Young people can’t dance
A department store manager labels its Christmas party a disaster as the generational divides test yuletide spirit.
In times past, if you said ‘‘PDC’’ to anyone in Palmerston North, they’d know exactly what you meant. It was impossible not to notice the PDC – originally named the Premier Drapery Company.
Its large building on Church St, across from The Square, was a landmark in town, standing where The Plaza entrance is now.
At one stage, it stood out even more because of the huge revolving kiwi on the rooftop – eventually rehomed in Eketa¯ huna.
Another icon of our region is still the Manawatu¯ Embroiderers’ Guild, and the members who have enhanced our city and country with their intricate and beautiful works.
Going back into our Ma¯ ori heritage, who was the mysterious young woman named Rangi Kawauw?
These three topics are among the intriguing stories told in the just-published 2019 Manawatu¯ Journal of History.
It’s the journal’s 14th year of publication, and once again local historians have come up with enough absorbing articles and photos to fill its 84 glossy pages.
The journal’s editor, Russell Poole, says: ‘‘We think there’s something for everyone in this issue, with a date range from the 1830s in the deep past, down to as recently as April this year.
‘‘It’s often been said that we are a young country, with a history of settlement extending just seven centuries, but that history is astonishingly diverse . . . An exciting aspect of the work towards this issue has been gathering information from people out in the community, both face to face and on Facebook. There are so many histories, so many people with special memories.’’
So much so, that even before this latest Journal had rolled off the press, Poole was receiving articles for next year.
Back to the PDC: author Simon Johnson outlines the history of the store, which was bought by the Manawatu¯ Co-operative Society in 1956. Co-op manager Gordon Brown, who was also a city councillor and a deputy mayor, was linked to the store for years – ‘‘a straight talker who didn’t bear grudges’’.
As told to him by former PDC merchandise manager Graeme Meyers, Johnson writes that after a 1970s Christmas staff party, Brown took Meyers aside and said the event had been a disaster. ‘‘The staff can’t dance,’’ he fumed. Meyers explained it was a different generation and that ballroom dancing was no longer popular. Brown’s reply, and his solution to the ‘‘problem’’ is among the many fascinating memoirs Meyers contributed to Johnson’s article.
The store was established much earlier, in 1915, and under co-op ownership was given the legal name of Premier Department Store Ltd, but the staff and customers just kept calling it the PDC. It attracted loyal and long-serving staff, who became like family, enjoying holidays, an annual picnic, dance and of course, that Christmas party.
Embroidery is one of the world’s oldest and most skilled arts, and the Manawatu¯ Embroiderers’ Guild, founded in 1969 by Margaret Turnbull, has distinguished itself many times over, creating impressive works for special occasions and buildings, as recounted in an article by Fiona Mckergow. For example, she writes, the guild is part of an impressive ongoing nationwide project to stitch the history of Aotearoa New Zealand in 100 panels, inspired by the medieval Bayeux Tapestry.
Dorothy Pilkington has dug into the mists of time to write the intriguing story: But Who Was Rangi Kawauw? A painting of a pretty young Ma¯ ori woman with short curly hair, from around 1842 or 1843, forms the starting point of this bittersweet love story between an English artist and this young woman, whose full name was Rangitetaea. Who was she and where did she come from?
Pilkington unravels their story and then ties it up with information about other Ma¯ ori women, captured in the lens of an English photographer who settled in Whanganui in 1855.
Meantime, what became of the ‘‘irresistible’’ Rangi?
Editor Poole and Joe Hollander cover World War I centenary commemorations in Palmerston North, commenting that ‘‘over the past five years [our city] has contributed well beyond its immediate region in commemorating the centenary of the First World War . . . events spanned the generations, from school projects and public library activities to Anzac Day celebrations.’’ Many of these activities have had not just local, but national impact.
In other memorable Journal reads, Jill White traces the link between the Methodist Church and the early development of Palmerston North; Te Manawa social history registrar Cindy Lilburn outlines ‘‘My Five Favourite Historic Places’’; and Leanne Croon Hickman writes about the Awapuni Medical Corps camp and the influenza scourge of 1918.
One of the most exciting additions for nostalgic Palmerstonians and former residents is the inclusion of three photos from the collection of the late Lachlan Scott.
Scott, a self-employed Aokautere builder and keen amateur photographer, took many pictures of local buildings now demolished. After his death, his widow Maureen generously made this collection available for scanning and gave permission for the three photos to be printed in the Journal.
Russell Poole adds that the newly announced collection represents a significant historical record: ‘‘I am grateful to Max Youle for bringing this collection to public notice and to Maureen Scott for allowing publication of the three images . . . also to Marietherese, the administrator of the Old Palmerston North Facebook page.’’
Former PDC merchandise manager Graeme Meyers explained it was a different generation and that ballroom dancing was no longer popular.