This is a shared arts column space put together by the Howick Historical
Village, Te Tuhi, and Uxbridge Arts and Culture.
Howick Historical Village (HHV) is pleased to feature an article by Judy Wilson, past President of The Howick & Districts Historical Society and now a dedicated Collections volunteer.
For many years, Judy has researched and written about the Society’s collection, publishing her fascinating work in the Society newsletter.
HHV shares the stories of Victorian Auckland, welcoming visitors to see what life was like during this post-Te Tiriti o Waitangi/19th century chapter in the history of empire.
While the mists of time may blur the details, we are still affected by, and reckoning with, the socio-political and economic shifts of the 1840s-1880s.
Judy’s work helps bring the details back into focus, provides context to memory, and offers a way to understand how the story of a seemingly unremarkable metal object is still relevant today.
Board of Ordnance Bins
Around the Village are a number of containers made of heavy metal. They were donated, like many of our artifacts, by interested members of the Howick community when the Village was being established in the late 1970s.
We have no clear evidence of why such heavy items were brought all the way from Britain by the early settlers.
Emblazoned on the front of one is an interesting crest. After sending some photographs of it to the National Army Museum in Britain, Robert Fleming, Curator, Department of Access & Outreach, provided the most interesting reply:
“The crest is that of the Board of Ordnance, the government department responsible for the land, depots, fortresses, and other defensive works required for defence of the realm.
“It was also the body that administered the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers.
“The ‘BO’ either side of the crest also bears this out. […] interestingly the BO was absorbed into the War Office (WO) in 1855 because of its failings in supplying the Army in the Crimea, so the fact this obviously BO container has a date of 1856 is most curious!
“As for what their purpose was, it would be speculative on my part I am afraid.
“They could be anything from coal bins to holding water bind for use with fixed place artillery guns.”
This artifact may be seen at Howick Historical Village, 75 Bells Road, Lloyd Elsmore Park, Pakuranga.
