Leadership 

This beautiful korowai (cloak) was probably one of the first exchanges between Ngāi Tahu and Pakeha living in Wakaroa Pigeon Bay on Te Pātaka-o-Rākaihautū Banks Peninsula. The cloak, thought to be made around 1843, was probably given by local Māori to Ebeneezer Hay, a farmer who emigrated from Scotland to Wakaroa Pigeon Bay in November 1839. The reason for the exchange could have been the marking of a relationship, an exchange of goodwill and respect, or a protective gesture for a Pākehā friend or neighbour. Ebeneezer was in regular contact with the local Māori community. He once helped an injured Māori man by visiting him every day for three weeks to dress his injured foot until he healed. Korowai are made from hand processed harakeke and were a prestigious gift. This korowai has dyed wool woven into the muka (flax fibre) and is stained with red kōkōwai pigment mixed with shark oil. Ebeneezer’s son, James Hay, passed the korowai to Canterbury Museum in 1917.

When Lord Plunket arrived in his motor car at Tuahiwi pa on 27 April 1905 he was greeted by an escort of 11 men on horseback. The car was then escorted to the pa by four of the party wearing “a striking combination of modern khaki uniform and flaming Māori regalia” according to ‘The Press’ newspaper. Photographers from the Canterbury Times and the Weekly Press were there to capture this striking moment, which was steeped in politics. Ngāi Tahu made its first claim against the Crown for breach of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1849, arguing they had not been paid a fair price for their land, had been blocked from food gathering sites and been let down on many other promises. They raised these concerns to Lord Plunket on that sunny day in April. Over a century later, Christchurch artist Nathan Pohio was struck by photographs from this day while browsing the Canterbury Museum collection. He used one of the images for a billboard-sized artwork that travelled the world and then came home to a permanent spot in Little Hagley Park on the western edge of central Christchurch. Ngāi Tahu eventually settled their claim in 1998 after 149 years of tireless campaigning.

This photograph captures Ernest Shackleton and his crewmates Frank Worsley and Tom Crean soon after leading perhaps the greatest survival mission in polar history. The expedition’s original aim was to cross the Antarctic continent, but Shackleton’s ship, the ‘Endurance’, got trapped in sea ice and was crushed. Shackleton and his crew abandoned the ship and rowed their lifeboats across a week of stormy seas before landing on the deserted Elephant Island. He then led a team of five crew members rowing 1200 kilometres in a lifeboat to South Georgia and then trekked for 51 miles with Worsley and Crean across unexplored mountains to reach a whaling station and raise the alarm. He managed to rescue all his men and not lose a single life. It was an effort that earnt him the undying respect of his teammates. Jameson Adams expressed his admiration very simply. “He was the greatest leader that ever came on God’s earth – bar none.”

These are not just any old tramping boots. They belonged to a New Zealand climbing pioneer. Gladys Adams was one of the first European women to reach the peak of five mountains in the isolated and rugged ranges of South Westland during March 1935. Gladys scaled Mt Gordon and Mt Dechen on the first day of hiking, then Mt Gow the next day and Mt Mathers and Mt Matheson on the third day. Just getting to the climbing area was a challenge. Gladys travelled by train, plane and horseback, trekked for 7 hours and spent 3 days trapped by rain in a rock bivouac just to reach the start of the climbing. The following year, Gladys went to Europe and worked for the Red Cross during the Spanish Civil War. On her way back to New Zealand, she visited Kenya where she climbed Mt Kilimanjaro and shot and skinned a python.

Rugby hero Reuben Thorne wore this jersey during the 2004 season when Canterbury won the national provincial championship. It was one of many career highlights for the Christchurch born rugby player. Two years earlier, Thorne captained the Crusaders through an unprecedented campaign. They won the title and were the first Super Rugby team to win every game in a season. When Thorne was inducted into the Crusaders Hall of Fame earlier this year, his teammate Sam Broomhall described Thorne as ‘a man of few words’. “He embodies the qualities of a true leader, quiet yet commanding, humble yet resolute and calm under pressure.”

Mona Mackay was a leader in journalism at a time when the industry was dominated by men. At the age of 14 she followed her mother into journalism and began working at the Auckland Weekly News and later at the New Zealand Herald where she didn’t quite fit-in, being ‘frequently guilty of ideas’. She later worked at The Press, where she was the ‘lady editor’ of the ‘Women’s Columns’ but also reported on court hearings and inquests. She was likely the first female journalist to attend criminal trials in New Zealand. She left The Press in 1921 a week before her marriage, as was expected at the time. But she kept writing. Her poetry was published in 1926 and she wrote five book over the next four years. She later ran a soup kitchen in New Brighton during the Depression, helped refugees from Austria and Germany in the 1940s and enlisted in the Air Force at Wigram. And what objects do we have in the Canterbury Museum to represent this incredible life? A horse bell. Due to past collecting practices and biases, women are underrepresented in the collection, but we are now actively acquiring objects connected to the many significant women that have lived in Canterbury.

When World War Two broke out in Europe, famed British classical conductor Malcolm Sergant was touring Australia. He turned down a work offer to stay in Australia with his family, thousands of kilometres from the battlefronts of Europe. Instead he returned to Britain where he toured the country performing orchestral works for war battered communities. After one concert in Liverpool, he was awoken by a German air raid and spent the night on the roof of his hotel helping kick firebombs off the building. Sergant’s actions during the war show the importance of artistic leadership and how the power of music can help lift morale and get us through hard times. This baton, which Sargent used during a concert in Christchurch in the 1960s, was donated to Canterbury Museum in sympathy for the city after the 2011 earthquakes.