It looks innocuous, incongruous even, but it tells a powerful story about war and how it tore families apart.
The dress was owned by Marguerita "May" Anderson, who died "broken-hearted" in 1916, aged 19. Her fiance had just been killed in the war: her older brother had died the year before at Gallipoli.
The Women’s War collects diverse objects and stories of how World War 1 affected the lives of Otago women under three broad categories: Patriotism, Service and Dissent. Patriotism includes the story of the Otago and Southland Women’s Patriotic Association which, from its base in the Early Settlers Hall — now part of Toitu — baked, knitted and sewed for soldiers serving abroad.
Service includes stories such as that of Mildred Rees, a Queenstown-born nurse who was one of the first New Zealanders to serve in the war — she joined English forces as a nurse in September 1914 — and was one of the last to come home, not finishing active duty until 1919.
Dissent was a difficult story to tell, as limited evidence survives of women who opposed the war: Toitu could not find photographs of Mary McCarthy and Lilian Rundle, two of the more prominent antiwar activists in Dunedin.
"Looking back we can see it was a natural way [to divide up the exhibition]," Toitu intern Katherine Neville-Lamb, who helped collate the archival material, said.
"These women were all keen, and they were all passionate."
One issue curators had to deal with putting together the exhibition was sourcing display items: many things they would have liked to show simply do not exist any more. However, an article in the Otago Daily Times a year ago brought forward several treasures, and other items have been loaned by museums. One special item on show is the Elisabeth Medal, bestowed by Belgian Queen Elisabeth at war’s end to recognise efforts on behalf of Belgian causes.
"Thirty-one of those medals were handed out by Queen Elisabeth; 25 of those were to women from Otago and Southland," Ms Neville-Lamb said.
"I believe there are only three medals that we are aware of, and we have two of them, which is very special."
As well as the treasures on display, The Women’s War has collected 100 stories from local women, which can be accessed by touch-screens in the exhibition area.
- Mike Houlahan
