Discovered: a sketch of St John’s College Purewa
This sketch is of the St John’s College settlement at Purewa 1844-1845 at the time when Bishop GA Selwyn moved the College from Te Waimate to Auckland. Most College members ‘camped’ on the bank of the Purewa Creek (at the point at which the College Schooner could reach) for many months while permanent buildings were constructed on the present College site. The Bishop and his wife Sarah rented a house in Parnell.
The sketch of the Purewa encampment has appeared in a number of ‘originals’ and copies and has been attributed to both Bishop GA Selwyn and Caroline Abraham. The one shown here is an original sketch owned by St John’s College which hung in the dining room for many years. It is now in our archives. It is known that William Bambridge also did many sketches of St John’s College in its various locations, however, the style is reminiscent of Selwyn’s.
I would suggest that Selwyn’s similar sketch found in his letter book (held by Alexander Turnbull Library) which he sent to family in England, was the original from which copies were made for distribution. It was common in the 19th century for hand copies to be made of Selwyn sketches and letters to enable wider distribution.
The copies held by the Auckland Art Gallery, Alexander Turnbull Library and John Kinder Theological Library all vary a little if closely compared. The Art Gallery’s copy was a gift from Lady Spens, who was a daughter of Bishop JR Selwyn and grand-daughter of Bishop GA Selwyn. The copy held by the Alexander Turnbull Library has a handwritten inscription which is possibly in Caroline Abraham’s hand (but it is not GA Selwyn’s handwriting). Caroline was not in New Zealand until 1850 when much of the Purewa site was demolished, so her work would be a copy. Our copy has clearer numbers on each building than the others, but the handwriting again is unknown and is not the Bishop’s.
We would be pleased to receive any feedback to help clarify the provenance of any of these sketches.