Light shines on history

Maata Te Taiawatea, c.1957-1960 by Sidney Moko Mead
Collection of Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust, Ruawharo Tā-ū-rangi, 85/20/1

Open today is The Light Shone Clear: History. Perspectives. Art. It’s an exhibition that looks at times and events that have shaped Te Matau-a-Mauī/Hawke’s Bay and Aotearoa. It also brings together a wonderful selection of artworks from the Hawke’s Bay Museum’s Trust collection. Each piece in the exhibition offering a view on the past.

What is a bit special about the exhibition is that it brings some significant works out of the collection. This region’s collection is extraordinary, not just in size—although, by comparison, if you take just the Trust’s art collection, it is equal in size to the entire collection of the Dowse Art Museum—but for the number of exceptionally high quality of works in the collection.

Over the last few years, due to the support of the MTG Foundation, the Trust has been able to make some important acquisitions. Among others, a large piece by Ayesha Green (Ngāti Kahungunu), which has recently been on loan to City Gallery in Wellington; and an important work, Ringatu by Paratene Matchitt. Recently, the Trust was gifted a fantastic piece by artist Greer Twiss, Hobson’s Baggage. This will be the first time these large works have come out of storage to be shown at the museum. These fine pieces will sit alongside art works by Philippa Blair, Tony Fomison, Sandy Adsett, and Fiona Pardington.

Central to the exhibition is a recognition of the historical themes embedded within many of the art works. From reflections on land ownership to critiques of periods in history, the artworks offer a window into the complexities of the past.

Alongside overtly political art works, there are those that simply capture the essence of their era, providing a snapshot of bygone times.

What these artworks have in common is their ability to convey unique perspectives; every artwork being a window into an attitude, a point of view. Through the artist’s work, often marginalised or overlooked voices are brought to the forefront, enriching our understanding of the past and challenging dominant narratives.

Now that the history of Aotearoa is being taught in schools, it’s important to give art a real place in telling our stories. We hope that art can open students up to new perspectives, the exhibition serving as catalysts for deeper inquiry, fostering empathy and a more nuanced comprehension of our collective history.

One artwork that encapsulates this ethos is Sidney Mead’s carved portrait Maata Te Taiawatea, created between 1957 and 1960.

The 1950s and 1960s marked a pivotal time among Māori artists, who were reconciling their experiences of both Māori and Pākehā worlds and considering how customary approaches to art making interfaced with international art movements. Mead, reflecting on that time, wrote ‘Māori artists trained in the art schools of the Pākehā are spearheading a movement to change the face of Māori art more radically than ever before.’

In Maata Te Taiawatea, Mead pays homage to his Tūhourangi and Ngāti Awa grandmother, Te Taiawatea Rangitūkehu, a figure renowned for her diplomatic advocacy for tribal land ownership. In carving his ancestor, Mead’s work aligns with the tradition of ancestral carvings that hold narratives of whakapapa. In Te Taiawatea Rangitūkehu’s spiralling hair – likened to currents in the sea – Mead represents oral traditions, where Māori carving originates from the sea. More contemporary however, is the sculpture’s sleek, glossy finish and absence of surface decoration which shows the influence of international modernism on the work.

In this way, The Light Shone Clear: History. Perspectives. Art. not only celebrates the artistic power in the Trust’s collection but also serves as a testament to the enduring power of art to critically reflect on who we are and how we live.

Published in the Hawke’s Bay Today newspaper 13 April 2024 and written by Toni MacKinnon, Art Curator at MTG Hawke’s Bay.

Horse-drawn coach makes for a colourful journey

Napier from Mataruahou looking toward Clive, circa 1865. The Masonic Hotel
is the large two-storied building in the centre of the photograph.

In early November 1867, the Hawke’s Bay Herald jubilantly informed the public that “Races! Races! Races!” were to be held at Waipukurau on the afternoon of 26 December. The organiser, William Goodwin (owner of Waipukurau Tavistock Hotel), trusted that the “public at large” would patronise the event.

To satisfy the needs of Napier’s racing fraternity, Cobb & Co organised a four-in-hand coach (four horses with one driver) to travel between Napier and Waipukurau for the event. To ensure passengers arrived at the start of the races, the coach determined to leave Napier punctually at 6am, returning the following day. Cobb & Co advised patrons to book promptly as seats were limited.

On 4 January 1868, a passenger ‘anonymous’ described the trip in the Hawke’s Bay Herald. At 5am, the coach arrived at Cobb & Co’s Masonic Hotel booking office and picked-up its first group of passengers. Coachman Andrew Peters then drove to the Spit while a bugler, “played some lively tunes much to the astonishment of the drowsy inhabitants of that quarter” to collect more travellers. The coach then returned to the Masonic Hotel for the remaining passengers, leaving punctually at 5.50am for Waipukurau.

The trip to the newly built Ngaruroro bridge, “supposed to be the best in the province”, proved to be very pleasant. The first stop was Walter Caldwell’s commodious Provincial Hotel, at West Clive where the horses were “refreshed with water and the passengers with beer”.

The writer prophesised that West Clive “the very name of which was unknown a few weeks ago” would soon rank highly amongst “our flourishing inland townships”. Eight months earlier this small township was in its infancy – the main road had just been formed with buildings on either side, including a blacksmith’s, the Provincial Hotel and the Junction Store, which was originally located next to Tareha’s Bridge but moved “to a more prominent site”.

