The Homefront - A glimpse of the Taupo District during the Great War

21 October 2014

The Homefront

A glimpse of the Taupo District during the Great War

The Niven Room, Taupo Museum

25 October to 18 November

The Taupo District's fallen soldiers will be recognised and remembered in a Taupo Museum exhibition ahead of the World War I centenary next year.

The Home Front exhibition aims to show what the soldiers left behind, what the district was like at the time and what life was like between 1914 and 1918.

Exhibitions officer Chris Potter said the district was sparsely populated during World War I, but many men left to serve their country and never returned. This exhibition is both about the war and the effect it had on the district and its people, and what it was like here 100 years ago, she said. It's hard to imagine how much things have changed from the dusty pumice roads of yesteryear to the development of our current thriving tourism, trout fishing and geothermal industries.

The exhibition will delve into what life was like on the home front, how people got around, how they heard news of the war and how they got supplies.

The exhibition has been a collaborative project between Taupo Library, Taupo Museum, Taupo District Council Archives and the Taupo Genealogy Society and volunteers. This has also been an opportunity for local people to share their knowledge of our district's history and people and we have discovered stories about our local World War I soldiers, Ms Potter said.

All the information gathered for the exhibition is being added to Kete Taupo, the library's online knowledge basket. Kete Taupo is an online resource containing the district's stories, history and heritage.

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For further information contact:

Christine Potter

Exhibitions Officer Taupo Museum

Ph 376 0414

cpotter@taupo.govt.nz

www.taupo.govt.nz