The interiors of our homes are the places we spend most of our time and often most of our money decorating. For the many people in New Zealand who rent, the interiors of their homes are the only places where they have control of the design and feel of their residence. What we choose to make, buy, and decorate our homes with is a reflection not only of our personal tastes, but also the tastes and trends that are mediated through a wide range of factors such as design advice (architects, designers, journals, and other media), social norms and expectations, and the choices made by the designers and manufacturers of the products as to what they produce and the merchants who bought these to sell on the market. This is the case today as much as it was in the past.
Much of what was used to decorate homes in 19th century New Zealand has been lost. People at the time often did not consider interiors worthy of photographing, as they were private domains and the domain of women, and the camera technology of the time made it difficult to capture images indoors. There is also very little written evidence that has survived. Some descriptions of domestic interiors are included in diaries and letters, but these are limited. Also, as with today, house interiors are updated more frequently and easily than exteriors, which means most décor from that period has long-since been covered over or disposed of.
However, we do have some surviving examples and documentation, and this remaining evidence tells us a lot about life in New Zealand during the Victorian and Edwardian period (1837 to 1914). For example, aside from pressed metal ceilings, which were manufactured in Wellington from 1908 onwards, and carpets, which were manufactured in Christchurch between 1883 and 1886, all other ready-made decorative linings (carpets, wallpaper, and similar) were imported from around the world. For most of the 19th century these linings came from the United Kingdom to New Zealand. However, that began to slowly change later in the century, and we see more imports coming from the USA, Canada, Asia, and Europe.
On a practical level, this shows the massive improvements in shipping technology at that time, with the change from sail to steam ships, goods could move much more easily around the globe. It also gives us some insight into cultural and social changes. It is likely that, as the colonial population grew and a wider range of products entered the country, the wealthier members of society wanted to show off their wealth and taste through exotic interior décor. It is possible they also wanted to highlight their international connections. Alberton (now owned by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga), built in 1863 by Allan Kerr Taylor (whose father was stationed in India by the British Army), includes a fascinating example of wallpaper in the ballroom that features Oriental patterns (including of marijuana leaves!) that may be indicative of the family’s links to India.
After gold was discovered in Otago in May 1861, newspapers report that tens of thousands of rolls of wallpaper were imported into cities across New Zealand, but particularly Dunedin. Whilst it is unlikely that wallpaper would have been on the “must have list” for goldminers to decorate their tents, these were clearly desired by the entrepreneurs and their families that came to New Zealand to establish businesses and their homes to profit from this massive influx of settlers and their prospective fortunes.
It could also be argued that this shows the start of New Zealand’s move away from a colony to an independent nation—using the physical home to move away from the political and sentimental home of the United Kingdom and into a new national identity. Was the UK losing its economic and social influence on New Zealanders? As Dave Dobbyn so eloquently said in his 2005 song ‘Welcome Home’: “Out here on the edge, the empire is fading by the day”.
An example of wallpaper from Wellington’s Nairn Street Cottage could support this view. The cottage was built in 1857 by William Wallis for his family, and one of the surviving wallpapers includes depictions of ferns. Whilst fern motifs were popular for wallpapers in the mid to late 19th century, this could also symbolise the family’s growing connections to New Zealand as their home, where ferns are an abundant feature of the natural landscape.
As well as reflecting wider social trends, other surviving examples indicate the personal values of those who lived at the time. A good example of this is Randell cottage in Thorndon, Wellington, built in 1867 by William and Sarah Randell for their large family. William Randell was a very pious man, and the interior décor of his home seems to further support this view, with one of the original kitchen wallpapers including heraldic motifs in the shape of a cross. While popular at the time, the crosses would also likely have appealed to a religious family.
There is still work to be done and information to be discovered amongst the evidence that has survived of colonial New Zealand interiors, which will provide us with many insights into Aotearoa’s past and the early history of colonial New Zealand. There are ways we can improve the preservation of current and past domestic interiors, through research, collecting samples, and preserving interiors in the best way possible, through documentation, building preservation, and by donating removed samples to museum collections.
Eva Forster-Garbutt is a PhD student in Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington’s Wellington Faculty of Architecture. Her work explores ready-made decorative linings (carpet, wallpaper, ceiling coverings, and more) used in Aotearoa New Zealand between 1837 and 1914.