Talk: Unfolding Thorndon in the Thomas Ward Map

‘Wellington, New Zealand from Thorndon’ by Charles Edward Bruges Hammond, New Zealand Graphic and Star Printing Works, 1894. From the collection of the Alexander Turnbull Library, A-385-023.

Join historian Elizabeth Cox as she explores the streets and alleyways of historic Thorndon in the 1890s, and the people who lived there. In this special talk, as part of the annual open day at Katherine Mansfield House & Garden, she will explore what the Thomas Ward map shows of Thorndon and its creative communities. Elizabeth will also examine some of the processes and alleyways she went down herself while writing her book 'Mr Ward's Map: Victorian Wellington Street by Street', which recently won the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards prize for illustrated non-fiction. The Thomas Ward map was drawn by surveyor Thomas Ward for Wellington City Council. First completed in 1891, it was then updated for the next decade. It recorded the footprint of every building in the city, from Thorndon in the north and across the teeming, inner-city slums of Te Aro to Berhampore in the south. The map detailed every house, outdoor toilet and garden shed in the city, as well as hotels, theatres, oyster saloons, brothels, shops, stables, Parliament, kāinga, Town Belt, ‘lunatic asylum’, hospital and much more, down to the detail of the street lights. You can also visit the exhibition ‘Growing Up on Mr Ward’s Map: Stories of Young Lives in Victorian Wellington'. Designed specially for Katherine Mansfield House & Garden, the exhibition uses the Thomas Ward map to examine what it was like to grow up in the city in the 1890s, featuring voices, stories and photographs of the city's children and teenagers. Elizabeth Cox is a Wellington social and architectural historian. Due to limited space, registration is required for the talk. The exhibition will be open throughout the day as part of the Katherine Mansfield House & Garden open day.