A Capital Suburb: Pipitea Thorndon
This online exhibition accompanies 'A Capital Suburb: Pipitea Thorndon', showing at the National Library Gallery from 5 April to 19 July 2008.
The exhibition explores the two histories of this part of Wellington: as Pipitea Pā, home of Te Āti Awa, and as Thorndon, the place where Wellington began.
This online exhibition samples the large range of items presented at the National Library Gallery; from a painting reproduced as 'propaganda' in 1841, used by the New Zealand Company toentice settlers to the new town of Wellington, to a portrait of one-time Thorndon resident Katherine Mansfield, to a photograph of the opening of Pipitea Marae in 1980.
William Wakefield came in Wellington in 1839, sent by the New Zealand Company to purchase land for British settlers.
Charles Heaphy's 1841 watercolour of Wellington depicts a peaceful and orderly settlement. In England, it was used to promote New Zealand as a desirable place to live.
Pipitea Pā on the Wellington shore was one of the homes of the Te Āti Awa iwi. The pressures of European settlement saw it abandoned by the 1890s.
Built in 1840 and rebuilt again after a 1866 fire, the Thistle Inn was a favourite with Wellington sailors.
A Barrett's Hotel existed on Lambton Quay for 150 years. It was named after its first owner Richard Barrett: whaler, trader, warrior, and pub-keeper.
This photograph, taken at the harbour end of Hobson Street, is one of the earliest known of photographs of Thorndon.
This image, the central section of a three-part panorama, records the rapid expansion of Thorndon in the 1870s.
Among the many politicians who have lived in Thorndon, Richard Seddon is a notable figure. Seddon chose to live near Parliament, rather than at Premier House on Tinakori Road.
Thorndon has been a place to live and work for many artists, including Rita Angus, Evelyn Page and Frances Hodgkins.
Residents in their dressing gowns gathered to watch the spectacular blaze that left the wooden parts of the Parliament Buildings in ruins.
Writer Katherine Mansfield drew on her childhood and teenage experience of Wellington in a number of her short stories.
Thorndon is home to three notable girls schools: St. Mary's College, Wellington Girls' College and Queen Margaret College.
In 1942, as the Second World War spread into the Pacific, US Marines were stationed in Wellington and around New Zealand to strengthen the country's defences.
The demolition of historic sections of Thorndon, including the Bolton Street Cemetery, to build the Wellington motorway resulted in much protest.
Estelle Beere taught dance to Wellington children for six decades at her Hill Street studio.
As young Māori moved to the cities in the 1930s, Māori leaders saw the need for places for young people to gather so they could share and experience their culture.
