item details
NameHat pin made from New Zealand Army button
ProductionDorothy Broad; attributed; circa 1919; New Zealand
Classificationhatpins, buttons
Materialsbrass
Materials Summarybutton attached to length of metal
Techniquesmetalworking
DimensionsOverall: 170mm (length), 26mm (diameter)
Registration NumberGH016800
Credit lineGift of Marianne Abraham, 2010
Overview
Mourning jewellery
The maker of this hat pin, Dorothy Broad, was engaged to Captain Thomas Wyville Leonard Rutherfurd of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (13th Reinforcements). It is made from his uniform button and may be considered mourning jewellery.
The button was amongst the personal effects returned to his fiancee after his death from pneumonia in Tehran, October 1918. These effects held a great significance for Dorothy, who kept Wyville's returned belongings as personalised memorials for private consolation. The button features the text 'New Zealand Forces' around the circumference and four stars in the centre represent the Southern Cross.