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Friday, 11th September 2015
WWI and the Wakatipu - Arrowtown School Remembers
Tuesday, 11th November 2014
Part of our exhibition includes a recreation of a trench!
Year 7 and 8 students from Arrowtown school have visited the Lakes District Museum to view their posters which have been included as part of our WWI exhibition, and to learn about the effects of war on a small community.
Students really enjoyed checking their measurements to see if they suited requirements for enlisting in 1914. Men had to be at least 64 inches (162.5cm) tall and weigh less than 167.6 pound (76kg). Whilst viewing the exhibition, students completed worksheets which helped them understand the many levels the Wakatipu was involved with war effort which included scheelite mining, women fundraising and enlisting as nurses, and how German citizens living in the region were treated.
The visit was followed with a historic walk of Arrowtown, some of the sites that we visited included:
- The Post and Telegraph Office - mail was the only form of communication between soldiers and their families which could take as long as 7 weeks to be delivered. Everyone in Arrowtown dreaded receiving a telegram which would be delivered by bicycle, as the urgency of the news meant that someone had either been killed in action, was missing in action, or had been seriously injured.
- The Town Hall - farewell parties were hosted for the men who had enlisted, which the whole town would attend including the Arrowtown Mayor. The town hall was also used as fundraising evenings which were organized by the women of the community, to collect money for the Belgian Relief Fund or the Wounded Soldiers Comforts Fund.
- The Arrowtown Pharmacy - which during WWI was the Arrowtown General Store which was owned and operated by the Goodley family. Their son Alexandra Goodley enlisted, and was injured at Gallipoli in his right thigh which lead to his death in 1915.
- The War memorial - 18 names from Arrowtown are listed on this memorial for WWI, which has been built on Soldiers Hill high above Arrowtown. This memorial was built as Arrowtown residents wanted to commemorate those that did not return and to honour their sacrifice.
- The Arrowtown Cemetery - Some soldiers have their names listed on family headstones even though their bodies never were returned from overseas. Charles Eckhardt a German hairdresser who lived in Arrowtown is also buried in the cemetery, he was shunned by the Arrowtown community because of anti-German sentiment during the war.
What did you find most memorable about your visit to the museum?
How do you think the War affected the Wakatipu?
Answer my questions and comment about your visit below!
Thanks for contributing to our exhibition Arrowtown School!
Comments (22)
Totally agree with the comment above. To see the children's faces when they realized that their work was displayed is something I will never forget. Thank you so much Amy for your support, it has been one of the most successful inquiries I have ever done - the quality of work they children produced was fantastic.
I would like to say for a start for letting my classmates and I to have an opportunity to have our work in the museum.I found the walk interesting.I enjoyed finding out about the people that lived during the war in Arrowtown.
Overall it was a great walk and very informative.
Sam Year 7 Arrowtown school
I really liked the walk and seeing how the Arrowtown community helped to the war effort.
My most memorible moment was when I heard that the German hairdresser was shunned just because he was German and i'll also remember that he didn't die of a heart attack, he died of a broken heart.
It was a great learning experience. I liked learning about what Arrowtown did to help with the war. It was interesting to hear how people treated the Germans (the ones who lived in the Wakatipu) when the war started. A big thanks for Amy and the Museum Staff for letting us visit and taking us on the walk.
I really enjoyed the museum historic walk. I liked answering the questions on the question sheet in the museum. Overall I thought in was fun and I had a great time. Thank you Amy.
Very interesting visit thanks
I thoroughly enjoyed room20s visit to your wonderful museum! Thank you so much to Amy Taylor for all your help with our posters and information! We couldn't of done it without you!
I really enjoyed the walk and learning all about the soldiers and nurses that served in WW1.
First I would like to say a huge thank you to Amy for letting my class and I have this amazing oppurtunty to experience such amazing things! I learnt alot on that day! When we took the walk around " Historic Arrowtown " we visited some places that I want to visit again!
Thanks again Amy!
I really enjoyed learning about the war. I think Year 7/8 will take a lot from we learnt from you(Amy).
Thanks AMY
the WWI excibition was very unique and interesting.
I really liked researching for my WW1 poster on trench art and also presenting it on the poster.
At the WW1 visit it was very interesting. The exhibit was really fun and interesting to learn about. I love it so much.
I likes learning about the history of the place we live in. The only thing was that we should have had choice to go to some places, as some of us found it uncomfortable in the graveyard.
Thanks for a great trip amy!
What an amazing experience! I never knew that the Wakatipu area had so much to do with the war.
Thanks Amy
I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the musueum last week. As a new member of the community, I was fascinated to learn all about the history of Arrowtown. The activities for the students were engaging and the tour of the town informative. Thanks for a wonderful experience Amy!
I liked learning about the history and how some people wanted to go to war because they wanted to travel. I also enjoyed the walk around Arrowtown and how a lot of people were involved in the war somehow, weather it was helping raise money or serving in the war.
Very fun and I learnt a whole lot too.You learn a lot about how world war 1 changed are lives forever.Very detailed coulorful and interactive exhibits like the sign up exhibit I did not know you had to be a certian height and weight to be able to be sent off to the army.
it was an amazing experince i learnt lots of stuff about WWI and how long it took to send a letter and walking through the cemetery and up to the war memorial
I really liked the telescope that let you see over the trenches so your head doesn't blow off. It was actually quite fascinating to hear how long a letter took to send. I also liked the things that showed you how tall and heavy you have to be to go into WW1
Thoroughly enjoyed another excellent educational visit to the museum. Well done on such an informative and interesting exhibition. Felt very privileged to have had students involved and can't thank Amy enough for her enthusiasm, support and infectious passion for local history.
By: Sue Buckenham on Friday, 14th November 2014 @ 09:06:24