Mystery was solved

Press, 31 August 1984, Page 16

Mystery was solved

In the course of my work at Canterbury Museum I have frequent contact with the public. One question often asked is, “Where did you get that?” As Antarctic Curator I am responsible for a unique collection of relics, mainly associated with expeditions of the famous “heroic era” (1901-17) of exploration. Many items have come from families which had contact with the expeditions, veterans still living, or historic huts now rigidly protected by the Antarctic Treaty. Our first relics were presented by Scott in 1904 after his Discovery Expedition.

Many have fascinating stories linked with them. To unravel these and where possible confirm their authenticity is a fascinating task. Frequently, I am confronted with an addition to the collection which a family is certain belonged to Scott or Shackleton. In a majority of cases this is unfortunately not correct.

However, by a little detective work I have often been able to unravel the mysteries of relics from the expeditions and thereby gain a greater knowledge of them not usually obtainable from books. An accurate description also means the catalogue entiy is more complete and this is essential should the item be placed on display.

An example of one mystery which took hours to solve was that of a stringed instrument presented to the Museum a few years ago.

The existence of the instrument was brought to my attention by a colleague in early 1979. Owned by the Rev. A. Setz of Fairlie, South Canterbury, it was given to him in February, 1964, by a family who claimed it had belonged to the cook on Scott’s last expedition. Mr Setz, who admired the instrument, used

to strum it whenever he visited the family.

In 1956 it was exhibited at an Antarctic display in Christchurch, arranged by the Trans-Antarctic Appeal Committee and the local branch of the New Zealand Antarctic Society. In June, 1979, Mr Setz realising the instrument’s historical value entrusted it to my parents for delivery to the Museum. My first job was to confirm the instrument’s age, which might help to determine if it had, in fact, been on the Terra Nova between 1910-13. A clue was provided by the letter “A” on the leather case. With assistance from Jennifer Queree, the Museum’s Curator of Colonial History, a 1905-10 Sears Roebuck catalogue was located. In this was a photograph and an excellent description of the identical style of instrument, entitled “Our Mandolinetto,” which, usually retailed at SUSIO, was reduced to $U53.45. I now began to scrutinise published books and original diaries in the Museum’s excellent P. J. Skellerup Antarctic Library. While there were references to seamen on the Terra Nova owning banjos, a balalaika, violin, and a mandolin owned by Edward McKenzie, there was no reference to the cook being a musician.

Was the “A” on the case an indication that the mandolinetto had been owned by William Archer the cook? It was possible, and as a last resort I decided to show it to Bill Burton of Christchurch, the last survivor of the expedition.

On this occasion I was more successful. Although a long time ago, Bill recalled Archer playing a mandolin. The instrument was almost certainly authenticated at last.

By

DAVID L.