Sites of Memory Memorialisation in the Landscape A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters of Science in Geography at the University of Canterbury by Jo-anne Mary Morgan University of Canterbury 2001 Abstract This study examines the breadth of memorialisation in the cultural landscape in and between Christchurch and Dunedin. To ascertain what has been memorialised and by whom, various methods and resources were used to locate memorials and monuments in different centres. Typologies and databases were constructed from the data collected, and form and iconography were interpreted. Memorials and monuments are numerous and ubiquitous in the landscape and are an integral part of the expression of the New Zealand culture. However, for many people, they are a naturalised part of the landscape. As part of the familiar, people become oblivious to their existence. Individually and collectively, all memorials and monuments, public private and funerary, encapsulate the values and ideas important to communities and act as markers in the growth of the community, and the nation. The ability to read the language of these statements has diminished over time, as many people can no longer read the implicit messeges and only see the literal meaning of the symbols. For the memories embedded in the memorials and monuments to continue to live in. the collective mind, they have to be maintained. Invented traditions, involving. rituals and pageantry, actively prevent forgetting. The values and ideals enshrined in the Anzac Day package of Poppy Day, services, parades and war memorials, have over the years been renegotiated, to represent different things to different generations. This is why Anzac Day has survived and remains on of the few public holidays that draws people of all ages together to reflect on individual and collective sacrifice, the New Zealand identity and nationhood. iv Acknowledgements There are several people who have worked very· had to get me to this point. First and foremost I would like to thank my ~upervisor, Associate Professor Eric Pawson. I am sure I tried his patience many a time. For your patience and encouragement before and during this thesis, I am truly grateful. I hope that in the future you are not blessed with too many other doubting Thomases. To Gillian and Maree who tried so hard to convince me that I could do this and have had to put up with me since, I thank you too for your patience and encouragement. To my research assistants Mr and Mrs Blackler, Gillian, Maree and Dawn, thank you for your time and entertainment, the fieldwork would have taken longer and been less of a laugh. Thank you to Simon and John who provided accommodation, transport and much needed information in Dunedin, your knowledge and support was invaluable. To Dad and Helen who gave me a bed and fed me when I came in from the cemetery, thank you for your help and support. Thanks to John, Dean, and Graham in the Geography Department for their computer skills and patience. To Isabel and Barry for their shape eyes and their good grasp of the English language, thank you for seeing what I would never have noticed. If there are any mistakes in here they are definitely mine. Finally to my entertainment teams in Timaru, Dawn and Derek, and in Christchurch, my flatmates: Barry, Sharyn, Cassandra, Brittany, Victoria, Cheryl, Brian, Chris, Brenda, Emma, and especially Karen, thank you for keeping me as sane as possible. I will return to normal. v Table of Contents Title Frontispiece ii Abstract iii Acknowledgements lV Table of Contents v List of Figures vii List of Tables viii Chapter 1 Introduction 1 Research Focus 2 Thesis Plan 6 Chapter 2 Memories, Memorial, Traditions Introduction 7 The Landscape: the cultural and the symbolic 8 Memory: remembering and forgetting 9 Memories and places of memory 10 Ideology of Commemoration 11 Invented Traditions 13 Methodology 16 Markers in the Landscape 16 Locating Markers 17 Archives 18 Interviews 20 Conclusions 20 Chapter 3 "This is a place of rest ... ": Changing Cemetery Tradition Introduction 21 History of Cemeteries 21 History of Funerary Sculpture 23 The New Zealand Context 25 Sample Cemeteries 26 Methodolgy 31 Forms 34 Iconography 40 The Written Text 41 Cemeteries as Sacred Places 46 Sites ofMemory 48 Conclusion 48 Chapter 4 Places of Memory of Markers of Time Introduction 50 'Statuemania' 51 Typology 54 Analysis by Category 59 Analysis by Date 67 Analysis by Location 73 1990 and Beyond 76 vi Conclusion 80 Chapter 5 Pro Patria: War Memorial in the Landscape Introduction 82 The New Zealand Context 84 Typology 85 Case Studied 95 Dunedin Story 96 • Design 96 • Site 99 • Fundraising 100 Timaru Story 102 • Fundraising 102 • Design 103 • Site 104 Christchurch Story 109 • Site 110 • Design 112 Fundraising 115 Sites ofMemory 117 Conclusion 119 Chapter 6 Persistence of Tradition Introduction 120 Origins: 25 April1915 120 Poppy Appeal 123 New Zealand Poppy Appeal 124 Persistence of Tradition 127 Conclusion: Lest we forget 129 Chapter 7 Conclusion 130 References 133 vii List of Figures Frontispiece- Otago Peninsula War Memorial ii 1.1 Public Memorialisation and Meaning 5 3.1 An array of Victorian tomb designs by Milward & Co, London. 