Once refreshed the horses started along the “rough and dusty unmetalled road”, until reaching the small township of Havelock, which had sprung up around a “steam-mill in the bush”. Here the coach drew up at Peter McHardy’s Havelock Hotel, (located on the site of the present St Columba Presbyterian Church) where the horses were again watered, and refreshment provided for the passengers. 

Setting off, the coach travelled through “thistle flat’ until reaching Alfred Harrisons hotel at Pakipaki. Anonymous commented that inebriants were still celebrating the festive season as there was “an immense amount of noisy singing and dancing going on” and the “long-suffering landlord” was looking “very seedy” being unable to get any sleep for two nights.

At Pakipaki the exhausted horses were ex-changed for fresh ones. Once harnessed, they traversed around the base of the hills to Ellingham’s Hotel, arriving there at 10am. To everyone’s annoyance the coach had to wait half-an-hour for five tardy passengers. The coach then ascended the hill through Te Aute bush and passed “the gates of Reverend Samuel Williams residence”.

The next stop was Neil Campbell’s Kaikora hotel, where the weary horses were watered and from thence to Waipawa, arriving at noon. The horses were again switched, while more passengers boarded and finally the coach set-off at a brisk pace bound for its final destination.

This portion of the journey proved very daunting as there was a steep descent into the riverbed “which required great skill” by the driver, and “shewed immense neglect on the part of the engineer and road-makers”. After crossing the river, a “very sharp ascent, round the side of the hill” which was enough to potentially “throw the coach on its side” had to be carefully navigated.

Eventually the coach arrived at the racecourse, an hour-and-a-half later than advertised. Being such a beautiful day throngs of spectators “approximately 500 of both races” had gathered in lively anticipation. Six races were held, including hurdles, and the champion race run over 1 ½ miles. For the spectators there was a “foot race open to all pedestrians” as well as cricket and quoit games and, for the ravenous, the Tavistock Hotel put on excellent meal for two shillings, served in a large marquee. One of the most pleasing aspects of the day, wrote a reporter, was the “quiet, orderly manner” in which everything was conducted culminating in scarcely a “single case of drunkenness” and no untoward disturbances.  

However, our anonymous writer had a different viewpoint. He disparagingly described the racecourse as being badly laid out, especially the first turning which was so sharp that “most of the horses had either to run into a wire fence or bolt down the hill towards Goodwin’s hotel”.

The coach with its passengers returned to Waipawa at 6pm, having “happily escaped all risk at ascending and descending the riverbanks”, and just in time to escape a deluge of rain. After dinner several of the travellers took a stroll along the picturesque river “towards the Ruataniwaha Plains”. Later in the evening, the group, dressed in all their finery, attended “a grand and very merry ball at the Waipawa Courthouse” which lasted well into the early hours.

The coach set out after breakfast the following morning. At Pakipaki “where order had once more been restored” they stopped for lunch. Finally, at 3pm the coach arrived back at Napier and the gratified travellers weaved their way wearily home.  

Laura and the team at MTG wish you all a wonderful and safe holiday season.

Published in the Hawke’s Bay Today newspaper on 30 December 2023 and written by Gail Pope, Social History Curator at MTG Hawke’s Bay

Talented team thrives amid challenges

This year started out well and we were hopeful for a ‘normal’ year after our years of Covid-19. Cyclone Gabrielle very quickly put paid to those ideas, reeking devastation and chaos across the region. Like everyone, the day after the cyclone, we were in a state of shock and confusion. Being part of Napier City Council many of our staff were able to join in the initial response undertaking tasks such as, preparing and serving meals, doing deliveries, welfare checks, etc. Other staff utilised their specialised skills helping with issues such as providing archival boxes for koiwi unearthed during the cyclone, providing advice on immediate treatment for taonga and helping individuals understand how to preserve textiles and other items they had rescued or recovered from the water and silt.

Although lawlessness was exhibited by some, the vast majority of the community were helping out in any way they could, and it was wonderful to see such great community spirit on display. Following the immediate aftermath, we were approached by EIT to see if we could help with a temporary home for some of their students and were pleased to find a space for them.

Despite the incredibly difficult start to the year the talented team at MTG Hawke’s Bay Tai Ahuriri still managed to complete eight exhibitions and displays. A highlight for many was Refuge in Fashion: Minh Ta, which displayed our wonderful collection of Minh Ta costumes – many of which were award winners. At the opening a number of people dressed in their own Minh Ta outfits, which was a lovely sight and a tribute to a truly talented person. Another local legend was celebrated in Making A Mark: the work of Fane Flaws. Many around Te Matau-a-Māui knew of Fane Flaws’ artworks – however Making A Mark focused on his incredible outputs as a director, musician and designer.

We were delighted to share Tāku Huia Kaimanawa, a series of Fiona Pardington works based on the huia birds and feathers held in our collection. These stunning works were a showstopper in our linkway gallery. We’re even more delighted to say that two works from the display are now in our collection – one gifted by Fiona as a commissioners copy, and one purchased and gifted by the MTG Foundation. During the year our front foyer had a dazzling work, Chromacade, by Janna van Hasselt. A series of ‘extrusions’ in rainbow colours popped against a fluorescent green surface. Falling in and out of a herringbone shape these forms seemed to dance across the wall.

