Exhibition remembers Hawke’s Bay’s WW1 participation

Exhibition remembers Hawke’s Bay’s First World War participation

Thursday 16 April 2015

MTG Hawke’s Bay exhibition commemorating Hawke’s Bay’s participation in the First World War opens this weekend promising a big journey grounded in local experiences of the War at home and abroad.

From the Uttermost Ends of the Earth, Hawke’s Bay at War 1914-1918 opens this Saturday (18 April) in the Bestall Gallery. MTG Director Laura Vodanovich says it’s a particularly fitting location for this story. The original Art Gallery and Museum building was largely the achievement of the institution’s first Director, Leo Bestall, who served in the First World War. His story is typical of the contribution of the region; everyday men, not soldiers, who were sent to fight. Many of his personal items which he gifted to the Hawke’s Bay Museums Trust collection including diaries, poems and photographs are part of the exhibition.

The exhibition story unfolds in stages; from the excitement of signing on for what promised to be a grand adventure to the horror of the first modern war; the brutal reality of Gallipoli in 1915, the harsh deserts of Palestine and the Sinai, and the nightmare landscapes of the Western Front. “It’s a very big story to tell, and the exhibition deliberately draws on local, personal experiences to reveal the scale, impact and consequence of the First World War”, says Ms Vodanovich.

It is 100 years since the ANZAC forces landed at Gallipoli – the day on which we now commemorate the sacrifice of all New Zealand men and women who have served in wars and conflicts around the world. From the Uttermost Ends of the Earth has been more than a year in the making, drawing on the collective resources of the Hawke’s Bay Museum Trust Collection, volunteers supporting the curators and items generously loaned by the community adding heart to the story.

• Curator Talk with Eloise Wallace Century Theatre, Saturday 18 April, 11am

Corporal Leonard Delabare Bestall [3/2088] (b. 1895 – d. 1959)

Leonard (Leo) Bestall was born in Wellington, but grew up in Napier. He attended Napier Boy’s High School, later studying architecture in Christchurch. He spearheaded the push for, and led the formation of the new Hawke’s Bay Art Gallery and Museum in 1936. From 1944 until his death in 1959 he held the position of Director of the Hawke’s Bay Art Gallery and Museum. The Bestall Gallery is named in his honour.

Leo enlisted on 16 December 1915 and served with the New Zealand Medical Corps for 3 years, 112 days, in Egypt and on the Western Front. Arriving in France on 26 July 1916 he was posted to the No 1 New Zealand Field Ambulance, where he was a stretcher bearer.

On 22 October 1917 Leo was gassed in the field, recovering and then returning to the front. He served until 24 May 1918, when he again fell ill. He recuperated at Brockenhurst NZ No 1 General Hospital, but was classified unfit for duty.

While serving in England Leo met Frances Widdowson, and the couple married in Napier on 18 December 1920.

In 1941, after the outbreak of the Second World War, Leo joined the Church Army and was posted as Captain to Maadi Camp, near Cairo. There he was responsible for the morale, spiritual welfare and recreational needs of New Zealand soldiers.

Leo returned to Napier in 1944. His significant collection of objects, diaries and photographs are an important part of the collection of both World Wars at the Museum’s successor, MTG Hawke’s Bay.

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