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Overview
This object is an excellent example of a Cook Island reru, a food pounder made of calcite.
It was brought to New Zealand in about the 1920 - 30s by Harry Mellifont Riddick (b. 1876/7). Harry fought in the South African War and in World War One with the British Army. It is thought that he was based in the Pacific Islands during WWI, although this is unclear, and this is when he acquired the reru.
Once in New Zealand the reru was used as a doorstop for many years by the Riddick family, lastly by Lois Riddick, Harry's daughter and her husband William Munro in Linden, Wellington.
The reru offers a unique perspective in cross-cultural exchange. It is an example of an object acquired through war and travel as well as a unique and unusual everyday object that illustrates New Zealand's Pacific connections and continued cultural exchange through objects, materials and design.