WOMEN’S COURT AT THE EXHIBITION

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20986, 13 December 1939, Page 5

WOMEN’S COURT AT THE EXHIBITION

Interesting Articles of Historic Value

One of the enchanting things about the women’s court at the Centennial Exhibition is its power to capture interest and lure admirers back again and again. Cheerful complaints are made about the quantity of things to see—a day’s visit, it is said, is not enough to take in every exhibit and remember it. Numerous inquiries are made at the offices of the court concerning those things which arouse most interest, and this has enabled the secretary, Miss D. Walsh, to gauge fairly accurately those things which rank highest, so far, in the visitors’ estimation. The pioneer hut and room arouse the greatest interest, of course, and are already so well known that they need not be described again. There is rarely a period of the day in which there is not at least a cluster of people about them, taking in the details of every treasured piece of furniture. Few people noticing the tallow candles in the ancient holders on the mantelshelf of the pioneer hut realise that there is a story attached even to these. The old candle-mould in which they were made specially for the hut is one of the exhibits, and the candlemaker was a pioneer, 93-years-old Mrs P. Elmslie, Waverley. A hand wheatgrinder has set many women guessing as to its use in a pioneer home, and few have realised its real use, mistaking it for a coffee-grinder or a s^ncer. Not many know that the goffering iron which hangs by the mantelpiece was used to iron the caps worn by the women of the 1840’s to denote their married state. Early Marriage Certificate The marriage certificate of Charles William Keys and Maria Hunt, dated June 1, 1840, and said to be the first issued in Wellington, has also caused comment. The hand-worked christening robes, more than 100 years old, have been much admired for their remarkably fine stitchery, and some lovely old Paisley shawls are in the same showcase. In the fine arts section some of the pictures have been purchased already, and in the arts and crafts section several of the* jewellery exhibits have also been sold. Miss M. E. McHutcheson’s unusual dried-flower pictures are also very popular, and much admiration has been expressed for Miss Linda Monro’s pieces of embroidered etchings worked with human hair. • The illuminated manuscripts by Miss Phoebe Rennell, Lincolnshire, England, have caused great interest among those who understand this work, and, also among the arts and crafts, the tapestry work has evoked the highest admiration from needlewomen. The women’s court is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the Exhibition. Historical Posters With all the Interest in the hut and the room, the historical value attached to the framed posters which are hanging on the walls nearby are scarcely realised. These advertise the sailing o£. the ships which brought the pioneers to New Zealand, and it is highly probable that many of the articles exhibited came out in these ships. The unusually vivid hues in the main carpet of the pioneer room have been largely commented on. It is an Aubusson carpet, and was obtained from the Hope collection of treasures by Mr H. P. Murray Aynsley, who brought it to New Zealand in 1859. The colours are said to have been obtained by vegetable dyes. The charming little piano in this room, which is said to be the first to arrive in Canterbury (in 1858), spent six weeks in the riverbed on its way by bullock-waggon to Arori Gorge, and Samuel Butler is said to have often clayed it during his visits to the homestead. Also among the loans collection, the sampler maps depicting Europe of a hundred years ago have aroused interest in view of present-day events.