25 3.2 The plan of the Southern Cemetery, Dunedin. 29 3.3 The plan of the Timaru Cemetery. 30 3.4 The location of the Akaroa cemeteries. 31 3.5 A and Bare examples of Top Piece Stones in the Southern Cemetery, Dunedin. 36 3.6 A Sarcophagus in the Northern Cemetery, Dunedin 36 3.7 The Larnach Family Mausoleum, Northern Cemetery, Dunedin 37 3.8 One of two Dunedin manufactured headstones in the Timaru Cemetery. 38 3.9 New innovations in iconography. 41 3.10 A modern headstone showing a standard inscription with the inclusion of the 42 names of children/siblings. 4.1 John Robert Godley, Founder of Canterbury, (erected 1863). 52 4.2 Location map of prominent memorials and monuments, Dunedin. 60 4.3 Location map of prominent memorials and monuments in central city of 61 Christchurch. 4.4 Jubilee Monument and Queen Victoria. 65 4.5 Dated markers erected in the study area per decade. 68 4.6 James Edward FitzGerald, erected 1939. 69 4.7 Location of prominent memorials and monuments in Timaru. 71 4.8 The WharfRedevelopment, Dunedin. 73 4.9 The Chalice, Cathedral Square, Christchurch. 78 5.1 Second World War memorial in a Garden of Memories in Oamaru. 91 5.2 Entrance to the Gardens of Memories, Oamaru. 91 5.3 The Prouser and Gummer design as printed in the Otago Witness 98 Illustrated (12 July 1921:33). 5.4 The Dunedin War Memorial, Queens Garden, Dunedin. 102 5.5 Advertisement for the War Memorial appeal, Timaru Herald, 103 17 September 1919:6. 5.6 Map of the proposed sites for the war memorial in Timaru. 105 5.7 The South Canterbury War Memorial, Timaru. 108 5.8 The Second World War memorial design proposed by Gould in 1931. 113 Adapted from the Christchurch Press, 5 June 1931:13. 5.9 The Canterbury War Memorial, Cathedral Square, Christchurch. 115 6.1 Poppy Day advetiisement in the Timaru Herald, 5 April1922: 1. 124 6.2 Poppy Day advetiisement in the Christchurch Press, 20 April1922: 12. 125 viii List of Tables 3.1 Typology of major monument forms found in cemeteries. 32 3.2 Style Periods. 35 4.1 Database of Memorials and Monuments. 54 5.1 Database of War Memorials. 86 5.2 Iconographic motifs used on war memorials. 92 5.3 Examples of phrases on war memorials. 93 5.4 Iconography on the proposed Dunedin War Memorial. 99 Chapter 1 Introduction "To be concerned with death and with its celebration is not 'morbid"' J S Cur11980:366 My grandfather, Ernest Clarke, joined the New Zealand Army and left for the United Kingdom on 19 January 1917. He was a private in 7'11 Company, 1st Battalion, Wellington Infantry Regiment and saw active service in France in the battles of Messines and Passchendaele in 1917 and took part in the crossing ofthe Celie River and the capture ofLe Quesnoy in 1918. He was sick for almost a year between engagements and I was told that he had suffered gas poisoning in the trenches in France. Like thousands of First World War veterans, my grandfather never spoke of the war and I only have this information because of a request for information from the Army by my uncle. On the other side of the family there were men in active service, with only one death. Despite this background, as a family we never had a family tradition of Anzac Day. Our contribution was through the purchase of poppies, going to the cemetery on Anzac Day and putting them on grandad's grave. From this standpoint, it was interesting to go to the 2001 Anzac Day dawn service in Cathedral Square, Christchurch. My first dawn service was in Christchurch several years ago and my memories are not flattering, with grown men showing a lack of respect only, excusable in the young. However, the atmosphere this year was so different. There was a large crowd with lots of family groups. Many were unable to see or hear the proceedings, but it did not dampen the effect, and the solemnity of the occasion was retained. The volley of gunfire reverberated around Cathedral Square, giving a number of people a fright. Several guests staying in hotels fronting onto the Square watched from their windows. At the end of the service there was a palpable lack of response from the crowd, when the male choir and returned services personnel sang the British national anthem rather than the New Zealand anthem.