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Staging the Past: The Period Room in New Zealand Volume I Submitted by Kimberley Jane Stephenson in fulfilment of a Master of Arts in Art History School of Art History, Classics and Religious Studies Victoria University of Wellington December 2011 i Contents Volume I Abstract iii Acknowledgements iv Abbreviations vi List of Illustrations vii Introduction 1 Chapter 1 The Centennial Exhibition and the emergence of a period room tradition in New Zealand 20 Chapter 2 Otago Early Settlers Museum 46 Chapter 3 Canterbury Museum 71 Chapter 4 Dominion Museum 126 Conclusion 175 Bibliography 177 Illustrations 193 Volume II List of Illustrations 1 Illustrations 9 ii Abstract Before 1940, few of the nation’s museums actively collected or displayed artefacts associated with the history of European settlement in New Zealand. Over the following three decades, an interest in ‘colonial history’ blossomed and collections grew rapidly. Faced with the challenge of displaying material associated with the homes of early settlers, museums adopted the period room as a strategy of display. The period room subsequently remained popular with museum professionals until the 1980s, when the type of history that it had traditionally been used to represent was increasingly brought into question. Filling a gap in the literature that surrounds museums and their practices in New Zealand, this thesis attempts to chart the meteoric rise and fall of the period room in New Zealand. Taking the two period rooms that were created for the New Zealand Centennial Exhibition in 1939 as its starting point, the thesis begins by considering the role that the centennials, jubilees and other milestones celebrated around New Zealand in the 1940s and 1950s played in the development of period rooms in this country, unpacking the factors that fuelled the popularity of this display mode among exhibition organisers and museum professionals. The thesis then charts the history of the period room in the context of three metropolitan museums – the Otago Early Settlers Museum, the Canterbury Museum, and the Dominion Museum – looking at the physical changes that were made to these displays over time, the attitudes that informed these changes, and the role that period rooms play in these institutions today. iii Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to thank Victoria University for their generous financial support, without which this thesis would never have been written. I am also deeply indebted to my supervisor, Roger Blackley, whose advice and attention to detail has been invaluable throughout the research process. A special thank you also goes to the staff of the Art History department, especially Annie Mercer and Pippa Wisheart, for all of their help over the years. I would also like to acknowledge the numerous people and organisations around New Zealand who assisted me in various ways during the research process: Elizabeth Lorimer, Rose Young, and the library staff at the Auckland Museum; Damian Cairns, Joanna Condon, Kerry McCarthy, Katie Wilson and the staff at the Documentary Research Centre, Canterbury Museum; Alison Breese, Dunedin City Council Archives; Wendy Adlam, Lower Hutt City Council Archives; Rebecca Smith, Invercargill City Archives; Anita Hogan, Carolyn McGill, Jennifer Twist and the staff at Te Aka Matua Library, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa; the staff at the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa; the Northland, Central and Southern Regional Offices of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust Pouhere Taonga; Moira White and Elise Allen, Otago Museum; Seán Brosnahan and Jill Haley, Otago Settlers Museum; the staff at the Upper Hutt Community Archive; and David Dudfield, Lindsay Hazley and Gael Ramsay at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery. iv Last but not least, I would like to thank my family and friends for their ongoing support – I could not have done this without you! Dudley and Jesse Stephenson – thank you so much for all your love and support over the years. I miss you both dearly. v Abbreviations ANZ Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga AM Auckland Museum CM Canterbury Museum DPL Dunedin Public Library LHCC Lower Hutt City Council Archives MONZ Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa NLNZ National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa NZHPT New Zealand Historic Places Trust Pouhere Taonga OSM Otago Settlers Museum HCL Hutt City Libraries Heritage Centre UH Upper Hutt Community Archive vi List of Illustrations Chapter 1 – New Zealand Centennial Exhibition Fig 1.1: North Island Pioneer Hut (1840), Women’s Court, New Zealand Centennial Exhibition (1939-40). Souvenir postcard, circa 1939. Figs 1.2-3: North Island Pioneer Hut (1840), Women’s Court, New Zealand Centennial Exhibition (1939-40). John T. Salmon, 13 December 1939. Fig 1.4: South Island Pioneer Room (1840-50), Women’s Court, New Zealand Centennial Exhibition (1939-40). Souvenir postcard, circa 1939. Figs 1.5-6: South Island Pioneer Room (1840-50), Women’s Court, New Zealand Centennial Exhibition (1939-40). John T. Salmon, 13 December 1939. Chapter 2 – Otago Early Settlers Museum Fig 2.1: Pioneer Cottage Parlour, Pioneer Hall, Otago Early Settlers Museum. ‘Display at Otago Early Settlers Museum of Historical Scenes’, Otago Daily Times, 19 February 1948, p. 3. Fig 2.2: Pioneer Cottage Kitchen, Pioneer Hall, Otago Early Settlers Museum. ‘Display at Otago Early Settlers Museum of Historical Scenes’, Otago Daily Times, 19 February 1948, p. 3. Fig 2.3: Layout of the Pioneer Hall at the Otago Early Settlers Museum after the installation of the Otago Centennial Exhibition in 1948. Author, 2011. Fig 2.4: Exterior of the Pioneer Cottage and mural of Gabriel’s Gully in 1861 painted by Colin Wheeler and John W. Brock, Pioneer Hall, Otago Early Settlers Museum. Photographer unknown, circa 1948. Fig 2.5: Pioneer Cottage Bedroom, Pioneer Hall, Otago Early Settlers Museum. Photographer unknown, circa 1948. vii Fig 2.6: Pioneer Cottage Parlour, Pioneer Hall, Otago Early Settlers Museum. Photographer unknown, 1948. Fig 2.7: Pioneer Cottage Kitchen, Pioneer Hall, Otago Early Settlers Museum. Photographer unknown, 1948. Fig 2.8: Pioneer Cottage Parlour, Pioneer Hall, Otago Early Settlers Museum. Photographer unknown, circa 1950. Fig 2.9: Pioneer Cottage Kitchen, Pioneer Hall, Otago Early Settlers Museum. Franz Photographs, circa 1950. Fig 2.10: Pioneer Cottage Parlour, Pioneer Hall, Otago Early Settlers Museum. Photographer unknown, circa 1972. Fig 2.11: Pioneer Cottage Parlour, Pioneer Hall, Otago Early Settlers Museum. Photographer unknown, circa 1980. Fig 2.12: Pioneer Cottage Kitchen, Pioneer Hall, Otago Early Settlers Museum. ‘Cottage Shows Early Family Life’, Otago Daily Times, 16 October 1982, p. 16. Fig 2.13: Pioneer Cottage Parlour, Pioneer Hall, Otago Early Settlers Museum. Martti Puhakka and Ed Higbee, circa 1987. Fig 2.14: Pioneer Cottage Kitchen, Pioneer Hall, Otago Early Settlers Museum. Martti Puhakka and Ed Higbee, circa 1987. Figs 2.15-16: Across the Ocean Waves, Otago Settlers Museum. Author, 29 June 2010. Figs 2.17-18: Steerage Quarters, Across the Ocean Waves, Otago Settlers Museum. Author, 29 June 2010. Chapter 3 – Canterbury Museum Fig 3.1: Layout of the Canterbury Colonists Exhibition (1950-51), former Ethnological Hall, Canterbury Museum. Author, 2011. Fig 3.2: James Edward FitzGerald’s cabin aboard the Charlotte Jane, Canterbury Colonists Exhibition (1950-51), Canterbury Museum. Photographer unknown, 1950. viii Fig 3.3: Lyttelton Cottage Kitchen (1850-60), Canterbury Colonists Exhibition (1950-51), Canterbury Museum. Green & Hahn, 1950. Fig 3.4: Lyttelton Cottage Bedroom (1850-60), Canterbury Colonists Exhibition (1950-51), Canterbury Museum. Photographer unknown, 1950. Fig 3.5: Christchurch House Bedroom (1850-60), Canterbury Colonists Exhibition (1950-51), Canterbury Museum. Green & Hahn, 1950. Fig 3.6: Christchurch House Drawing Room (1850-60), Canterbury Colonists Exhibition (1950-51), Canterbury Museum. Photographer unknown, 1950. Fig 3.7: Studding Sail Hall, Canterbury Colonists Exhibition (1950-51), Canterbury Museum. Photographer unknown, 1950. Fig 3.8: Studding Sail Hall Living Room, Canterbury Colonists Exhibition (1950-51), Canterbury Museum. Photographer unknown, 1 June 1951. Fig 3.9: Studding Sail Hall Bedroom, Canterbury Colonists Exhibition (1950- 51), Canterbury Museum. Photographer unknown, 1 June 1951. Fig 3.10: Victorian Room (1890s), Canterbury Colonists Exhibition (1950-51), Canterbury Museum. Photographer unknown, 1950. Fig 3.11: James Edward FitzGerald, Cabin of Charlotte Jane, 1850. Fig 3.12: Dr A.C. Barker, Studding Sail Hall, Christchurch, New Zealand, 28 January 1851. Fig 3.13: Dr A.C. Barker, Interior of Studding Sail Hall, Christchurch, N. Zealand, ACB Architect, 28 February 1851. Fig 3.14: Christchurch House Bedroom (1850-60), Canterbury Colonists Exhibition (1950-51), Canterbury Museum. Photographer unknown, 1 June 1951. ix Fig 3.15: Christchurch House Drawing Room (1850-60), Canterbury Colonists Exhibition (1950-51), Canterbury Museum. Photographer unknown, 1 June 1951. Fig 3.16: Victorian Room (1890s), Canterbury Colonists Exhibition (1950-51), Canterbury Museum. Photographer unknown, 1 June 1951. Fig 3.17: ‘Colonial Room’ created by the Canterbury Museum on the premises of Calder Mackay, Christchurch, for Museum Week. Frank McGregor, circa 1953. Fig 3.18: Layout of the Canterbury Colonists Galleries, Canterbury Museum. Author, 2011. Fig 3.19: Christchurch Street, Canterbury Colonists Galleries, Canterbury