ANTIQUES ON VIEW

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 53, Issue 3783, 17 July 1936, Page 6

ANTIQUES ON VIEW

MANY PRICELESS TREASURES. GREAT INTEREST SHOWN. The old “ gag ” about members of a women’s organisation, when asked to bring along objects of rare value for an exhibition of antiques, bringing their husbands, did not apply to the exhibition of antiques arranged by Mrs S. R. Wareing at the local Parish Hall on Thursday afternoon as an adjunct to the function arranged by the vicar to help the Melanesian Mission —though some present remarked that it was also obvious the men had not brought their wives I Mrs Wareing explained to our representative that her intention was to secure a few of the many treasures in various homes in and around Te Awamutu for public display, but the response had far exceeded her expectation, the result being an exhibition very worthy of inspection. She had receivea the very heartiest co-opera-tion, and the whole collection must have represented many hundrds of pounds in value—some of the articles were indeed priceless heirlooms. They represented a very wide range, and in an all-too-brief inspection articles displayed included some genuine willow pattern plate, the gift of the late Queen Victoria, bowls, ornaments, etc., from the palace of the emperors of China, some exceedingly rare examples of sampler work, a wonderful cross-stitch quilt, gowns worn at Court several generations ago, and christening gowns that had passed from generation to generation in one family, a writing case given by the late Bishop Selwyn, a real host of Maori curios, a Chinese mandarin’s cape, a Sheffield plate tea service, Egyptian and Benares brassware, a hand-made Malayan water-bottle, brass candle-sticks 300 years old, chafing dishes (royal gifts) dated 1804 and 1814, a hunting horn fully. 150 years old, duelling pistols, a very fine collection of Tibetan articles secured during the Colonel Younghusband expedition in 1903, hand-made candelebra of antique design, badges of various regiments in the Great War, a picture recovered from a house destroyed in the Tarawera'eruption of 1886, samplers made by a twelve-year-old child in 1838, first-edition books, some old firearms used during and prior to the Waikato war, and even a number of mementoes of the last tour last year of the New Zealand All Blacks. One could spend two or three hours very profitably inspecting the great array of articles —and then feel that all had not been adequately examined. Mrs Wareing is to be congratulated upon the success of her enterprise, for it served to show that Te Awamutu and district families have in their possession scores of rare objects of exceptional interest. It may "be added that the local Historical Society made available very many objects in its custody, and these were by no means the least interesting articles in the unique collection.