Tapestry hung at Museum

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 10, Issue 483, 27 April 1993, Page 2

Tapestry hung at Museum

The Globe Theatre's curtains provided the inspiration for Marlie Bell to start the embroidery work that was unveiled at the QEII Army Memorial Museum on ANZAC Day. The two large tapestries, produced by members of the Gisborne, Wairoa and Hawkes Bay Embroidery guilds, were unveiled and commemorated at the museum's ANZAC service. Marlie poured over books published by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to find

appropriate designs for the work. Mary Tanzer Walsh of Napier translated her ideas into reality and painted the canvas. The pair began the first woollen stitches in July 1991. Marlie lost one of her four brothers in World War H. He was in the Air Force and it is for his memory that one of the tapestries depicts the graves of an aircraft crew. Marlie wanted to commemorate the sacrifices made by all New Zealand servicemen and women

and the families that supported them. Many of the other embroiderers involved had also lost family or friends. "Every stitch was done with love and care," said Elizabeth Cottrell of the museum. "The women put so much into their work. They received a small grant from the Queen Elizabeth H Arts Council but most of the costs, like Marlie's travel, they met themselves. There's $800 of wool alone in them." she said.