Costume design for Pageant of Empire, 'Spirit of N.Z.'

item details

NameCostume design for Pageant of Empire, 'Spirit of N.Z.'

ProductionMollie Rodie Mackenzie; artist; 1940-41; Wellington

Classificationdrawings, design drawings, fashion illustrations

Materialspaper, poster colour, ink

Materials Summaryposter paint on paper

Techniquesillustration

DimensionsOverall: 179mm (width), 252mm (height)

Registration NumberGH016536

Credit lineGift of Marion F. Mackenzie (née Rodie), 2009

Overview

This costume sketch was originally designed by Mollie Rodie in 1940 for the Red Cross Pageant held in Wellington Town Hall on 18 September 1940. Mollie may have redrawn this sketch for the grand finale of the Victory Queen Carnival in Wellington Town Hall 3-5 June 1941, which featured the same pageant again.

Pageants and queen carnivals were popular ways to raise money during World War II (1939-45). Mollie’s aspiration in creating this costume was to represent the spirit of the British Empire at a time when news from the battlefront was grim.