Frances Broad

item details

NameFrances Broad

ProductionUnknown; photographer; 1914-1918; New Zealand

Classificationphotographic prints, gelatin silver prints, studio portraits

Materialssilver, photographic gelatin, photographic paper

Materials Summarygelatin silver print

Techniquesblack-and-white photography, photography

DimensionsImage: 86mm (width), 135mm (height)

Registration NumberO.048932

Credit lineGift of Marianne Abraham in memory of T. Wyville Rutherfurd, McKenzie Gibson, Frances and Dorothy Broad, 2019

Overview

This photograph of Frances Broad (1886-1963) features her fundraising work during the First World War (1914-19). She is accompanied by a pug dog which appears to be dressed as a Belgian soldier.

Women made a huge contribution to New Zealand’s war effort through hundreds of patriotic organisations around the country. They helped supply material to people in war-torn Belgium and France. They made clothes for Belgian children, knitted socks for New Zealand soldiers, and raised money through garden fêtes and market stalls.

Frances and her sister Dorothy Broad were involved in fundraising (including theatricals, musicals and quiz evenings) and other wartime activities (such as first aid) on the West Coast of New Zealand. They were excellent craftswomen and made many objects to raise money for the West Coast Wounded Soldiers’ Fund.

Like many New Zealand women, Dorothy and Frances had an invested interest in soldiers' wellbeing, with important men in their lives overseas. Dorothy’s fiancé, Captain Thomas Wyville Leonard Rutherfurd (1890-1918), was in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (13th Reinforcements).

Frances was close to Lieutenant McKenzie Gibson (1889-1917), who was in the 1st Battalion, Canterbury Infantry Regiment. Both men died during the war.