Visit to Te Papa Museum, The Museum of New Zealand, by Committee Members Mrs Ngaire Hall & Mr Robert Hall, on behalf of Gallipoli & Dardanelles International

They presented the Director, Mr Dale Bailey and his team with a mounted Plaque.

They reported their visit as follows:

“The museum have staged an Exhibition entitled ‘Te Papa’s Gallipoli: The scale of our War.’

The ground-breaking exhibition tells the stories of seven ordinary New Zealanders from different Regiments up and down the country and one Australian who found themselves in extraordinary circumstances during World War 1.

The centrepiece for each story is a monumental figure 2.4 times human size, created by Weta Workshop (The same Workshop that worked with film maker Peter Jackson on “Lord of the Rings”). This was possible by using details from their personal diaries and family photos. These giant sculptures are frozen at a particular moment in time during the campaign. As well as the eight monumental figures, the exhibition also used visual storytelling, 3D projection mapping, dioramas and miniatures to tell the story of the campaign.

Roger Gascoine, a well known NZ TV/Radio presenter and now a much valued guide at Te Papa, took us around the Exhibition. The scale of the figures and the immaculate detail to size was immense. – Facial and body hair, each individually placed, was so life like. – The uniform material that had matted up into little balls at the armpit. – The binoculars case displaying the same number of stitches as a normal size. – The wounds on their bodies so life like. – The flies on the foot and wounds. (four different types of flies) The expression on the final soldier’s face seemed to imply (‘I have had enough’). After the horrors of Gallipoli they all served on the Western Front. l.3 million people, of all ages and nationalities, have visited, since it opened two years ago. My Grandfather (Ngair Hall’s) was at Gallipoli and on entering the Exhibition I very quickly became emotionally overcome. Such human wastage.

Please may we learn from our history.

Our personal thanks to Dale, Susan, Roger and Amanda for a very welcoming visit and a detailed guided Tour. The Exhibition is to run to at least October 2018.”

G&DI thanks Ngaire and Robert for this report and to the staff at Te Papa Museum for their hospitality and valuable contribution to the memory of Gallipoli.

Left to right Roger Gascoine, Dale Bailey, Robert Hall & Ngaire Hall, Susan Superville.

Sgt Cecil Malthus, a 25 year old French teacher from Timaru

Lt Spencer Westmacott, Auckland Infantry Battalion, a 29 year old farmer from Te Kuiti

Hair on wrist and hand

Lt Col Percival Fenwick,NZ Staff Corps, 45 year old British-born from Christchurch.