Post #581546 by Club Nouméa on Thu, Mar 24, 2011 3:19 AM

Part 8: The Wanganui Savage Club – the plot thickens...

Whilst doing further research on the Wanganui Savage Club Hall, I discovered this wonderful photo, with its combination of Maori relics and stuffed marine life, showing what the Savage Club Hall looked like back when it was still the Wanganui Museum. (I particularly like the small pot-bellied tiki carving sitting on the top shelf to the right, just in front of what looks like a stuffed albatross.)

It turns out that this photo was taken in 1899...

1899! Hang on, wasn’t the Wanganui Savage Club founded in 1891?

Yes indeed, and upon further research, I discovered that the Wanganui Museum was actually founded in 1892, one year after the Wanganui Savage Club was created, and it appears that the club moved into this building only once the museum had relocated to its current premises in 1928.

So where does that leave us?

With a 37-year period of the club’s existence which is currently unaccounted for. This raises various questions:

Where was the club originally located?

Were the club’s original premises decked out with tiki carvings too?

Are there any surviving photos of the original premises?

So it appears that my initial impression (see Part 6), that most of the décor dates from the early 20th century or later was correct – the building was refitted from around 1928 onwards by the Wanganui Savage Club. But what of those two suspiciously old-looking tiki carvings flanking the stage? Were they transferred from the original premises?

It looks like more research will be involved to get to the bottom of the Wanganui Savage Club than I originally thought.

Californian tiki aficionados should note that in spite of these revelations, the Wanganui Savage Club’s present location is still about 6 years older than Don the Beachcomber’s original Hollywood location...

I have also checked out the Savage Club Hall’s preservation status. It is neither registered with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, nor is it currently listed in the Wanganui District Council’s District Plan. The ramifications of this are that, as things stand, if the Council’s bureaucrats decide in 2015/2016 that they want to tear down the building and sell off the property, they can do so as it has no legal protection whatsoever.

Something needs to be done about this. I will keep you posted but would like to send out some initial feelers – Sven, would you be prepared to write a paragraph or two about what makes the Savage Club Hall unique in the world in terms of Polynesian pop culture? And do we have any qualified architects and/or interior designers on Tiki Central who would be prepared to offer comments about the uniqueness of the building’s architecture and interior design? NZ bureaucrats love foreign experts with a list of qualifications and references, and are more likely to give them credence than some local like me telling them that it’s more than just an old tin shed with some slightly dubious memorabilia and Maori-style décor of doubtful authenticity (which is the line the Council’s functionaries may adopt if they decide to pull it down).

Thanks in advance for any comments you may be able to offer.

CN

Toto, j'ai l'impression que nous ne sommes plus au Kansas !

[ Edited by: Club Nouméa 2011-03-24 04:17 ]

[ Edited by: Club Nouméa 2011-03-24 04:21 ]