Another playful display, Eye Spy: Curious Stories, looks at patterns and design in a range of objects from the collection. Exploring touch, smell, sight and sound this exhibition invites visitors to look a little closer. A giant collaborative ‘ei (think lei) adds the final touch, allowing visitors to contribute their own piece of design to Eye Spy. Having hosted EIT students over the year, we were happy to display some of their work in Through Lens and Light. This display showcases their range of photographic skills – from studio and documentary to product and landscape shots and provides insight into their unique skills, interests and perspectives.

Pictures and other works celebrates 10 years of the MTG Foundation fundraising and purchasing works for the collection. This group of dedicated and generous patrons work to ensure Hawke’s Bay has a collection that is worthy of the region and will be enjoyed for many generations to come. The final exhibition for the year, Pūrākau o Te Whenua, opened on 23 December and explores the legends and tales of Te Matau-a-Māui. The special names given to hills, mountains and lakes are all explored in this display – with stories told by local people we learn the cultural and historic connections about the whenua/land of our beautiful region.

This year also saw the building project in Hastings break ground. This purpose built facility will provide a permanent and appropriate home for the magnificent collection that the Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust cares for on behalf of the community. With over 90,000 objects this is the largest collection outside the four main centres and one of the older collections in the country. Te Matau-a-Māui is privileged to hold such a significant collection and it is gratifying to know it will be cared for appropriately into the future.

It has been a very challenging year and, although I think I say this every year, 2023 has definitely been a long year and one that has tested many of us. For those of you who work through the holiday season I hope people recognise that sacrifice, treat you with kindness and respect and that you get your own opportunity to have a well-deserved break at some point. For everyone else I hope you take the opportunity to spend time with family and friends, stop, relax, re-energise and refresh.

Published in the Hawke’s Bay Today newspaper on 23 December 2023 and written by Laura Vodanovich, Director at MTG Hawke’s Bay.

Bringing the huia back into the light

Taku Tahu, MTG Hawkes Bay, 2022, Fiona Pardington. Collection of Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust, Ruawharo Tā-ū-rangi

We’re thrilled to announce that two works by Ngāti Kahungunu artist, Fiona Pardington, have been gifted to the Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust collection.

Fiona and her representatives, Starkwhite Gallery, have donated the work pictured, and the MTG Foundation, have funded the purchase of a second work; Manawarahi Female Huia, MTG Hawkes Bay. The actual feathers and female huia, subjects of these fine works, are held in the Trust’s collection.

A finalist in the Forest and Birds ‘Bird of the Century,’ the huia has been extinct now for over 100 years. MTG is supporting and championing the huia for Bird of the Century and we’d love you to help us by voting for the huia through the Forest and Bird website or just search for bird of the century. Please tell your friends and whānau and help us get the spectacular huia recognised in this way.

To say that the huia bird is culturally and symbolically charged is an understatement. Its mana and significance are underlined by the story of its whakapapa, which sets it apart from other birds that dwelt in the realm of Tāne-mahuta. The huia is a sacred bird.  

At one time the bird was worn by rangatira and their whānau as a symbol of mana. Feathers were worn in the hair, dried skins and heads worn from the ears. Walter Buller noted about the heads, “the beaks of which, hanging down all round and coming into contact make a rattling sound as the wearer moves about. These are called ‘pōtae huia’ and only a woman of high rank would presume to wear one”.

To an extent, huia numbers declined through the early days of Māori settlement in Aotearoa, the birds being traded across the country in return for other valuables.

Sadly, for the huia, its distinctive beak also saw it prized by European collectors and international trade of the birds in the nineteenth century saw its numbers decline even further. In 1901 the gift of a huia feather to the heir to the British throne made the feathers so widely desired it ultimately set in place the bird’s extinction. The last huia seen were two males and a female, in 1907.

Like a rescue operation, Fiona is concerned with giving the huia new life. The act of photographing them brings them into the light, back into the living world and reinvests them with mauri.

As a symbol of rangatira too, the feather seen at such a large scale makes a statement about the allocation of wealth and power in this country. Like time travellers, they’re reminders of a place where Māori were rangatira and able to govern themselves in their own lands.

Last week, I wrote about the new collection access and storage facility in Hastings. As a reference to the sacredness of the huia, the outside of this building, along Queen St East and Hastings St North, will be faced in a protective cloak of large scale steel huia feathers, each 6m high.

These significant feathers, glowing at night, will turn the building into a Hawke’s Bay landmark. Each feather will be laser engraved with a single name: be it an individual, a family or an organisation. The names of eighty generous supporters will be preserved permanently, a record of the people who understand the value of protecting and caring for Hawke’s Bay’s collection of precious objects and taonga. Contact https://www.themtgfoundation.com if you’d like to support this heritage project and donate a feather.

In the meantime, we’re wishing best of luck to the huia becoming the ‘Bird of the Century’. You still have a chance to see these photographs in all their glory, in Tāku Huia Kaimanawa – Fiona Pardington, on display at the museum until 3 December 2023.

Published in the Hawke’s Bay Today newspaper on 4 November 2023 and written by Laura Vodanovich, Director at MTG Hawke’s Bay.

Summer a busy time in shearing sheds

Shearing gang, Elmshill Station, Patangata

Daylight saving and the long, lazy days of summer are on their way. With this comes a sense of freedom as time marches steadily towards Christmas and family holidays. However, during the 1850s onwards for those living on Hawke’s Bay sheep stations, the summer months heralded one of the busiest times in the farming calendar – the shearing season. Prior, all would be quiet around the shearing shed, except perhaps for birdsong, the rustling of leaves in the trees and the occasional bark of a dog.

