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So here we are in Waikanae on this beautiful spring day in October, 2025. And Rod, where are we standing outside? So we're standing outside the Wcan I cemetery. It's on road, uh, in Wna and it's a beautiful, beautifully kept cemetery. Um. Of various different parts, and we'll talk about that maybe a bit later on. And there's a couple of, [00:00:30] um, graves we are going to visit today. So we'll, uh, walk in, uh, now and I think, uh, the first, uh, grave that we're coming to is actually literally, uh, one of the first headstones, uh, we see on this lawn. The first time we came, uh, to wa Eye cemetery, we spent hours looking for, looking for this particular grave. And um, it did take us hours. We went through every grave in the whole cemetery to try and find them. It turns out we'd walked right past it. It is literally right by the gate. [00:01:00] Into, uh, the cemetery here and it is the grave of Betty Armstrong. And be Arthur. Yeah. And we're just coming up to the grave now and there's a little bit of, uh, wind that's happening here in w Can I? Certainly not as bad as, uh, Wellington, but, uh, we'll have a bit of a windshield up, so hopefully it's not too, uh, distracting. So in front of us, uh, lay both, uh, Betty and b. It's quite an interesting headstone. It's quite beautifully done. Ready? [00:01:30] It looks like a. Um, a book which has been opened up and on the pages. You are reading this text here, and the text is in Loving memory of Marguerite Elizabeth McCready. Betty Armstrong, 16th of the fourth, 19 0 9 2. The 15th of the 11th, 2000. Lifelong partner of Beatrice Arthur 13th. Of the 12th, 1915 [00:02:00] to fifth of the eighth, 2002 together in our Lord. Now we should also say that, um, a lot of the information, uh, that Roger and I know about, uh, Betty and B actually comes from, uh, Dr. Allison. Laurie, the late Dr. Allison, Laurie. Uh, Allison was able to interview, I think it was b um, a few years ago for a bit of an oral history project. Um, and so a lot of the information that we know, um, is because of, uh, what Allison was doing, um, you know, [00:02:30] 20, 20, 30 years ago. Hmm. So I guess the question is why are we here and why are we stopping at this particular grave? Uh, well, it's really significant because, uh, this is a grave of, um, Betty Armstrong and B Arthur, and they were partners. They worked together since 1943 and they lived together as partners for 57 years. Now that's quite interesting because when you think of the 1940s, um, to live in a, uh, lesbian or same [00:03:00] sex partnership, uh, would've been quite different from what it is nowadays where you could be a lot more kind of open. Uh, I'm reminded of, uh, one of the things that Allison, uh, when she was interviewing Bee, uh, was talking about, and, um, bee told Allison that at the time, I think, um, you know, they, they, they were, um, uh, sharing the same bed almost immediately. Um, but they didn't. Call themselves lesbian. Do they? Yeah. They may not even have had a word to describe what they were apart [00:03:30] from very, uh, fond of each other and very in love with each other. Um, and that's actually a really, uh, instructive thing for us to think about when we. Think about history of the past and rainbow history of the past. Um, you know, we might identify, we might want to categorize people in one way or another. Um, but they themselves may have thought of themselves quite differently. So just a little solitary lesson there. Um, yeah, they were a private couple, um, but they're also [00:04:00] very social. And they were members of the Victoria Club, which was a really, um, important social, um, club for rainbow people in, in Wellington. And they enjoyed, you know, things that, that everyone enjoys doing, like being social and dancing and having fun. I, I think that's a another key thing to remember that's quite different from maybe nowadays in that, you know, prior to homosexual law reform in 86, 19 86, um, there [00:04:30] weren't a lot of. Public spaces for rainbow people to inhabit, um, openly. And so, um, you know, if you go back into the seventies and the sixties and earlier, uh, you'll find a lot of people doing kind of private dinner parties where, um, you would gather, uh, there was of course the, uh, Dorian Society, which was New Zealand's first, uh, homosexual. Um. Society, I think established in the early sixties. Yeah. And then the Vic, uh, Victoria Club, which was, when was that [00:05:00] formed? Was it recently? Seventies, eighties, I think. 1780s. Yeah. And I'm not really clear as to what, um. Betty Armstrong did certainly be, Arthur was a registered nurse, and so was a nurse at some point in her life. Um, but I'm not sure about Betty. No, I am, I'm not sure either. I do know, uh, what did happen, uh, after Betty died? So Betty died in 2000, uh. As a lasting memory [00:05:30] to their relationship, uh, b uh, formed the Arthur and Armstrong Charitable Trust for lesbians, uh, which is still going today. Uh, and, and what, what an amazing legacy. It is a huge legacy. And one of the things that the trust funds is Quilted Bananas, which is the formerly the, um, lesbian radio show on Access radio. Uh, it's now called Quilted Bananas. And that's a really important community resource, [00:06:00] actually, um, that really probably wouldn't exist without their very generous sort of foresight and funding. Um, B died in 2002 and yeah, so they be buried together here in why can I, they had a holiday home here in wa. Can I? So that's probably the, the, the, the why can I. Connection. Uh, but they certainly lived in Wellington City for, uh, many years. It's lovely to be able to, to visit, uh, visit their grave and to have, [00:06:30] um, you know, something in stone that's talking about a, a lifelong same sex partner. It's not often you see headstones that, um, have, have those words. It's really not. And it's amazing to see here, uh, in why can I, it's great to see here. It's actually really great to see here. I have to say. Um, and it's important for us to remember their contribution, um, to the rainbow community. When we think back to homosexual law reform in the mid 1980s, you know, even though they were really private people, they're prepared to sort of, um, [00:07:00] make their voices heard in the campaign for law reform. Um, I think, uh, there was. Famous protest outside the, uh, salvation Army Citadel in Wellington. Uh, and, um, at the time the Salvation Army had an anti law reform petition that they were circulating nationwide. Uh, and so there was a pro law reform protest outside the Citadel on at least one occasion. And, um, Betty and B would drive up and down the street, tooting their horn [00:07:30] in support of the pro reformers. Um, while it was happening, which, um, again, is a very lovely public thing for I imagine two fairly elderly women by that stage to be doing. Oh, that's, well, that's, that's wonderful. And, and of course, you know, we're coming up to the 40th anniversary of homosexual law reform, uh, in 2026. So, uh, really lovely to, to be able to kind of tie that back to, uh, that period of, of law reform and rainbow histories in there is, oh, sorry. You've [00:08:00] got one of. Yeah, I'm just gonna, um, say a couple of things. One is, um, yeah, so it just occurred to me that actually it's almost 25 years since, um, Betty Armstrong died. If she died in November, 2000. That's, it's October, 2025 now. So a quarter of a century. Um, so that's a really important, uh, and significant, um, moment in time to commemorate as well. And lovely to see them. Uh, today, on this very special spring day here in Wni, [00:08:30] we have another grave that we are going to visit. And this is actually, um, a little bit further into the cemetery. It's actually up on, um, a little, would you say a hilltop or? I'd say it's a little hillock. A hillock. Maybe a bit more than a hillock, because there's some smaller hillocks that are genuinely icks, I think, but it's a little hill within the cemetery. Um. And it's, it's good. An older part of the cemetery. I think the part that we are in now with, um, BMB, uh, a lot [00:09:00] of people, um, have been here since maybe 2000, maybe late nineties. The part that we are going to is more, oh, you know, early, early 20th century. So early a part of the cemetery. So we are standing on top of, uh, the Hillock in, um, Wika I cemetery. And we are just trying to find this very famous grave that we are trying to look for at the moment. [00:09:30] And we have been here before, but sometimes our directions aren't that good, are they? No. No. Um, you're right. We have been here before and I think it's just over this little ridge here. Um, and this is actually, um, quite an old part of the cemetery. And so the, the graves are actually quite, quite large, aren't they? Yeah. Much more substantial and with the full concrete sort of [00:10:00] surround, um, here, as opposed to, uh, just, uh, the lawn, um, which was down where Betty and B were. Now I'm having a few issues because I have my reading glasses on, but as I look into the distance, it all becomes very blurry, so I might have to get you to take the lead and actually point out where we are. Yeah. So again, we are at the, the now at the top of lic, [00:10:30] um, looking round and, um, I think, I think it's down this one. Is it this one here, which has the cross on it? Um, looking around here. Here we go. Yes it is. Yeah. Yeah. So actually this is a quite a large, um, sort of marble covered, uh. Grave here. Um, it's very well maintained, I think probably 'cause it's got such a famous person's ashes here. [00:11:00] Um, I'll read the, um, stone, a loving memory of William Hughes Field. Also his wife, Isabel Janefield. William Jeffrey Hughes Field. Who I guess by looking for those dates, there is probably their son. Um, and then underneath that, uh, there's a line Rachel Owen Hodgkins and Francis Hodgkins. So, um, it's not immediately [00:11:30] clear just looking at this, the relationship between the Hodgkin's and the fields, apart from the fact that they're all in the same. Grave, Francis Hodgkin's dates, uh, died 13th of May, 1947, aged 78 years, and it looks as though she's there with that might be her mother, in fact. Is that right? Rachel Owen Hodgkin's died 22nd of April, 1926, aged 88 years. So died 20 years before. [00:12:00] Yeah. That makes gap about 30 years. That's about right. Yeah. And Francis Hodgkins was one of New Zealand's, uh, most eminent, uh, painters in the 1930s, 1940s, and actually earlier than that, and actually had a very successful career, primarily in the United Kingdom. And it's really interesting that she's actually buried here in Why can't I symmetry just north of Wellington? I have to say, looking around this hill and looking out, [00:12:30] uh, one to the kind of the, uh, the coast, uh, we're in a kind of a northwesterly direction. Uh, we can't actually see the coast from here, but it, it is there. Uh, what a, what a beautiful vista. It is a beautiful spot. And actually I can just, I mean, we're quite