PIONEER EXHIBITS THOUSANDS VISIT WOMEN'S SECTION

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 118, 15 November 1939, Page 14

PIONEER EXHIBITS THOUSANDS VISIT WOMEN'S SECTION

. Of the many thousands who -visited the Exhibition in its .first three days, nearly all gained one of their greatest moments of pleasure when viewing the Women's Section exhibit, which -includes two. rooms portraying periods in pioneer domestic history. These rooms in the Women's Section have been designed to present, as naturally' as possible, the living conditions experienced by early pioneers ih-'the..North Island in the 1840-50 jj.eri6d,;.;'and' the more settled home envirorioierit in the South Island in the 1850-60 period. 1 The North Island pioneer hut is packed full of interesting objects, each orie authentic in its historic associations and the display tastefully arranged. The articles in this hut, are extremely, varied arid 6ach.on6 worthy of special mention; Tlie following.;are just two of/the articles taken at random: A Wag-%iTa-Wor clock, brought"out to ..-New Zealand in one of the early, ships and lent by Miss Jean Bishop: of Welling7J^;7 7 The old clock, with its. face miirl^/^ .ytikksXQ', Wag-aTa-Wor clocks received %beir' hahae7fr6in^ the sound they made on the wall and /seconds one hundred years '.agb.':'7\;7 :^.7gbfferirig ;, iron, brought; out by "an early 7 pioneer woman is being lent hjr Mte- AyPeayer, of. Wanganui East, Nbt "many, housewives know what a ;gon'erini; ; irori7is, but .they were used Jby7*v»miai7w^ Caps , worn 7 only by married women. XyX' [' ■ a VIVID;-TABLEAU.; '' 'XX 7 Although the early pioneer room has occasioned much pleasing comment, the a South island room—depicting a typical parlour of the 1850-60 periodhas caused even greater admiration. It hasv been particularly well arranged and to'glimpse'into its interior takes visitors back many years, far from the bustling crowds. about them. It includes thiree; figures—a man, a woman, and ■'' a small child. The small child's dress of linen is'charmingly simple and it is still *ih eiicfellent repair, though it was 'worn- by ten different members of one family in the early days in the South Island. , The woman sits at a table reading an open book and is wearing a brown silk frock about 80 years old;,the man figure is clothed in garments, nearly all of them worn; ou tlie wedding day of various early Set-, tiers-in" Otago; The room is papered with /typical1 Victorian wallpaper, and the whole atmosphere is particularly real.- '• .- ■■."*■'*'' These two rooms form the high light of the women's section, .which was the only 5 wing of the Exhibition entirely ready for inspection on opening day. They have proved' most popular—not only to-women members of the community,, but to the men also—arid they present a vivid picture of the conditions .of the people who founded the Dominion. '~,;.