Anticipation of the shearing season began the day the musterers’ left the homestead block to herd sheep from the station’s furthest boundaries to the homestead paddocks. A team would set out, each with five to seven working dogs, and once at the musterer’s hut tramp in different directions searching for sheep. The work was arduous, lonely and depending on the terrain, often dangerous. A packman would load his packhorse with all the necessaries required for the group to survive. At the musterer’s hut he was cook and butcher, in-charge of killing a few sheep to feed the men and the dogs.   

In the ensuing days all those left behind would listen keenly for the loud cacophony of bleats, strident whistles and barking of dogs, indicating the return of the men. Suddenly the welcome sight of a huge flock of sheep moving like an enormous wave would appear over the horizon. The peace that had reigned for so long was shattered and all the familiar sounds and smells of shearing would begin.

This Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust’s photograph captures Elmshill Station shearing shed during the late 1880s – 1890s. Shearing has possibly come to an end, enabling the group to pose together in their best clothes. There are various humourous and playful moments in the photograph: a sheep laying on its back wearing a hat; a man holding a handful of playing cards as though in the middle of a game and four men posed along the front seemingly in the middle of shearing sheep with hand-blades. The photograph exudes warmth and familiarity – the group at ease and enjoying each other’s company after a long day of hard work.

Most of the shearing gang pictured are Māori men, women and children. Māori shearing was particularly prevalent on the East Coast during the 1880s, with shearing gangs able to contract to the big Hawke’s Bay coastal and inland stations. For Māori, contract rural work enabled them to be employed seasonally in their extended whānau groups. Shearing, in particular, provided a steady source of income each spring and summer.

In November 1859 when Frederick John Tiffen purchased Elmshill, situated approximately 17 miles or 27 kilometres from Waipawa, most of the land was swamp. It took many years of hard work to drain the area and turn it into farming land. An entry in the Cyclopedia of New Zealand (1908) under Patangata, stated that on the property was 364 acres (147 hectares) of native bush, amongst which were “some splendid totara, white pine and matai”. The main stock on Elmshill were made-up of 11,977 Lincoln-Leicester cross-bred sheep, of which 6,000 were ewes. English Leicester rams were also bred on the station and the lambing season averaged an eighty-five percent success rate.

Tiffen built a “comfortable dwelling house” which was pleasantly situated on a rise. Below it was the wool-shed with sixteen shearing stands, several sorting tables and night pens which could accommodate up to 900 sheep. Next to the wool-shed were four whares in which farm-hands and the shearing gang slept and cooked, stables, and a storage building along with a concrete sheep dip.

Throughout Aotearoa New Zealand shearing sheds had a similar floorplan. One of the earliest descriptions was by Lady Barker who in December 1865 visited a new shearing shed close to Christchurch. At first she did not like “the sights and sounds” – however she forced herself “to bear it”. The shed had 25 shearing stands and beside each was a trap-door through which the shearer pushed shorn sheep down a ramp into a small outside pen. It was here that the manager would inspect the quality of shearing and count any cuts on the sheep’s skin.

Using hand-blades the average daily tally of sheep shorn was about 80, whereas a fast shearer could remove 120 fleeces a day. Lady Barker inspected the wool tables to “which two boys were incessantly bringing armfuls of rolled-up fleeces”. These were laid on the tables for the wool-sorter to open-up and inspect the quality of wool. From there the fleeces were carried to bins which were constantly emptied and taken to the press. “Once tumbled in”, a heavy screw-press forced the fleeces down into a bale which was kept “open in a large square frame” until full. The top of the canvas was then tightly sewn together, then four long iron pins removed so that the sides of the frame fell away disclosing a symmetrical bale. This was then “hoisted by a crane into the loft above”, where the weight, class and brand of wool was painted on the canvas. Everything was done with the utmost speed and precision.

Lady Barker remarked that she was “much impressed by the silence in the shed; not a sound was to be heard except the click of the shears, and the wool-sorter’s decision as he flings the fleece behind him, given in one, or at most two words”. All the noise was outside; “there the hubbub, and dust, and apparent confusion are great – you can hear nothing but barking and bleating, and this goes on from early morning till dark”.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

So, if travelling throughout the valleys, plains and along the coastline of beautiful Hawke’s Bay this summer keep an eye out for historic shearing sheds and yards. Like old bones they stand proudly, their weatherworn exteriors seemingly at one with the land. Built of native timber at a time when it was plentiful, they have withstood the test of time – their slightly battered and bleached appearance give an indication of the longevity of their years. Inside, the yard gates and tongue-and-groove floorboards are ingrained with years of lanolin from the wool, smells permeate the senses and the walls throb with the echo of memory.

Published in the Hawke’s Bay Today newspaper on 30 September 2023 and written by Gail Pope, Social History Curator at MTG Hawke’s Bay.

Exhibition features the beautiful huia

 Letter written by William Colenso to John Burtton along with huia feather

The Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust is fortunate to hold in its collection three items which are closely associated to both William Colenso and the now extinct huia bird. The first is a letter written by Colenso to John Burtton of Kumeroa, near Woodville, dated 17 July 1886.  In the letter Colenso sincerely thanks him for his “kind note” which was hand-delivered to him by Burtton’s daughter. Within the folds of Burtton’s letter was carefully wrapped “a deformed huia’s bill”, which Colenso enthused was a “natural curiosity” further stating that he was “eager and would have much pleasure” in showing the beak at the next meeting of the Hawke’s Bay Philosophical Institute.