tall and I can just, over the top of one of the houses see a tiny little patch of sea. So that's a bay looking out to. Uh, with the Tasman Sea, I guess, from where we are, uh, in New Zealand. Um, but yes, it's a [00:13:00] beautiful spot. Um, I would say it's quiet and it is quiet except for an amazing array of bird life that we have. Uh, around here, there's two I can hear and a whole bunch of other amazing. Um, birds. So, yeah, Francis Hodgkins was incredibly well traveled. Uh, she was born in 1869 in Dunedin. Um, but she actually traveled, uh, around the world, um, a. Probably, uh, best known [00:13:30] for traveling in the United Kingdom and Europe in the early 19 hundreds. She was one of, um, many, uh, new Zealanders, artistic New Zealanders who actually set out, uh, to travel around the UK and uh, Europe. So people like Catherine Mansfield, who was kind of similar vintage and the writer James Courage. And it was, um, probably a lot more cosmopolitan, I think in Europe. Um, one of the people that, um, Francis met over in the UK was Dorothy Kate Richmond, [00:14:00] who became a very important person in Francis' life. Uh, Francis described her as the dearest woman with the most beautiful face and expression, and there's some absolutely gorgeous letters, uh, that survive, uh, from, from, uh, Dorothy and uh, Francis, which is, uh, where that quote comes from. And, um. I think that letter continues. Uh, Dorothy's letters are poems. She's the dearest piece of perfection I have ever met, and unlike most perfection, not in the [00:14:30] least tiring to live up to. So where did they meet? They met, uh, while they were in Europe. They met in 1,901, uh, and they began traveling together, but they also were painting together. Dorothy was a painter. Uh, and once they'd returned from Europe, uh, back to the uk, they lived together in Cornwall. Uh, before separating, um, they got back together and then came back to New Zealand in 1,903 and they established a studio on the corner of Lampton Key and Bowen Street. And that's a really [00:15:00] interesting building because that was owned and rented, uh, from, uh, Alexander Turnbull of the Alexander Turnbull Library Fame. It had been stables, I think, for his big flash, uh, home, uh, which is just up, uh, opposite the beehive there. Uh, Turnbull Turnbull house, it's called now. Lovely brick, old brick building. Uh, but that was a stables, but because it had lots of light, um, it was turned into a studio for Dorothy. And, uh, Francis. Francis also had [00:15:30] pupils. And one of the pupils that, that studied with Francis, um, in that studio was Edith, Kathleen Bendle, who would become, um, Catherine Mansfield. Lover, um, a couple of years later, and we've heard a story where, um, apparently Catherine would write, uh, nightly to Edith in, was it, um, purple or Violet? Violet Inc. Apparently it was Violet Inc. Yes. Um, inviting Edith to come and stay, uh, at the family. Batch just across Wellington Harbor in Days [00:16:00] Bay. Well, Francis and Dorothy had a, a bit of an on and off, uh, relationship. Um, we've seen it written as a, as as complex. I, I think they were, uh, complex people living in a, in a com complex, uh, world. Unfortunately, um, Francis', uh, later life was not, uh, particularly, uh, too happy was it? Uh, it wasn't really. Um, although she's regarded as one of the UK's, um, and New Zealand's greatest artist of the time, there were [00:16:30] periods when she was very poor, not necessarily easy to make a living out of being a, a painter. Um, and at the age of 63, she was found in her basement studio, uh, living with. The water and the lights turned off and she'd pour into everything just to try and stay alive. Uh, the bed she was lying in was covered in newspapers for warmth. Gosh, that's shocking. That's really is, is quite shocking, particularly for such a well known and well respected international artist.[00:17:00] So. Francis sadly died in Dorsett in 1947 and it was actually her nephew. Um, and, and unfortunately we don't have his name, um, that brought, uh, her ashes back to New Zealand and is buried here in Wna Cemetery, uh, with both her sister and her mother. Yeah, I'd almost speculate and say that it was William Jeffrey Hughes Field who's also buried here.[00:17:30] The ages would be about right. The dates would be about right, as the nephew who brought her back, but don't quote me on that. Wani itself is, uh, got a, a kind of a, a living, um, it's not a memorial, but it's a celebration of Francis's work and that's in the regional art gallery. Yeah, toy Mara is the name of the gallery. Uh, it's a beautiful gallery. If you come to wa can I definitely, uh, check it out. It's only a block away from the railway station. Uh, it's got a big [00:18:00] collection of Francis Hodgkin's work. Uh, but it's also got other, um, displays that it, uh, exhibitions that it has as well. And it feels, I mean, every time we've been, it, it, it is almost like the Francis Hodgkins area is a, uh, a kind of a permanent exhibit. To her. Yeah, it feels like it. Um, and definitely, uh, Chenai is embracing, its Francis Hodgkin's connections more and more. Yeah, that's, that's really lovely to see that. [00:18:30] Um, her art and her, uh, spirit, uh, are really being, uh, honored and, and remembered on a, on a daily basis. So it is lovely to be here on this, uh, spring. Day, uh, WW with Francis and her mother and her sister, and the field family as well. Uh, and um, at rest here in Waikanae Cemetery.
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