Time Lord’s TARDIS Features In Outfit Of The Month Talk

By Karen Hughes

The Whanganui Regional Museum’s latest Outfit of the Month has a curious connection to the popular British television show, Dr Who.

The outfit for November is a 1939 black faille evening gown. The dress was donated to the Museum by Jean Doris Grace (nee Trench) in 1987.

Jean’s father was the English architect Gilbert Mackenzie Trench. While working for the United Kingdom’s Metropolitan Police, Gilbert Trench designed the 1929 model police telephone box, which became a common sight in Britain. Perhaps even more significantly it became famous as the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space) time machine in the long-running popular BBC television series Dr Who. After retiring, Gilbert Trench lived in Whanganui from 1949 until his death in 1979.

Kaihāpai Taonga/Collection Manager, Trish Nugent-Lyne said Jean would have been aged around 26 when she wore the dress in England, before marrying and migrating to New Zealand. She lived in Whanganui from 1946 until her passing in 2005.

Karen Hughes/Whanganui Regional Museum

Trish Nugent-Lyne will present the dress with a lunchtime fashion talk at 12.15pm on Friday 27th October, upstairs in the Museum. Entry is free, though koha is always appreciated. No booking is required, and all are welcome – meet in the Atrium. The dress is on display in the Museum throughout the month of November.

Founded in 1892, the Whanganui Regional Museum is internationally renowned for its Taonga Māori Collection. Located in Pukenamu Queen’s Park, visitors can view the exceptional creations of tūpuna (ancestors) of Whanganui tāngata whenua (Indigenous people) alongside a changing exhibition programme encompassing a world-class collection of natural and human history, with a regional emphasis. The ground level boutique museum store sells a range of local and Māori jewellery, books, cards, art, and other New Zealand-made gift items.

The Whanganui Regional Museum Trust is an independent legal entity that owns the collection and governs the development of the Museum on behalf of the Whanganui community.

Open to visitors daily from 10.00am to 4.30pm (except Christmas Day and Good Friday), entry to Whanganui Regional Museum is free. Koha is always appreciated.

Connect with Whanganui Regional Museum at www.wrm.org.nz or on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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