Broken black glass ornament

This black glass ornament is broken. The intact side has a sawtooth edge at the top, and two round feet at the bottom. Raised vertical lines and textured glass add to the decoration. The ornament is believed to have been a spill holder.

Spill holders

A spill was a long piece of wood or paper that was used to carry a flame from one place to another. It was kept in a spill holder. Matches were invented in the 1820s, but were still quite expensive when this holder would have been in use.

The Randell Cottage

This glass ornament is part of a collection of objects found underneath the Randell family cottage when it was renovated in the 1990s. The cottage is 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.