Diary encapsulates war years

MEMORIES: A historic photograph of World War I diarist Frederick Percy Welch (left) with an unidentified man. PHOTO/FILE

Wairarapa Archive cannot be accused of doing things by halves at any time and certainly not when it comes to efforts to recognise the contribution Wairarapa families made to World War I.

Just now the archive's focus is on military history as this August marks 100 years since the war "to end all wars" began and continued until November 1918.

The archive has now finished the first year of a major project running as part of the Government's centennial commemoration of World War I, known as WW100.

Day by day, the archive has been posting the diary of Frederick Percy Welch, written a century ago, on to a website. It has also been tweeting an extract each day and this will continue until 2019.

Welch was one of the Mt Bruce family of pioneers but lived and worked in Masterton as a land and general commission agent.

Although he didn't go to war himself he kept a daily diary of events which included details of life in Wairarapa as well as progress of the war.

Staying with the military theme, an archivist accompanied Wairarapa College Year 13 students on a research visit to the Waiouru Army Museum while teachers at the school have been helping Year 12 students add details to names on the cenotaph in Queen Elizabeth Park in Masterton.

Outside of WW100 involvement, district archivist Gareth Winter has recently published five articles on street naming in Wairarapa and acted as master of ceremonies at the launch of the book Rainbows Over Mauriceville.

The archive was opened on a Saturday morning so the Welch family attending a reunion could access information and also on a further Saturday for descendants of Mauriceville settlers James and Catherine Carroll.

Mr Winter also published a background feature on the history of the Queen Elizabeth Park grandstand and kept several public speaking engagements.