Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Face of the past on 100 year old postcard

Northern Advocate
7 Oct, 2016 11:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

100 year postcard. 06 October 2016 Northern Advocate photograph by Michael Cunningham

100 year postcard. 06 October 2016 Northern Advocate photograph by Michael Cunningham

Mel Matheson knew if he held onto an old postcard someone once sent his grandmother Antoinette Matheson it would eventually be 100 years old.

Thursday was the day the card dated October 6, 1916 and sent from Stan Miller in Melbourne to Antoinette Matheson in Kaimamaku made it to its centenary.

That same month and year 100 years ago also resonates with the Matheson family for a tragic reason, the death of Antoinette Matheson's eldest son Kenny at the Somme.

Antoinette Matheson was German, and had lived in Germany until she married and moved to her husband's farm at Kaimamaku, north-east of Whangarei.

Her grandson Mel said it always seemed particularly sad that her eldest son, a New Zealander, was killed in a battle against her native country.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

As for the postcard that possibly arrived around the same time as news of Kenny's death, Mr Matheson is not sure how his grandmother came to know the man behind the very frank musings.

Judging from his prose style, the family always assumed Stan Miller was an entertainer.

Mr Matheson said that as his father had also kept the card all his life, there could have been some family significance.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He might have been told the story when he was a boy, but he can't recall.

Mr Miller whimsically describes himself as someone who "on the firing line of industry, in the struggle of existence, not as a tourist, has crossed the deep blue sea".

He describes the vanity and "extravagance in wartime" of having his photo taken in a mirrored room and made into a postcard, "for the princely sum of 5p a head, 5 heads to the card".

He jokes about any "fat head" being worth a penny, then says when he saw his photo he was alarmed at how little fat he carried.

He raced off to the nearest weighing machine, he writes, "to assure myself that it is not necessary to put some kind of ballast in my boots to maintain my association with Mother Earth".

He ends his letter that begins "Dear Mrs Matheson" with "Kia ora ehoa, Stan Miller".

Someone else might know who this man was who wrote to his grandmother, Mr Matheson said.

Regardless, he will continue to treasure the fascinating, if mysterious, family memorabilia.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate
|Updated

Saving lives: Mobile AED startup named best emerging business

Northern Advocate

'Public safety at risk': Guns, cannabis found in Kaitāia raid

Northern Advocate

'Rain, wind and snow': North Island in for day of wild weather


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

Saving lives: Mobile AED startup named best emerging business
Northern Advocate
|Updated

Saving lives: Mobile AED startup named best emerging business

Winner Georgia Keys took action after witnessing a young woman die from cardiac arrest.

16 Jul 11:00 PM
'Public safety at risk': Guns, cannabis found in Kaitāia raid
Northern Advocate

'Public safety at risk': Guns, cannabis found in Kaitāia raid

16 Jul 10:53 PM
'Rain, wind and snow': North Island in for day of wild weather
Northern Advocate

'Rain, wind and snow': North Island in for day of wild weather

16 Jul 10:52 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP