Museum Notebook: The best desk, donated by John Tiffin Stewart's descendants

JT Stewart desk, closed. Whanganui Regional Museum Collection Ref: 2020.80

At the top of the stairs in the Whanganui Regional Museum is a small exhibition titled, He kura hōu! What's new!

The first thing you see as you walk towards this array of new acquisitions is a beautiful roll-top kneehole desk made from New Zealand native timbers - kauri, pūriri and rewarewa.

Inside the desk, above the writing surface, are six drawers with turned handles, three on each side. Every drawer has four rectangular compartments. The top shelf has a raised edge and two finials. Above the kneehole is a long drawer with two smaller drawers on both sides, all with turned handles. The desk has turned fluted legs with steel castors. A horizontal tambour, which closes the desk, has two vertical panels and rolls down and locks with a bow-shaped lock. When the tambour is raised, the triangular side supports are outwardly hinged.

The desk belonged to John Tiffin Stewart, an engineer and surveyor, not only by profession but also by nature. He may have had a hand in designing and building the desk.

JT Stewart desk, open. Whanganui Regional Museum Collection Ref: 2020.80

An interesting mechanical feature is two wings that spread outwards, providing more space for large documents, a device used by map makers and ocean navigators. The desk doesn't appear to have any hidden compartments and is an eminently practical piece of work. It does have an aesthetic charm, however, through the use of the beautiful polished woods.

Whanganui engineer, surveyor, watercolourist and philanthropist John Tiffin Stewart worked at this desk, producing a huge variety of material that contributed greatly to the technology, history and heritage of Whanganui. Documents that may have come across the desk include plans for adapting the Wanganui Town Bridge, content relating to Stewart's contribution to political life and his surveying and mapping work on the Whanganui River.

Stewart may also have finished some of his watercolours on the desk. He was an enthusiastic watercolour artist. On his many surveying trips and his long walks to see his bosses in Wellington he took time to observe and record scenes, landscapes, botanical specimens and Māori carvings. He often sketched them in situ and finished them later at home. A large collection of his artworks, lovely depictions of Whanganui and Rangitīkei, is in the museum collection. You can see a few of them in Opening up the Land, also upstairs in the museum.

John Tiffin Stewart, late 19th century. Photographer: Frank Denton. Whanganui Regional Museum Collection Ref: 1996.79

Stewart was born in Rothesay, Scotland. He began an apprenticeship with a firm of civil engineers before attending the University of Glasgow where he graduated as a civil engineer. On November 22, 1865, John Stewart married Frances Anne Carkeek and they had five sons and five daughters. Stewart's association with Whanganui began in 1868 when he started work on the Wanganui Town Bridge.

Stewart could turn his hand to anything. He was the quintessential all-rounder – he had a wide range of talents and abilities, and he used them to the full. It is fascinating to speculate on what he produced in his energetic and creative life on this desk, which was donated to the museum by four of his many descendants.

• Libby Sharpe is senior curator at Whanganui Regional Museum.