Gail Pope: Good things come in small packages

photorapher David Frost

Seemingly unimportant objects in the museum's collection can sometimes prove as beguiling as more obvious historically-valued or beautifully-designed objects.

This small envelope and Christmas card, tucked away inconspicuously in the archives store, is one such treasure. Addressed to Mr and Mrs F Cordingley and family, Waireri, Porangahau, New Zealand, the envelope is postmarked Cardiff, Wales, November 23, 1938.

The handwritten message within the card is barely visible, but the printed message is simple and heartfelt: 'May Christmas bring you every joy and may the coming year be filled with happiness.'

Glancing at the Christmas card and envelope, one could think them of little historical consequence.

There's no postal stamp in the top right hand corner of the envelope, there are signs of water damage, and the ink has run slightly. But on closer investigation, the envelope tells a particularly interesting story.

As across the top of the envelope is stamped: Received in damaged condition ex flying boat Calpurnia.

From this brief statement, the mystery of the damaged envelope and card can be unravelled. On November 23 and 24, 1938, two flying boats (aircraft that land on water) left the United Kingdom for Alexandria, where mail bound for Australia and New Zealand was loaded onto the Empire flying boat Calpurnia.

The flight path of the Calpurnia was Alexandria to Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee, then to Lake Habbaniyah near Baghdad, and from there to South Africa and Australia.

On the night of November 27, the Calpurnia flew into a sandstorm and, while attempting to land, crashed into Lake Ramadi, 12 miles from Lake Habbaniyah - killing four crew members. The body of Radio-Officer Bayne-Rees was recovered immediately.

The following day, divers began searching for and found the bodies of Captain E H Attwood, First-Officer A N Spottiswoode, and Flight-Clerk F G Ubee, who were trapped under the badly-damaged front of the plane. The remaining occupants, a steward and two passengers, survived and were taken to the Royal Air Force Hospital in Habbaniyah, suffering from shock.

The Royal Air Force retrieved much of the mail from the surface of the lake, including 60 of the 69 mailbags intended for New Zealand. There was an attempt to dry out the mail before it was sent to Sydney, and again when it arrived at Auckland on December 19.

Once in New Zealand, offices in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch were set up and efforts were made to decipher the smudged and water damaged handwriting.

Many of the envelopes, such as the one shown above, no longer had stamps as they had been soaked off and washed away. Luckily for the Cordingley family, their name and address could still be read clearly and, after an ill-fated adventure, this Christmas greeting finally made its way to the intended recipients.

We all know, of course, that we should never judge a book by its cover, and the same holds true for the treasures held within the MTG. Sometimes the most damaged and seemingly unattractive items can hold the most poignant and significant stories.

We hope the story of this little Christmas card was an interesting one, and we wish you all a lovely festive season.

*A range of activities for children are available at the museum over the school holidays

*MTG will be closed on Christmas Day, and otherwise open every day with the normal opening hours of 10am-5pm

Gail Pope is Curator Social History at MTG