Rare writing set returned to Dunedin

A souvenir writing set presented to a Dunedin missionary to China nearly 90 years ago has found its way back to Dunedin.

The writing set, made of kauri and jade, and with a silver ink well, was presented to the missionary, Margaret Davies (nee Anderson), in 1923, by an appreciative Dunedin Chinese Church.

She worked in Canton, China, on behalf of the church for many years, much of the time with her husband, Rev Bert Davies.

Both were interned by Japanese forces from December 1941, some of that time in Shanghai, before returning to Dunedin in late 1945.

She died in the city in 1960, aged 82.

Their son, Rev Jock Davies, also became a Presbyterian minister, serving mainly in the North Island until his death in Hastings in 1976.

The writing set, long held by the Davies family in the North Island, was recently bought by the church for an undisclosed sum, believed to involve several thousand dollars.

It will be safeguarded at the Presbyterian Church Aotearoa New Zealand Archives Research Centre, at Knox College, Dunedin.

Centre director Yvonne Wilkie was "quite thrilled" that the writing set had returned home.

It was a significant artefact in the history of the Presbyterian Church and the Dunedin Chinese Church, she said.

Napier collector and sculptor Paddy Cooper had owned it for several years.

He also donated a small Chinese figurine, also previously owned by the Davies family, to the centre.

A Wellington resident, Dr Henry Stubbs, donated most of the funding required to buy the set, which incorporates some elements of "kiwiana", including a "Kia Ora"engraved greeting, and a small model kiwi.

The archives centre heard about the artefact when Mr Cooper inquired about its provenance in 2008.

john.gibb@odt.co.nz