Our Treasures: Art reveals the early settler experience

This painting depicts early settlers arriving in New Zealand. What did they feel upon arrival to a foreign land they were to make their home? Photo / Supplied

Art can capture a feeling, and an artwork in our collection has answered some long-held questions of mine.

What did early settlers feel upon arrival to a foreign land they were to make their home? How did they respond to the unknown landscape?

And how did their journey affect them? These questions were reignited by the current CHAIRS exhibition, as one element, the Powell Family deckchair, journeyed across the Pacific Ocean on the S.S. Tainui.

In the exhibition, a timeline maps out the journey of the deckchair from Wales in 1885 to the Whangārei Museum, where it was donated in 2017.

The Powell family journey is not unique, it is one of many immigration stories. I have my own, with one branch of my family arriving on the S.S. Bombay and settling on farmland around Pukekohe. My questions are personal and continue to surface. What were my ancestors' experiences of arrival?

These background thoughts are why this painting grabbed my attention (1976/1/144). I was looking through our art collection to consider future exhibition options and was struck by the feeling of this painting. It is not a realistic representation, rather emotions have influenced how the artist represents the landscape - making it interesting for us to unpack.

For one, the prominent mountain ranges loom up from the shore. The largest, in the far background, is capped with snow, which suggests a high altitude. The mountains tower over a dwarfed coastal settlement.

This protruding, rugged, natural landscape, for which New Zealand is still known, was similarly this artist's experience back in the 19th century. A small section has been cleared around the settlement; however, it feels vulnerable due to its remote and disconnected existence.

A steamship charges toward the settlement, smoke trailing and sails in full bellow. The confidence with which this ship approaches, suggests a premeditated resolve to colonise. Flying on the back mast is the red ensign or "red duster", which signals this vessel as a British merchant or passenger ship.

A small rowboat heads to shore. Individual figures are tiny specks on the ocean. The journey out took somewhere between six and 17 weeks, depending on the type of ship and the sailing route. This extended ordeal must have made travellers aware of their insignificance, which may have impacted their determination to prosper. For many, the length and cost of the journey meant there was no going back, full steam ahead.

In the lower left-hand corner are the artist's initials, J. B. B. We do not know any more about the artist. This painting is likely to have come from the Clarke Homestead, and we think it is an original painting from the late 1800s. If anyone has any information regarding the artist, J. B. B., please get in touch, exhibitons@kiwinorth.co.nz.

• Ashleigh McLarin is exhibitions curator, Whangārei Museum