The second item is a booklet titled “A Description of the curiously-formed Bill of a Huia, (Heteralocha acutirostris), an endemic New Zealand Bird” written by William Colenso and published, along with a sketch of the curiosity in the “Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand”, Volume 19, 1886. When the booklet and letter (minus bill) were donated in 1962, enclosed within the folds of paper was a lone huia tail feather glistening iridescent blue-black and tipped with distinctive white.

Within days of receiving the letter and deformed beak Colenso had written an essay about the unusual find, and on 9 August 1886 read it (along with three other scientific papers) to an avid audience at the monthly meeting of the Hawke’s Bay Philosophical Institute. He aptly described the deformed female huia’s upper mandible as resembling a “gigantic corkscrew” which measured approximately 15 centimetres – three longer than usual. Near the end of the meeting Colenso was thanked for the rendition of his “valuable papers” as well as being warmly congratulated for recently receiving science’s ultimate honour – that of Fellow of the Royal Society conferred by Britain’s Royal Society.

Of all bird species in the world, the huia had one of the most pronounced distinct difference in bill shape. The female’s bill was long, thin and elegantly arched downward while the male’s was short and stout. This enabled each to assist the other in search for food. Particular delicacies were the fat juicy huhu grub and weta which they extracted from logs and trees. The male huia with his shorter bill would perforate the hard outer trunk, followed by the female who would insert her long curved bill into the hole made by her mate, thereby extracting the larva, which both shared.

Of all Tane’s (the God of Forest and Birds) children, the huia was the most sacred bird to Māori. Their tail feathers (each bird had twelve) were an extremely revered taonga and when worn, symbolised leadership and mana. In pre-European times, only rangatira /chiefs of noble rank and their whānau wore the distinguished tail feathers in their hair.

The Bush Advocate reported on 10 June 1890 that at a large hui in Wanganui, Kāwana Pitiroi Paipai, (Ngāti Ruaka hapū of Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi) a prominent rangatira was sitting to “receive company”. For the occasion, Paipai wore a magnificent korowai / cloak, made entirely of the green and gold feathers of the kerēru fastened at his shoulders with a shark’s tooth and his “cloud of iron-grey hair” was surmounted by the “precious white-tipped plumes of the sacred huia, the sign of chieftainship”. In his lap lay a magnificent pounamu mere.

Examples of wear proliferated in print. On 18 December 1845 Colenso recorded in his diary while visiting Parangarahu near Wellington that the huia was “so highly prized by Māori all over the Island for their handsome skins which they hang in their ears.” Other uses encountered was the wearing a tuft of huia feathers as a mau taringa / earring or as a headdress composed of huia skins.

An unusual use of the huia feather was reported by the Hawke’s Bay Herald on 21 June 1882 when Rēnata Kawepō entertained a large hui of both Māori and Pākehā at Omahu to celebrate the marriage of his adopted son, Wiremu te Muhanga Paratene (William Broughton) to Atiria Te Hauwaho. After the service it was noted that the wedding cake was “profusely ornamented with huia feathers”.

Pākehā quickly copied the Māori tradition of wearing huia feathers but alongside incorporated their bills into jewellery. At the last session of Parliament on 11 September 1882, the Hawke’s Bay Herald reported that a large number of Members of Parliament were wearing huia feathers in their hats. John Sheeham, Minister of Māori Affairs from 1877–1879 conceived the idea that the wearing of the feather would appropriately mark the “closing days of the session” so he procured a “quantity of huia feathers and distributed them amongst members for that purpose”.

And as late as 1901 (by which time the huia was almost extinct), Woodville jeweller S Boustein, had designed a gold-mounted engraved brooch with a miniature gold snake wound between the two portions of the female huia beak, as well as a gold-mounted huia bill pendant fastened to a watch chain. Both items were displayed in his shop window for the public to admire and contemplate purchasing.

As demand for feathers, skins, bills and taxidermy specimens grew the huias population plummeted causing some Māori and Pākehā to become concerned. During Colenso’s 1845 journey to Parangarahu he noted that a group of Māori had “living specimens of the elegant and rare bird the huia”. On 24 July 1874, Heta Matau from Pōrangahau wrote a letter to the Hawke’s Bay Times stating that local Māori had established a rāhui / protection order against the killing of the huia and furthermore it had been in place for the last four years but was seemingly disregarded.  

Taylor White from Wimbleton was also anxious about the fate of the huia. In a letter published 4 April 1890 by the Hawke’s Bay Herald he stated “formerly there were numbers of a rare bird, the huia, here” and their birdsong “used to be sounding on all sides”. He feared the huias extinction “unless a haven or refuge is provided for them in Government Reserves”.  Sadly, it was too late for the huia – official record considered the bird extinct by 1907. The last officially confirmed sighting was on 28 December 1907 when three huia were reportedly seen in the Tararua Ranges. 

Currently at MTG Hawke’s Bay we are extremely privileged to have on display the exhibition Tāku Huia Kaimanawa by artist Fiona Pardington, featuring five large-scale photographs of the Museums Trust taxidermied huia and feathers – one of which is the Colenso feather featured above. We warmly invite you to visit, pause in front of the images and take time to contemplate, appreciate and be enveloped by the pure beauty of the now extinct huia.

Published in the Hawke’s Bay Today newspaper on 5 August 2023 and written by Gail Pope, Social History Curator at MTG Hawke’s Bay.

