1901: Royal Archway of Dead Sheep
June 9, 2020
By AHNZ
Today in history, 10 June, 1901, the heir to the throne of New Zealand visited our country on a Royal Tour. Future King Geoge V and his wife were greeted by a number of wonderful archways their route passed through. The stand-out one for me is the once in Christchurch composed of mutton carcasses suspended in ice!
Other arches were created for other towns and institutions and they all look fantastic. When George’s son, Edward, toured New Zealand while holding the same position (Prince of Wales¹) he hated it as the record shows. But Edward, 20 years later, didn’t have these wonderful theme-park-like arches to pass through. Auckland Harbour Board offered light houses and nikau fronds, Rotorua a floral explosion, Citizens a mechanical-looking civic machine arch, Maoris a carved meeting house arch, and Westport offered one studded with coal blocks!
You can view them in a book, Royalty in New Zealand: The Visit of their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Dutchess of Cornwall and York, A Descriptive Narrative that has helpfully been reproduced by Don001 on his blog The Lothians.
“Perhaps understandably due to their cost and very temporary nature, ceremonial and full floral arches are now a thing of the past. While many look very solid, they were generally nothing more than wood, painted canvas, and/or moulded plaster over a wire frame in the manner of stage scenery. That they did not find other uses elsewhere would also prove this point. “- The Lothians
“…with its graceful span of ice counterfeited – as a broken piece of some wandering iceberg of the sea – resting on blocks of ice, real, enclosing carcasses dressed for the butcher, also chrysanthemums of delicate hues and handsome form, and bearing words of welcome, well displayed…”- Royalty in New Zealand; The Lothians
Of course it’s perfectly proper for Christchurch to feature mutton in general and frozen mutton in particular. They had a right to be proud of it. However, it simply strikes me as noteworthy and even a bit quirky fond anyone to use frozen meat as a construction material at all let alone in a civic honouring of the man who would be the next king.
Whenever we Cantabrians raise an eyebrow thinking of old time Maoris who adorned their dwellings with severed body parts or sleep with corpses we should remember we’re not so far removed ourselves!
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Note- It was on this tour that George’s Royal train made a special stop outside Jock McKenzie’s farm to dub the old crook into knighthood as he lay dying.
1 Technically, George wasn’t invested formally as such until later in the year
Image ref. Christchurch’s meat arch; Royalty in New Zealand; The Lothians
Image ref. Canterbury Coat of Arms; heraldry-wiki.com
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