1964 by Mr David Graham. You used it to trim a candle wick if it was getting too long and the flame was getting too smoky. You could even use it while the candle was still burning.

Mystery object 3 is an apple corer. It comes from the Chatham Islands and it’s made from sheep bone. It was donated to the museum in 1957 by V Wooldridge.

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Curious curios: I show – you tell!

10 November 2010 – 9.43am

This Saturday at 12 noon, you can bring along a treasured object to the Marae on level 4 at Te Papa where curators and an antique dealer will look at it and tell you a bit more about it. 

Or you might have a mystery item lurking in your garage or in the back of a cupboard that you’ve always wanted to know more about. We’ll rack out brains to come up with an answer!

Or just come along and be intrigued and amazed at some the things that come out of the woodwork. Read more about the Antiques: You Show – We Tell event here. (If you’re bringing something along, remember to register it at the Wellington Foyer at 11.30 am.)

Mystery item 1, 1800s, PC002789, Te Papa

Mystery item 1, 1800s, PC002789, Te Papa

I was looking through Te Papa’s history collections and spotted some pretty mysterious and weird-looking things. Here are three to begin with – see if you can guess what they are or what they were used for.

Mystery item 2, 1900s, GH002299, Te Papa

Mystery item 2, 1900s, GH002299, Te Papa

 

Here’s a hint – you can find them all on our collection database, Collections Online. 

Keep reading the blog – I’ll have more curious curios to challenge you with tomorrow.

Mystery item 3, 1800-1852, GH003203, Te Papa

Mystery item 3, 1800-1852, GH003203, Te Papa

And check out the astroturf room in our new exhibition, Slice of Heaven: 20th Centure Aotearoa, where you can explore even more treasures and oddities from the 1900s.

Posted in Collections Online, Slice of Heaven: 20th Century Aotearoa | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (3)
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