First MTG director writes vivid and powerful eyewitness account of World War I: ‘A beast of burden’

Stretcher-bearer Squad, after the Somme Battle, October 1916.

Most people with a sense of Hawke’s Bay history know of Leo Bestall, who was the first Director of MTG Hawke’s Bay Tai Ahuriri. He helped raise money to build the museum, and he rose to become national president of the Art Galleries and Museums Association of New Zealand. In 1949 he received an MBE for his work. However, few know Leo as a younger man who predates MTG.

In December 1915, with the First World War bogged down in the trenches of the Western Front, Leo left his architectural apprenticeship and enlisted with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. He joined the Medical Corps – “I am a stretcher bearer, a beast of burden” he wrote. He was aged barely twenty, Army Service Number 3/2088, and he served 3 years and 4½ months.

Leo was on duty during the Battle of the Somme in September/October 1916. The photo shows him with his squad of four stretcher-bearers. They did 34 carries in 19 days – long journeys of stretcher-bearing through terrible bombardments and mud. In October 1917 he was gassed at Passchendaele (mustard gas), then spent three months recovering. By March/April 1918 he was back in the thick of it, tending the torrent of wounded at an Advanced Dressing Station in a French village called Mailly-Maillet, facing the German Spring Offensive.

There is a photograph of that Advanced Dressing Station taken by the NZ official war photographer Henry Armitage Sanders. It’s an interesting photo and in 2018 I decided to research it. A simple internet search revealed there was a copy in the MTG archives, alongside a diary by one Leo Bestall. That was the first I had heard of Leo.

From London, I emailed Napier asking what this man Leo had written in his diary. The Archivist at MTG sent me some cellphone photographs of a letter Leo had written home to his parents describing his work. Here’s some of what he wrote:

The cases come in within an hour or so of being hit … They come in just with the first rough dressing on, inches thick with mud and dripping with rain and we give them dry blankets, hot water bottles, cocoa and cake, cut off their puttees and boots and put on thick bed sox. Redress wounds that are still bleeding and then send them on in cars to the Main Dressing Station.

Sometimes it’s pretty rotten though, especially in the cases of abdominal wounds. A case just went through just now. A poor beggar very white and repeating over and over again under his breath “O my God help me, please God do something for me” etc, etc. They moan for water so much too and you daren’t give it them. A large percentage of abdominal cases don’t recover.

Leo’s writing is very vivid, a powerful first-hand eyewitness account. I found his narrative very helpful for my historical research into WW1 stretcher-bearing and medical evacuation.

When I returned to Aotearoa New Zealand, I came to Napier to check Leo out. What I found were three ring binders of hand-written material, hundreds of pages – diary pages, hand-written letters, photos and postcards, plus bits and pieces from WW1 – a leave pass, a telegram home, a German bank note, etc. The diary was chronological but copied onto fresh sheets of paper. The letters home were the originals, on fragile 100+ year old paper, kept by Leo’s parents. Occasionally the censor’s crossing-out was present and sometimes Leo had restored the obliterated wording. Most letters were dated and numbered. (The quoted letter from Mailly-Maillet is No.103, from the third ring binder.) Leo also took many photos, mostly before he crossed into France. However, there were even a few from the front line, where cameras were strictly forbidden.

When I saw the extent of Leo’s WW1 writing, there was a decision to make. I estimated that to transcribe and to write up all his material would take about five years. Did I have 5 years of my life to devote to this project? I already lead a busy life, work fulltime, and besides I live in Auckland. But it seemed to me that the wealth and quality of Leo’s experience was worth it. It should be in the public domain. And I knew I would learn a great deal from doing it – about the New Zealanders in WW1, about Leo, and about myself. So, I accepted the challenge. That was 2019.

Four years on, I am now very familiar with the energetic, intelligent and observant, intensely social and likable young man Leo Bestall. Covid lockdown proved a bonus, with long evenings to work on transcription – it helped keep me sane. Recently I was at MTG archives again – Leo’s material in the third ring binder is loose (not ‘ring-bound’) and pages had clearly become mingled together. That affects the fundamental integrity of the source material, the order in which the pages should be read, and thus the transcription. An interesting puzzle, but we’ve sorted it, with special thanks to the Archivist’s support and expertise. It was a deeply satisfying day, and I think Leo Bestall would have been pleased. He clearly wanted to have his story told, and it won’t be long now before we have this ‘taonga’ uploaded and available online.

Published in the Hawke’s Bay Today newspaper on 28 July 2023 and written by Dr Graham Howie.

Dr Graham Howie is a Senior Lecturer and Researcher at the Paramedicine Dept, School of Clinical Sciences, Auckland University of Technology. He researches paramedic emergency care, both current and historical – with a particular interest in the First World War. In October he will travel to Europe to walk the villages and battlefields that Leo Bestall described.

Image: Leo Bestall is sitting front left, his arms clasping his knees. Sitting to the right is his close friend ‘Mac’ McCarthy (3/2063), also from Napier. Standing upper left is EdwardSkivington (23/281), who was to die of wounds in May 1917. Standing upper right is Wally Carruthers (3/85), leader of the squad, who was awarded a MM for ‘setting a fine example of courage and coolness under fire’ at the Somme. Collection of Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust, Ruawharo Tā-ū-rangi, 19242. Public Domain

Celebrating the region’s exhibitions

Image: Fiona Pardington with Kelly Carmichael of Starkwhite Gallery and the MTG Collections team in preparation to view the precious taxidermied huia

It’s been a theme of openings recently. Friday 26 May I went to Hastings City Art Gallery Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga for the launch of the Design Kahungunu exhibition. This collaborative effort with Iwi Toi Kahungunu artists features works from established, mid-career and emerging artists. The opening was a wonderful event with a large crowd gathered to support the artists, the gallery and the kaupapa. Sandy Adsett continues to play an important role in supporting, developing, encouraging and connecting Ngāti Kahungunu artists and this is another great example of that ongoing mahi. I can recommend it’s worth viewing for yourself.

