{Suite} and the Ans Westra Estate are pleased to present, for the first time ever, the entire series of photos made by Ans Westra in Ruatoria in 1963 for Washday at the Pa. This comprehensive
exhibition at Courtenay Creative, which includes images that have never been published or exhibited, and displays of books and newspaper clippings from Ans’s scrapbook that she collected at the time. Join {Suite} gallery owner and Director of the Ans Westra Estate David Alsop, for a floortalk, and personally guided tour of the exhibition and vault.
First published by the Department of Education in 1964 and distributed as a school-journal, Washday at the Pa describes a day in the lives of a rural Maori family. As well as the images, Westra also provided the text for the journal that was used in standards two to five. The living conditions of the family were seen as poor, and their rural home rundown. Concerns were raised by the Maori Women’s Welfare league that led to the booklet being controversially withdrawn by the order of the Minister of Education.
The location of this exhibiton – 49 Courtney Place, now known as Courtenay Creative – was formerly the site of the National Bank, who operated there from 1928 – 1995. Directly below the main chamber is what was the Bank’s vault, the home for Ans’s work and archive since her passing in 2023.