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A woman in uniform
This image is a portrait of Kathleen Veronica O'Brien (1890 - 1973), the daughter of Irish immigrants who settled in Hawke’s Bay. In this portrait she is dressed in the uniform of a Gunner in the Royal New Zealand Artillery, and has a small rosette pinned to her tunic that suggests that she was involved in some form of patriotic fundraising activity. This has recently been confirmed by her family, who own a sepia print of the portrait on the back of which is written 'Kathleen in a Revue'.
During the early stages of the war, theatre groups often created tableaux featuring performers dressed as soldiers and nurses for fundraising events. As the war unexpectedly dragged on, however, such fund-raising events began to come under fire as unease mounted around having fun while others were fighting for King and Country. In July 1915 the Otago Daily Times reported in detail on a speech given by the Reverend R E Davies at a Carnival Queen event. He stated that while the carnival raised money for a good cause, ‘in this critical situation of the Empire he felt it his duty to say that no man should take part in the carnival whose duty it was to stand in the ranks of our defenders’.
No more frivolity
Kathleen O'Brien is believed to have been a member of The Napier Frivolity Minstrels, a musical society established in 1897 'with the object of raising money by public entertainments for charitable purposes’. During the First World War ‘The Frivs’ sought to do their bit. As early as September 1914, they presented a Patriotic Concert in aid of the Belgian Relief Fund. Napier Frivolity member Harry Evetts, certainly agreed with Davies. In April 1916, the Free Lance reported that Harry had ‘given over “Frivolity” for war’, and traded his membership in The Frivs for a position as a driver in the ‘Twelfths”. ‘No more frivolity, he says, till Kaiser Bill is knocked out’. It was due to such departures, that the previously all male troupe opened the company up to women during the war.
The sequence number on the glass plate, reveals that this image was probably taken between August and December 1914, well before such unease had set in. Why was Kathleen who lived in Napier, photographed in costume in a Wellington studio? Apparently, the Napier Frivolity Minstrels did travel the country with their shows, but sadly most of their records were destroyed in the Hawke’s Bay Earthquake and subsequent fires of 1931 so we don’t know if Kathleen had joined by then let alone ever travelled with them. Alternatively, as Kathleen visited the capital fairly regularly to see her sister Mary, she may have taken part in a Wellington event.
A lucky family
Like many New Zealand women, Kathleen had a personal association with the war. Her brother Michael enlisted and embarked from Wellington on 14 August 1915 as part of the Wellington Mounted Rifles (Serial No. 11/1510). His first rank was a Quartermaster Sergeant. Her little brother Francis also joined up later that year. He was a Sapper (Serial No 4/1460). The O’Brien’s, however, were a lucky family, for both of the brothers returned home to live fruitful lives. As to Kathleen, she worked as a cook in Napier and stayed single until in her 60s. She passed away in Masterton in April 1973, and is lovingly remembered as a lively aunt who told a great story.
The identification of WWI soldiers photographed by Berry & Co. is an ongoing project. If you have any information that you’d like share about the men or the people they are photographed with, please email the Berry Boys project team at Berryboys@tepapa.govt.nz. Or you can contact us by writing to the Berry Boys project team, Te Papa, P O Box 467, Wellington 6140.