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E xperience the lives of 10 women of New
Zealand, and 20 of Australia, at the Women
of the Empire: 1914-1918 exhibition at the
Thames War Memorial Civic Centre.
The display brings these brave women to
life through their dresses, uniforms, coats,
handbags, umbrellas, footwear, and jaunty hats.
The displays feature large signage with photos
and each woman’s history. Of course the Anzac
nurses played a crucial role to the war effort,
on ships, and near the front lines. On the home
front, women stepped up to keep businesses,
farms, and families going.
One unusual story is that of Elizabeth Lassetter
from Australia who was aboard the Lusitania
when it was struck; she survived the disaster
courtesy of a grand piano!
The red caped nurses from New Zealand
tended the wounded men on warships, in
recovery camps, at Gallipoli, in Egypt and on
the Western Front. We seldom see, however,
those gals with guts and determination who
drove ambulances...those who were cooks,
orderlies, and even motor cycle messengers.
The exhibition has already travelled to several
destinations in Australia, and more shows are
hoped for, perhaps for the UK and Canada.
The Thames exhibit was “secured by the efforts
of a number of volunteer history buffs”, says
Anne Stewart Ball, and she hopes groups from
throughout the North Island will make a special
trip to see the exhibit.
THAMES
EXHIBITION
16 – 26 November 2015
Thames War Memorial Civic Centre
She adds that “these significant pieces have
been selected from the Dressing Australia
Museum of Costume Collection one of the
most extensive and important collections of
period and vintage costume in Australasia.”
Look forward also to hearing story tellers “with
some really emotional, true tales to tell. There’ll
be damper bread, billy tea and hand-made
ANZAC biscuits to taste and some of the
special and haunting WW1 songs to hear!”
As so often happens in
volunteer organisations,
the key person doing
the most, been at it the
longest, still game for
the long haul...is the one
heaping praise and thanks
on all the other volunteers.
As we worked on the article about The
Treasury in our last issue, it was a challenge
to even find a photo of this ‘wonder woman’,
Geraldine Dunwoodie, much less corner her
to accept a tribute from us.
Well, someone (The Queen no less!) “found
her out”, and Geraldine has been awarded the
Queen’s Service Medal in the Queen’s Birthday
Honours List this year. The award recognises
the voluntary and primary role she has played
in establishing, organising
and running The Treasury
in Thames, which houses
the Hauraki-Coromandel
Archive & Family Research
Centre.
This super-clean, climate
controlled storage facility
to preserve the heritage
of these regions has been Geraldine’s dream
– and an all-consuming passion – for the past
decade. She has worked tirelessly to provide
a highly organized environment where families
and local businesses can bring records for
safe-keeping, knowing that this state-of-the-art
facility and its trained volunteers can inform
future generations about our heritage.
Geraldine’s extensive knowledge of the people
and events in the area enables her to recognise
the value of specific records and has resulted
in some nationally important collections being
deposited with The Treasury.
Geraldine has been an invaluable support to
Coromandel Life as well, providing information,
contacts and resources for several of our
historic articles. Thanks and congratulations
Geraldine Dunwoodie QSM! We agree with your
team – The Treasury wouldn’t be where it is
today without you!
And, she is in grand company. In 1981,
Florence Marie Harsant QSM – a mother, NZ
temperance worker, nurse, community leader
and writer from Hahei – was also awarded
the QSM for community service. (See story at
easter_2014/#19/z ) – TD
TREASURY ‘GEMS’ RECOGNISED
Hilda Steele was an
Anzac nurse from
Bay of Plenty.
46 COROMANDEL LIFE 2015 SPRING/HOLIDAY