Four calmly dignified horses lent an air of ceremony to last Friday’s opening of 'Featherston Camp 1916-2016: The Record of a Remarkable Achievement' at Aratoi. The horses were a natural draw card for shoppers and passersby, standing unfazed outside the entrance as cars pulled alongside for a closer look and children reached up to pat them. Kitted out in authentic reproduction WW1 uniforms, their riders were members of the NZ Mounted Rifles Association who were representing the Canterbury Yeoman Cavalry for the occasion.
Inside, Ngati Kahungunu kaumatua P.J. Devonshire told a large crowd of his grandfather's connection to the Featherston Camp. 'He left in 1917 and fortunately came back but we acknowledge those who passed through and didn't return. We will not forget them.'
Mayor Lyn Patterson, Ron Marks MP and Ngati Kahungunu Chair Nelson Rangi were in attendance and, before the exhibition was formally opened by Mayor Adrienne Staples, guest speaker William Adams related his special connection to the show as the main lender of documents and memorabilia.
His grandfather's cousin was Lt Col Noel Percy Adams who was the Camp's commandant and whose story is told in the exhibition. When he was 12, William's parents moved into the Firth of Thames homestead that Adams built in the 1920s.
'My bedroom was originally Noel's dressing room and I found pistols, swords, a scabbard', it was a real Aladdin's Cave for a 12 year old boy!' says William. He recalls riding around on his bike waving a Mauser pistol and using his ancestor’s engraved pocketknife (on display in the exhibition) on duck shooting expeditions.
As Noel Adams had no children and his wife kept most of his possessions, the family collection is remarkably intact. William says working with Aratoi has prompted him to get advice on how best to preserve Adams possessions for the future.
Another guest, 82 year-old Hilton Dickens was there in memory of his uncle Harry Dickens, a Wairarapa farmer when he was called up for training at the Camp. 'I have his diaries and he'd just bought a farm in Alfredton. There was a labour shortage at the time and all that's written on the day he had to leave was he gave the cow to Hartley, says Hilton. Harry was in his mid-20s when he trekked from the Camp over the Rimutakas, never to return. Hilton completed the Re-Enactment March last year as the oldest NZ Army marcher, and attending the exhibition was another way of honouring his uncle.
Event: Triumph and Tragedy - the New Zealand Division in 1917 and three battles presented by leading New Zealand military historian Professor Glyn Harper. Aratoi, Thurs 28 January 2016 6-7pm.
RSVPs please T: 06 370 0001.
'Featherston Camp 1916-2016: The Record of a Remarkable Achievement' until 31 July.