The previous weekend, on Saturday 20 May, Central Hawke’s Bay Museum celebrated the opening of Ghosts of the Past. A series of photographic works by Jeremy Bright exploring the closed Waikpukurau Hospital – before the land is redeveloped for housing. There’s always something poignant in photos of abandoned medical institutions and one can imbue them with a myriad of meanings. This speaks to the power of objects and places and the memories that are embedded in them. I didn’t get the chance to see this earlier at Hastings City Art Gallery, so was glad to have the opportunity to attend this opening. Central Hawke’s Bay Council supported the museum in recognition of International Museum Day, 18 May, with a free sausage sizzle and, thanks to the Gwen Malden Charitable Trust, the museum was also able to announce free entry for a year. If you find yourself in Central Hawke’s Bay do take the opportunity to visit this special place.

The night before, Friday 19 May, we opened Tāku Huia Kaimanawa: Fiona Pardington at MTG Hawke’s Bay Tai Ahuriri. This beautiful series of works by Fiona Pardington are all taken from the Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust collection. A pair of huia birds (one female, one male) along with three individual huia feathers feature in the artworks. Fiona’s work, capturing huia in public and private collections, both gives the birds a new life and ensures they are documented for future generations. Fiona recognises that the way birds were taxidermied and the toxic materials used may eventually mean they disintegrate – a form of “second extinction”. Indeed Fiona and the team at MTG had to don hazmat suits, masks and goggles when working with the birds due to the toxic materials in the birds. The final product is works that are powerful and stunning and, in my view, a must see.

All these art exhibition openings speak to the vibrancy and range across Hawke’s Bay’s public institutions. Of course May also saw the road to Wairoa reopening, reconnecting the region and another very important form of opening. The Wairoa Museum is always well worth a visit, sharing stories of place and time, and I’m sure they’d love to have visitors back in the rohe.

I strongly encourage you to explore your regional and local public institutions and the experiences they have to offer. They all play distinct and important roles in sharing past, present and future stories, artworks, themes and concepts. They are there for you and are your places – celebrate and support them, challenge them, test them but above all – embrace them.

Published in the Hawke’s Bay Today newspaper 3 June 2023 and written by Laura Vodanovich, Director at MTG Hawke’s Bay.

The storytelling magic of lanterns

Magic lantern, 81/135

In today’s vibrant world of technology, where so much of our daily lives are bombarded with moving images on screens, it’s difficult to imagine a time when an audience travelled a distance by foot or horse to be captivated by still images projected onto a plain white sheet pinned to a wall.

Imagine sitting on hard seats in a draughty hall, waiting patiently for the wonderful world of optical projection to begin. A sense of anticipation amongst the audience would grow as the candles were blown out and darkness slowly enveloped the room. Suddenly the lamp would be ignited and through the wizardry of the magic lantern and accompanying slides (some instructive, many amusing, and all highly entertaining), the spectator would be transported into a world beyond their knowing.

In the Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust collection are several magic lanterns (laterna magica), the earliest model of which is a Gegrandet, made in Germany, 1866. Nestled in a purpose-built wooden box, it is accompanied by a series of glass lantern slides on which are hand-painted scenes, encased within beautifully constructed mahogany frames.

Instructions for use are on the underside of the box lid. The manufacturers advise that the magic lantern be placed on a table with the lens facing a “smooth white sheet at a distance of 3 – 5 feet” (91- 152 centimetres). The lamp was filled with petroleum and the wick cut evenly so that the flame could be adjusted to as large as possible without ‘smooting’ (producing large concentrations of dust). The lamp was then carefully transferred into the lantern and the focusing tube adjusted until the picture was focused on the screen. If smooting occurred and the flame came in contact with the dust, an explosion or fire could be triggered adding even greater excitement to the evening.

The magic lantern was operated by a concave mirror positioned behind a light source, which directed the light through a small rectangular sheet of glass with an image (known as a lantern slide) and then onto a lens positioned at the front of the apparatus. Because the single lens inverted an image projected through it, slides had to be inserted upside down in the slot provided, to ensure that the projected image was correctly oriented. The lens was adjusted to change the size and focus of the image on the screen.

As early as 1861, local Te Matau-a-Māui / Hawke’s Bay shops advertised the sale of magic lanterns and accompanying slides. The slides were sold in themed boxed sets of varying number and came with a script describing the contents. There were slides to entertain everyone. For children there were fairy or folk tales as well as hand-painted cartoon-like humourous slides which could have some form of rudimentary movement. For adult, slides covered information about places around the world particularly the ‘Holy Land and China’ and for the more discerning there were, scientific, astronomical and botanical slides.

