The Great War in women’s eyes
World War I can be seen through women’s eyes in a new exhibition that sheds light on the hardships they experienced.
Kiwi women rallied to face the challenges left by the absence of the country’s men but they were also alongside New Zealand’s troops, driving ambulances and tending to the wounded – experiencing the ghastly reality of war in a different way.
Women’s War, a new component of The Great War Exhibition at Wellington’s Dominion Museum, features historic photos made tangible with a series of six different outfits that women of the World War I era would have worn.
Exhibition manager Ian Wards said it was to help people explore the various ways Kiwi women dealt with the fighting.
‘‘So much of this war story has been told through the eyes and ears of men, so it is great to acknowledge, see and hear the experiences of women in the war,’’ he said. Their words come to life through diaries and letters they sent to loved ones.
Deborah Pitts Taylor – an independent worker who drove ambulances during the first world war – said: ‘‘They treat a New Zealand girl quite differently … You are a bit of a pal.’’
Katarina Wharerauaruhe Te Tau said: ‘‘I had a hard working life. My eldest brother enlisted into the war and my dad was growing wheat by the acre, acres and acres of it. So I gave up school. I was the eldest one you see, so I had to give up school and help Dad.’’
Her words showed just one way in which Kiwi women changed their lives during times of war.
Other women volunteered by knitting socks for soldiers and some pioneered campaigns on issues such as venereal disease.
●➤ Women’s War is open to the public at the Mt Cook museum.