On 4 September 1939, the main headline of the day’s Ashburton Guardian newspaper was: “THE EMPIRE AT WAR”. This was the beginning of the Second World War for the people of Whakatere Ashburton.

More than 2,000 local men saw active service overseas, and a considerable number of Army nurses went with them. The “Home Front” was just as busy. During the first half of the war, over 1,700 locals had enlisted in the Home Guard, and the Women’s Land Service also saw considerable interest.

In our upcoming exhibition Land, Sea and Air, we explore the stories of a bicycle shop apprentice, a private nurse, a farm labourer, and a hospital office clerk. Director Shirin Khosraviani expressed the Gallery and Museum’s desire to ‘honour this year’s Anzac Day by shedding light on the lives of Whakatere Ashburton locals who put themselves in danger during the Second World War, to aid, and to fight for the freedom of others.’

The exhibition will explore the lives of these four individuals from Whakatere Ashburton:

• Arthur Noal Wilson, motorcycle dispatch rider in the North African campaign
• Alan Charles Bray, RNZAF pilot seconded to the RAF in England
• Thyrza Margaret Whillans (nee Whiteside), Army Nursing Service, served in North Africa and Italy
• Mervyn Beauvais, Navy, served aboard the HMNZS Gambia

Included in the exhibition are items of clothing, photographs, and items of interest from the military service of these four locals, who ‘experienced the Second World War each from their own unique perspective, while sharing a common ideal that they each were contributing positively to defending their country, their allies, and the countless innocent lives that were endangered by the Axis threat.’

There will be a free public opening event for the exhibition on Sunday 23 March at 2pm, featuring a talk by Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum archivist and exhibition curator, Connor Lysaght. This event will coincide with the opening of another exhibition Sharing Histories: Gifts of 2024.

Additionally, on Friday 25 April at 2pm, we will be hosting a special Anzac Day talk with Sarah Johnston, titled “With the Girls Overseas” – the voices of World War II New Zealand nurses.

Sound historian Sarah Johnston is researching recordings made between 1940-1945 by New Zealand’s mobile broadcasting units, which travelled overseas with our forces. The units reported on the fighting and recorded the voices of New Zealanders at war. These recordings were sent home to be played on a popular radio programme, “With the Boys Overseas”, which aired several times a week during the war.

In this Anzac Day talk Sarah will shed light on recordings the broadcasters made of New Zealand nurses. Courtesy of RNZ and Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision she will play some of these 80-year-old recordings and talk about the men and women who we hear in them.

Land, Sea and Air will be on display from 15 March 2025 – 25 May 2025.

Exhibition Details:

Land, Sea and Air
Exhibition | 15 March – 25 May
Opening Event | Sunday 23 March, 2pm
Anzac Talk | Friday 25 April, 2pm

Gallery and Museum Hours:
Open Daily 10am – 4pm
Open Wednesday 10am – 7pm

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