Magic lantern shows became a pivotal part of any entertainment, particularly the celebration of an important occasion. At Pōrangahau on New Year’s Day, 1878, Dr Tennent and his wife held a children’s festival. The Hawke’s Bay Herald described the event beginning with the youngsters, who in excited anticipation, gathered from 2 pm onward. “Merriment ran high” as the entertainment began with a sumptuous feast of cakes, sandwiches and other delicacies which the children quickly devoured. This was followed by a “general stampede” as each child rushed to get a ticket which corresponded to a gift hanging from the Christmas tree. Next on the itinerary was a series of races which were contested in a “spirited manner”’ by everyone, especially the “little girls and young ladies” who presented “a pretty spectacle”.

In the evening Dr Tennent put on a “splendid” magic lantern show for both children and adults, the contents of which evoked ‘peals of laughter’ – this was closely followed by a spectacular display of fireworks. In a bush community no entertainment was considered complete without a dance, so at midnight the floor was emptied and with the aid of a piano, dancing was kept up until “the candles went out, which catastrophe took place about 3am”.

Many magic lantern shows were performed to fundraise for a specific cause – often a school, church or sports club fund. At Woodville on 24 January 1880, the Waipawa Mail described a show arranged by Reverend Samuel Williams, proceeds of which went to the local school. The occasion drew a large audience and immediately the “first view was thrown on the screen” the youngsters excitedly drummed a tattoo on the floor with their feet. The subsequent sharp movement shook the lantern, causing the block of lime (used to produce a very bright flame) to break. It took Mr C Winkleman, the projectionist, about ten minutes to “skilfully manipulate the lantern”, afterwards which, the performance went on without a hitch.

The success of any magic lantern exhibit, depended on the showmanship of the speaker who, if accomplished, would embellish the evening with comedic, descriptive and informative anecdotes. Inextricably intertwined within a magic lantern performance were musical interludes by local amateurs, particularly pianoforte performances and singing, along with recitations of well-known poetry and plays. Some exhibitions were themed as on 14 April 1887, at the Waipukurau Town Hall when panoramic displays of Scotland or in Sir Walter Scott’s words, the “land of brown heath and shaggy wood” were shown, followed by a rendition of the song The Bonnie Hills of Scotland which was performed in “capital style”.

Although now seemingly simple in nature, magic lantern shows, assisted by the musical and vocal talent of a community, brought people together and gave a reprieve from the arduous and serious toil of daily life in often isolated areas. There was indeed wizardry in a magic lantern show.

Published in the Hawke’s Bay Today newspaper on 13 May 2023 and written by Gail Pope, Social History Curator at MTG Hawke’s Bay.

Huia image donated in aid of flood recovery

Manawarahi Female Huia, MTG Hawkes Bay (2022) by Fiona Pardington

Deeply moved to see the devastation that Cyclone Gabrielle brought to the Te Matau-a-Māui, celebrated artist Dr. Fiona Pardington has donated an artwork to aid in the recovery efforts of her Ngāti Kahungunu iwi.

This artwork is the Manawarahi Male Huia, MTG Hawkes Bay (2022), an image from Pardington’s series of huia photographs taken at MTG Hawke’s Bay Tai Ahuriri last year.

The artist feels this artwork has a wonderful relationship to the rohe and was the right one to offer for sale towards Ngāti Kahungunu’s cyclone relief fund.

Not only is the male huia the tohu for Hastings Boys and Hastings Girls High Schools, but the art work depicting this huia will be seen for the first time from 20 May when Pardington’s exhibition opens to the public at MTG. 

For over twenty years, Pardington has sought out and photographed taonga of the natural and cultural world held in collections worldwide.

Some seventeen years after her first photographs of the now extinct huia, Pardington came to her iwi rohe, Te-Matau-a-Māui Hawke’s Bay, to photograph huia held in the Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust collection.

In what must now be considered a distinct project, Pardington photographs huia in museum storehouses and private collections, infusing these birds with new presence through exquisite large-scale portraits such as these.

The sacred huia bird is a powerful reminder of the concept of mana or rangitira. It’s symbolic value emphasised by its unique lineage, setting it apart from other birds in the spiritual realm of Tāne Mahuta.

The illustrious, and sadly extinct, huia is a revered taonga with strong connection to Ngāti Kahungunu and their rohe. Iwi kaumatua have passed on knowledge including the following: “Whanahuia is a place in the Ruahine. It means ‘1000 huia birds rising as one from the mountain ranges of Ruahine’. Maungaruru was the effect of the birds rising on the wing, roaring like thunder.”

Alongside the photographs of the taxidermied pair of birds in her MTG exhibition Tāku Huia Kaimanawa, Pardington will show two photographs that show huia feathers also held in the Trust’s collection. One of these feathers once owned by William Colenso.

Pardington has talked of photography as a place of memory and mourning. These haunting photographs mourn the loss of this sacred bird, not by way of laying them to rest, but in such a way that huia are brought into the realm of the living like treasures returned to the world.

The notion of artists working with museum collections is not new and this kind of exhibition project provides richness and depth while adding a new interpretative dimension to the material itself.

For those at MTG, Pardington’s visit to the collection was an extraordinary experience. It was great to have the taxidermied birds, a pair of huia, and feathers from the collection photographed by an artist of the calibre of Fiona Pardington.

The donated artwork was sold by Starkwhite Gallery a short while after putting it up for sale. 

Fiona Pardington’s exhibition Tāku Huia Kaimanawa at MTG Hawke’s Bay Tai Ahuriri will open at 9.30am on 20 May, 2023.

Published in the Hawke’s Bay Today newspaper 6 May 2023 and written by Toni MacKinnon, Curator Fine Arts at MTG Hawke’s Bay.