Writing stick for slate, 89mm

This writing stick is made out of slate and used for writing on slate boards. It seems to have been used on both ends as they both have rounded points.

Writing slates

Writing slates are flat boards made out of slate. They were used for writing, mainly by children in school, instead of paper, which was expensive in the nineteenth century. Slate boards were written on with slate pencils, which could be made out of slate, soapstone or pressed clay.

New Zealand education in the late 1800s

Education in New Zealand in the early colonial period was governed provincially or by the church. In 1877, the Education Act created free primary education nationwide and made it compulsory for children aged 7 to 14 to attend school.

The Randell Cottage

This writing slate is part of a collection of objects found underneath the Randell family cottage when it was renovated in the 1990s. The Randell Cottage is situated at 14 St Mary Street in the suburb of Thorndon in Wellington. It was built by William Randell in 1867 for his family, who moved into the four room cottage that year with seven children. By 1877 there were 10 children! William added two more rooms in 1874. He died in 1880 leaving his wife, Sarah, with five children aged 15 and under. Sarah and the family were supported by three of the elder children until she moved in with her daughter Emily in the suburb of Karori.

Acquisition

In 1994, Beverley Randell, great granddaughter of William and Sarah, purchased the cottage with the help of her own family. They refurbished it, keeping much to the original floor plan and furnishings. New foundations had to be laid and, during the digging, many objects were unearthed. As there was no formal rubbish collection in the 1870s, many hard, sharp, and unwanted objects were tossed beneath the house. Others most likely found their way down through cracks in the floorboards.

Beverley Randell donated the collection of finds to Te Papa in 2006. The objects provide a rare glimpse into the everyday lives of New Zealand's early European settler families.