WCC Archives sought our help to identify the location and occasion of this photo:
It is interesting to note that there were so many women in the photo, which made us wonder whether it has something to do with the Women’s National Reserve (WNR) that had formed a Graves Committee during WWI. The officers of the committee in 1932 were Mrs L.O.H Tripp, Mrs M. H. Chatfield and Mrs A.E. Hunt. We thought that the woman on the far right looked like Mary Hobhouse Chatfield, the ‘lady editor’ of the Evening Post. And the woman centre front matched a photo of Mrs Tripp.
And then in searching to find a newspaper article that may have recorded an official visit to the cemetery, we found the photo!
‘Vice-chairman of the Imperial War Graves Commission Visits Soldiers’ Cemetery’
The caption reads:
Sir Fabian and Lady Ware visited the soldiers’ cemetery at Karori yesterday where they were received by representatives of the Women’s National Reserve and the Returned Soldiers’ Association. From left, in front are: Mr Barker (sexton), Sir Fabian, Mrs L.O.J. Tripp (president of the Women’s National Reserve Cemetery Committee), Lady Ware, Mrs Chatfield (first secretary of the cemetery). Colonel Cowles (president of the Wellington Returned Soldiers’ Association) is just to the right behind Mrs Chatfield. (Evening Post, 13 December 1934, p6)
The accompanying article noted that also present were Mrs Porter (organising secretary of the WNR) and committee members Miss E.M. Black and Mrs Bell (foundation members), and Mrs Nicholson
Sir Fabian Ware (1869-1949) was the founder of the Imperial War Graves Commission (IWGC), now the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). He travelled extensively after the war visiting Canada, Egypt, India, Iraq, Australia and then New Zealand. He said that the reason for his 1934 visit to New Zealand was to give an account of the work of the Imperial War Graves Commission to the relatives of the Dominion’s war dead and hoped to meet many returned soldiers also.
‘The borders of pink and white linum, and the flowers in the rock garden are in full bloom at present, and the cemetery certainly gives the appearance of being extremely well cared for. Sir Fabian and Lady Ware were very interested and pleased, and made a special tour in order to see the graves of English soldiers, which are placed among those of the New Zealanders. Sir Fabian made valuable suggestions.’
Wellington City Archives have now updated the photo caption on their website to reflect the matching newspaper article we found.
By Julia Kennedy
Link to the full page:
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/dominion/1934/12/13/6