Sarking with bandage with blue writing

This is a wooden sarking board with cloth bandage scrim. Carved into the wood is 'R RAN', and written on the bandage in blue is 'R R' and '15 May 1877'.

Scrim and sarking

Scrim and sarking construction is where wooden panels are nailed horizontally over the beams of a house frame, and heavy cloth is attached over the top. Wallpaper can then be applied directly to the unplastered walls.

Discovery

This scrim and sarking board is part of a collection of objects found inside the Randell family cottage when it was renovated in the 1990s. It was taken from the back left bedroom, which was thought to have been the boys' and shared by William, Edward, and Richard.

The Randell Cottage

The Randell Cottage is at 14 St Mary Street in the suburb of Thorndon in Wellington. It was built by William Randell in 1867 for his family, who moved into the four-room cottage that year with seven children. By 1877 there were 10 children! William added two more rooms in 1874. He died in 1880 leaving his wife, Sarah, with five children aged 15 and under. Sarah and the family were supported by three of the elder children until she moved in with her daughter Emily in the suburb of Karori.

Acquisition

In 1994, Beverley Randell, great granddaughter of William and Sarah, purchased the cottage with the help of her own family. They refurbished it, keeping much to the original floor plan and furnishings. New foundations had to be laid and, during the digging, many objects were unearthed. As there was no formal rubbish collection in the 1870s, many hard, sharp, and unwanted objects were tossed beneath the house. Others most likely found their way down through cracks in the floorboards.

Beverley Randell donated the collection of finds to Te Papa in 2006. The objects provide a rare glimpse into the everyday lives of New Zealand's early European settler families.