May 2014 Newsletter

May 2014 Newsletter

SPEAKERS FOR MONTHLY MEETINGS

6 April –Archaeology of the Tauranga Hotel site presented by Brigid Gallagher – a former member of TV’s Time Team

4 May - (at the Art Gallery) Penny Jackson – Tauranga Artists

8 June - Hannibal Marks, Tauranga’s first Harbour Master presented by Vivien Edwards, local historian and writer and one of our Society members. Note: this is the second Sunday to avoid Queens Birthday weekend.

6 July – Captain AD Blair & the Q ships in World War 1 presented by Harley Couper, a Tauranga City Librarian.

3 August – Images of Tauranga presented by Alf Rendell, long-time local photographer and new member of our Society.

HALL BOOKINGS – Phone Meri Low 544 4048

LECTURE SERIES
Sons of Empire - from the Utmost End of the Earth: New Zealand and World War I

In conjunction with the University of Waikato at Tauranga, the Tauranga Historical Society has arranged a lecture series to commence near the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. A variety of military historians from Wellington, Hamilton and the Bay of Plenty will present a series of 8 lectures commencing at 6.30.p.m. on a Wednesday night. All lectures will be held at the Bongard Centre, Cameron Road. The Lotteries Grants Board is funding the lecturers’ expenses with a WW100 grant. Some of these titles have not been finalised.

17 Sept ‘The Monstrous anger of the Guns; poetry, protest & World War 1’ Dr Kirstine Moffat
24 Sept ‘Public Opinion; Tauranga’s concern expressed through letters to the editor’ Fiona Kean
1 Oct ‘Imperial Camel Corps in WW1; from diaries of a BOP camelier’ Stephanie Smith
8 Oct ‘Miners in Khaki; New Zealand Engineers Tunnelling Company’ Sue Baker-Wilson
15 Oct ‘Trench Warfare; the Western Front’ Dr Damien Fenton
22 Oct ‘The Last Battle; the liberation of Le Quesnoy 4 Nov 1918’ Dr Nathalie Philippe
29 Oct ‘Gallipoli Campaign’ Dr Cliff Simons
5 Nov ‘Inside the Shakespeare Hut; Kiwis and the Bard in WW1’ Dr Mark Houlahan.

JAZZ IN THE GARDEN once again drew a good crowd to hear Marion Arts, singer, guitarist, teacher and all round popular musician. Stalls again raised necessary money to keep the books balanced. Once again the committee thank the members who helped on the day, donated goods for the stalls and supported our annual fundraiser.

RESEARCH
 
In February 2014 the Society was contacted by Sol Kawage, a researcher at the University of Reading in the UK, who is investigating the history of information design in sewing patterns, analysing patterns from different eras, producers and countries to see how they instruct their users and if they have changed over time. She came across the Brain Watkins House collection on the Internet and asked us if her American friend Tom Rieke, who was staying in New Zealand, could come and photograph samples of our pattern collection. On Sunday 23 February, Shirley and Stephanie met Tom at the house and spent an 1.5hr with him, laying out patterns for him to photograph (and having a very agreeable and interesting conversation as well). The majority of patterns were from Australian magazines and dated from the 1930s through to the 1960s. The digital photographs were relayed through to Sol straight away and she was delighted with them, as they were just what she was hoping for. A piece of research which twenty or thirty years ago either wouldn't have happened, or would have taken months, was arranged and accomplished in less than a week, thanks to the Brain Watkins catalogue being on line and the magic of the digital camera.

SUBSCRIPTIONS
 
If there is a coloured sticker on your newsletter it indicates that your 2014 subscription has not been paid. This Historic Review is included in the 2014 sub so please pay or let us know if you do not want to belong any longer. Individuals $35 couples at same address $40. Post cheque to Treasurer, 233 Cameron Rd Tauranga 3110 or bank online 031355 0660053 00 with your initial & surname as an identifier.