The saying goes ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’, but in the case of local history buffs, it’s the letters that tell the stories.
Letters and postcards from days gone by have been gathered by locals and provide invaluable information about the early settlements of Nelson Tasman.
Most settlements in the region had post offices and the letters and postcards that were processed there provide collectors with lots of information about those settlements and the people who lived there.
One such letter was discovered by Nelson Philatelic Society member David Loe with a stamp collector in Phoenix, Arizona.
“How it got there, I don’t know,” David says. “One in a thousand would have a letter inside it anymore,” he remarks of the envelope still containing the intact and very legible letter.
The letter, sent from a Rocks Rd address in 1942, appears to be penned to a conscientious objector – someone who refused to be drafted into military service.
The letter is marked with a censorship stamp, which is what drew David to it at first, as New Zealand didn’t have public censorship during war times – effectively you could say, and write, whatever you wanted.
However, the Shannon war camp for conscientious objectors where the letter was headed, did monitor their mail, which could explain the stamp.
The letter, along with a myriad of other antiques and historical items, will be on display at the Collecting History Open Day on Saturday, 12 October.
Finding information that is relevant to a particular time, place or event often provides time-consuming challenges for those researching and collating material. Tracing the history of a family from its country of origin through its journey to the region and what happened to that family here can lead down many paths and reveal a lot of local history in the process.
Members of the New Zealand Society of Genealogists Nelson Branch and the Waimea Historical Society search numerous sources of information to provide family histories and details of events and other occasions that link the present to the past and in many cases show the development of the region and the people who made that happen.
Their displays feature many items that will encourage visitors to think about the past and maybe even start to look for the stories from their own family’s history.
The Nelson Philatelic Society brings these groups with common interest in the history of the region together to share with the public a display of what they collect and provide information about their activities. These groups will join dealers who buy and sell stamps and related material.
Pharmacy bottles and other collectables from that industry and ways of weighing and measuring things over the years will also be on display. In many cases the events of the day were recorded by individuals, organisations and local newspapers and their forerunners.
The open day also provides a chance for the public to bring along any items of interest, particularly stamps, postcards and letters to have them evaluated by the society’s members, and those wanting to start learning about their family history can start working with members of the Genealogists group.
Guided tours of Founders Park will take place at 10.30am and 2pm from the Granary.
Collecting History, Saturday, 12 October, from 10am till 4pm at The Granary, Founders Heritage Park. Free entry.
